iPhone 3G playing hard to get

Updated at 10:04 a.m. PDT to correct the total number of Apple stores there were checked for iPhone availability. The total is 188.

These days, Apple has enlisted a widget to deliver its bad news.

According to a man who checked all 188 Apple stores via the company's iPhone Availability widget, the iPhone 3G is in very short supply, says Fortune's Apple 2.0 blog. In total, it appears the device is sold out in 21 states.

The list of states fresh out of iPhones includes: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin.

The widget is updated every day after 9 p.m. with the current stock of each store.

If you live in one of those states and are able to get a phone from an Apple store there Tuesday, let us know in the comments.

Though AT&T stores nationwide were also carrying the iPhone when it launched Friday, many of them are still sold out of the devices. All three AT&T stores in downtown San Francisco reported that they still don't have any in stock as of 9:30 a.m. PDT Tuesday.

CNET's Josh Lowensohn contributed to this report.

[hackhound]

They aren't sold out in South Dakota! Oh, wait, they aren't even for sale in SD. Nevermind...

[InTheWoodlands]

"a stunning success" said Steve Jobs. And indeed, one million units is impressive. But when it could've easily been two million, it's not quite as impressive. After touting iPhone 3G for months, why couldn't Apple have been better prepared? And why are they having such a hard time getting more units into the stores? I'm hearing in the Houston area that it may be weeks before direct-fulfillment orders get filled.

[raycaster]

Colorado is all sold out. The ATT&T store manager said 14 to 20 days before we get ours on back order. Craziness.

[raycaster]

Colorado is all sold out. The ATT&T store manager said 14 to 20 days before we get ours on back order. Craziness.

[pbleile]

I talked with an Apple store rep this morning who told me that the stores have no control over their inventory but they are receiving product everyday between 10 and noon. There has been a line waiting for the delivery and it sells out just as fast as it arrives. They have no idea what sku's they are getting until the shipment arrives so there is no guarantee that if you want a 16gb black model that is what will arrive. The local AT & T stores have been taking names for when they get shipments but are pushing customers to direct order telling them 7-10 days for delivery which I find hard to believe that promise.

[dstevens01]

Utah is out. What I want to know is where is Sprint, Verizon, and T-mobile? If I were Sprint I would have launched the HTC Diamond Touch the following Monday and advertised the hell out of Apple's poor forecasting.

"Didn't get your iphone, tired of standing in line for nothing? Come on over to Sprint and pick up a phone you can "Touch" today!!!!

What I think is funny is when I call my local Apple store and they can't tell me how many they have in stock. Apple, ever hear of an inventory management system?!?!

[Bitter Apple]

I think they know exactly what is in stock, this is all part of the drama.

[Bryce Mirtle]

It'll be interesting to see next week's numbers...

[iPhoneBabe]

I'm in Hawaii and have found the Apple store updates almost completely wrong in the past 5 days. They are updated extremely slowly (on Sunday the detailed page on which models were available was still showing the Friday availability). On Saturday I looked up the availability for a store that after noon, and the page read, "check in after 9 pm." I did, and the status changed to availability tomorrow. I planned to get up early to get some, and checked the page again just before I left, and it was change to no availability. Also, one of the employees told me that whoever is doing the updating is just looking at the number in the cage and not noting which of these are spoken for. Apparently many people showed up the first day without all of the documentation and as a courtesy they were held for a day , so they were in the cage but not available.

The only reliable way I found to determine availability was to call up the store and ask. Persistence pays off; after 5 days I got my white 16 GB even though the site said no availability when checked for that day.

... so I'd take this story with a big heap of salt.

[doofbag83]

First off, I am so annoyed at Apple I have poured so much money into them, and I have convinced so many people to switch to Apple. This whole thing has been beyond frustrating. Apple is just as greedy as Microsoft, and have totally neglected their loyal customers, and new customers.

I have put in a direct order from the AT&T store on 95th and Broadway in Manhattan. They are of course sold out, but have told me that it will be 7-10 business days. Each day that passes I want this phone less and less. I am currently thinking of just getting a Blackberry and that's it.

I hate Apple, and I hope AAPL crashes.

[wipeout1970]

I walked into a Rogers store here in Montreal and picked one up with no lines and they had tons. Funny how noone stood in line in Canada..Those crazy Excited States people.

[btrivedi]

That Apple website that one can check after 9 pm is totally bogus. I live in MN and the Apple website said there would be no iPhones yesterday. I called the store anyway and they had iPhones in stock, although they had no black 16 GB. Come on Steve, what's the deal!

[brookefowler]

Apple marketing department is brilliant. I am not even in a huge hurry to get in iPhone but suddenly knowing what short supply there is, it is all I can think about. They are controlling the market, the market doesn't control them.