A week after its troubled launch, the iPhone 3G remains a hard-to-find item in the U.S., with nearly all of AT&T’s company-owned stores sold out. According to checks made earlier this morning by iLounge, Apple’s online iPhone 3G availability page shows approximately 61% of the company’s 187 retail stores sold out of iPhone 3G. 57 stores (30%) show availability of at least one iPhone 3G model, while only 15 stores (8%) report stock of all three models.
Out of the 57 stores with at least one model in stock, 22 were located in New York and California, with 7 out of the 15 stores showing availability of all three models coming from those two states. This gives NY and CA a disproportionately high percentage (40%) of stores with stock remaining. While Apple is understood to be making shipments to its stores on an almost daily basis, it remains to be seen when iPhone 3G availability will again be widespread.
Additionally, AT&T stores contacted by iLounge have reported extremely limited availability of iPhone hardware, with one store claiming that a grievance has been filed against Apple for restricting shipments. The store noted that it had received a total of only 20 iPhones to offer to more than 100 lined-up customers, with only 5 of each 16GB model to sell. Meanwhile, the store noted that Apple Stores have been stocked with hundreds if not thousands of units.
