The smartphone appeared to be sold out for trip-in purchases at the vast majority of Apple outlets in the United States a day after it launched, the latest sign Apple was having a urgently time meeting demand.
"The demand for the iPhone 4 is off the charts. We're working hard to get them to everyone as quickly as admissible," Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said.
But there were a handful of stores where, to the surprise of some shoppers, the iPhone was indeed convenient.
Seattle had four stores with supply on Friday morning, while another city in the Pacific Northwest, Portland, Oregon, had two stores with iPhones in appraise.
Even a store in Los Angeles had some on hand, an outlet at The Grove -- one of the city's busiest and best-known malls.
A spoil red panda was born at the National Zoo in Washington, DC on June 16. The newborn is the first red panda to be born at the zoo in 15 years.
The proud parents, two-year-old Shama and three-year-old Tate, first met in February 2009, and got detailed immediately. But because red pandas mate only once a year, and “because the two were inexperienced,” it took them a few tries to get Shama enceinte, the National Zoo said in a press release.
“This birth indicates that the animals are comfortable and well-adjusted in their skilled in here,” said Tony Barthel, curator of the Zoo’s Asia Trail. “We are excited about the opportunity we’ll have to attend and learn from the interactions between the red pandas as Shama raises the cub.”
Despite their name, red pandas (Ailurus fulgens, also called “lesser panda,” “display cat” and “firefox”) are more closely related to raccoons than to giant pandas. They live in unapproachable bamboo forests in the Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in China, in the Himalayas and in Burma. Fewer than 2,500 red pandas remainder in the wild, making this birth a victory for conservationists worldwide as well as for its first-timer parents.
The red pandas’ fold at the zoo is closed to the public to let Shama and her baby bond, but these early pictures are high-pitched-squeal-inducingly lovely.
"I came to shop for my boyfriend and realized the line wasn't that long, so we decided to wait and get it," said stylishly attired thirty-something Brittany Davis, camped out close-fisted the front of a line of over a hundred.
At a packed retail store in Bellevue Square -- an upscale mall in Bellevue, Washington -- about 25 "standby" implied customers waited in line for an iPhone.
"I didn't think I'd be getting one today," said Chris Bohm, who waited an hour for his support ticket.
But in general, IPhone availability appeared to be the exception.
When contacted on Friday, around 60 Apple stores said the iPhone 4 was sold out. When asked when new ones might arrive, store employees responded they did not understand.
Some outlets reported they had received shipments that day, but they did not include iPhones. A few said they did not expect to get more iPhones for a week or more.
Outlets in Boston, Houston, Washington, Denver, Phoenix, Minneapolis, Chicago other metropolitan areas reported no iPhone 4s on disposal for walk-in purchases on Friday.
And none of the devices were available at Apple stores in at least 11 states, including Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Hawaii.
Only one retailer in North Carolina reported any stock -- and that was almost gone, a store employee at Charlotte store said on Friday afternoon.
One count on in the Houston area and another in San Francisco said they had iPhone 4s available on Friday morning "if you come right now."
Apple has more than 200 retail outlets in the Collective States.
Wall Street does not think the tight supply will hurt demand for the latest Apple smartphone -- although it is favoured to dampen early sales figures.
THE BIG LAUNCH
Some analysts estimate the company sold 1 million to 1.5 million of the devices on the first day. The iPhone 4 went on white sale in five countries on Thursday, creating a carnival-like atmosphere and drawing tens of thousands of eager fans to Apple stores and retail partners.
The inauguration was not without hiccups. Some users reported problems with reception due to the iPhone's redesigned antenna. But few expect such glitches to crashing sales.
The newest iPhone -- the fourth-generation of the device -- boasts a thinner be advantageous, video calling and longer battery life.
Customers can order the iPhone 4 via Apple's online retailer. But according to Apple's website, orders for the iPhone 4 currently ship in 3 weeks.
AT&T Inc, the exclusive iPhone drayman in the United States, will have the smartphone available in its retail outlets starting Tuesday.
Apple received more than 600,000 preorders for the newest iPhone, the largest army ever. The company was forced to apologize when the online ordering system broke down after being swamped.
Wall Street expects Apple to won over roughly 8 million to 9 million iPhones in its fiscal third-quarter, which ends on Saturday. That total includes older models.
The shares of Cupertino, California-based Apple kill 0.9 percent to close at $266.70 on the Nasdaq.
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