U.S. Carriers Struggling to Meet iPhone 4S Demand

Submitted by Dan; November 17, 2011


The Wall Street Journal reports on shortages of the iPhone 4S at U.S. carriers, more than a month after the device went on sale. Carriers indicate that the shortages are due to very strong customer demand rather than any shortfall in Apple's production. The report claims that according to the Verizon Wireless' website, customers may have to wait more than three weeks for the device. That compares with as much as 21 days at AT&T and up to 14 days at Sprint Nextel. While some tech blogs have suggested Apples manufacturing isnt keeping pace, the carriers point to unexpectedly strong demand for the handset. AT&T's Glenn Lurie, president of emerging devices, states on Wednesday that they are having some supply issues in the sense that demand is huge. Lurie claims that they (AT&T) have had record-breaking sales on it. Typically, Apple prioritizes its own distribution channels in the face of tight supplies, but even its online store is citing shipping estimates of 1-2 weeks on iPhone 4S orders. While its retail stores are utilizing a reservation system to manage the tight supplies, customers are able to reserve iPhone 4S units each night from the available stock at their local store, stopping by the following day to make their purchase.Any unreserved stock is then made available for walk-in purchase, however even reservation customers are having difficulty finding available units at their local Apple retail stores. - source: WSJ


Tags: AT&T, iphone 4s, iphone 4s demand, sprint, Verizon