UK's Carphone Warehouse now completely out of iPhones
Carphone Warehouse, the high street retailer of UK-based wireless operator and exclusive iPhone provider O2, has completely run dry of both iPhone models as Apple is reported to have permanently ceased production of the 8GB model.
Word of the drought, reported by The Guardian, comes exactly one week after the retailer, along with O2, simultaneously noted via their websites that the 8GB version of the touch-screen handset had sold out and would not be restocked.
An internal memo distributed amongst O2 retail management at the time stated that entry-level iPhone had been declared EOL or "end-of-life," a term often associated with products at the end of their shelf life. Products denoted as EOL are no longer manufactured but may continue to be sold until existing channel inventories are depleted.
Stock of both 8GB and 16GB iPhones has also been spotty in the US over the past month, but Apple has been replenishing inventories in irregular intervals. The electronics maker, however, appears to be making less of an effort to restock its partners abroad, as adoption of the handset in the Europe has lagged far behind that of the US.
Europeans have largely been unimpressed with the high cost and slow internet access associated with the first-generation iPhone. The handset runs only on 2.5G wireless networks, which is increasingly seen as yesteryear technology in Europe, a region rich with 3G, or next-generation wireless networks that perform up to ten times as fast.
As such, Europeans are for the most part believed to be holding out for the much-anticipated 3G version of the Apple handset which is widely expected to make its debut at or around the company's annual developers conference during the second week of June.
Unlike the Cupertino-based iPhone maker, which has become proficient in managing channel inventories of handheld devices thanks to years of iPod sales, its European partners are believed to have grossly miscalculated the number of first-generation iPhones that they'd be able to sell.
To remedy the situation and make way for 3G models, Apple last month began encouraging those partners to deeply discount their existing inventories of 8GB iPhones. T-Mobile Germany was first to bat with a 300 euro discount, bringing the model down to 99 euros, and O2 followed with a 100 pound cut, bringing its local offering to 169 pounds and spurring a near instantaneous sellout.
Although Apple has reportedly suggested that Orange, its exclusive iPhone provider in France, do the same, the carrier has thus far balked at the recommendation.
Word of the drought, reported by The Guardian, comes exactly one week after the retailer, along with O2, simultaneously noted via their websites that the 8GB version of the touch-screen handset had sold out and would not be restocked.
An internal memo distributed amongst O2 retail management at the time stated that entry-level iPhone had been declared EOL or "end-of-life," a term often associated with products at the end of their shelf life. Products denoted as EOL are no longer manufactured but may continue to be sold until existing channel inventories are depleted.
Stock of both 8GB and 16GB iPhones has also been spotty in the US over the past month, but Apple has been replenishing inventories in irregular intervals. The electronics maker, however, appears to be making less of an effort to restock its partners abroad, as adoption of the handset in the Europe has lagged far behind that of the US.
Europeans have largely been unimpressed with the high cost and slow internet access associated with the first-generation iPhone. The handset runs only on 2.5G wireless networks, which is increasingly seen as yesteryear technology in Europe, a region rich with 3G, or next-generation wireless networks that perform up to ten times as fast.
As such, Europeans are for the most part believed to be holding out for the much-anticipated 3G version of the Apple handset which is widely expected to make its debut at or around the company's annual developers conference during the second week of June.
Unlike the Cupertino-based iPhone maker, which has become proficient in managing channel inventories of handheld devices thanks to years of iPod sales, its European partners are believed to have grossly miscalculated the number of first-generation iPhones that they'd be able to sell.
To remedy the situation and make way for 3G models, Apple last month began encouraging those partners to deeply discount their existing inventories of 8GB iPhones. T-Mobile Germany was first to bat with a 300 euro discount, bringing the model down to 99 euros, and O2 followed with a 100 pound cut, bringing its local offering to 169 pounds and spurring a near instantaneous sellout.
Although Apple has reportedly suggested that Orange, its exclusive iPhone provider in France, do the same, the carrier has thus far balked at the recommendation.
Comments
Anyone out there with speculations of storage increases, if any? Will it be the 3G iPhone in 16 and 32GB? Is 32 the highest storage or might it go higher? 64GB? Or is 64 still too expensive???
What thoughts does anyone have regarding what they think the next model's storage might be, especially with the Apple App Store coming in the near future with native iPhone apps being developed?
So Apple's iPhone started at 4 and 8GB... 4GB discontinued and 16GB introduced for choices of either an 8GB iPhone or a 16GB iPhone... Now the 8GB is EOL'd leaving just the 16GB iPhone and???
Anyone out there with speculations of storage increases, if any? Will it be the 3G iPhone in 16 and 32GB? Is 32 the highest storage or might it go higher? 64GB? Or is 64 still too expensive???
What thoughts does anyone have regarding what they think the next model's storage might be, especially with the Apple App Store coming in the near future with native iPhone apps being developed?
The 3G iphone will be announced on May 19th.
The 3G iphone will be announced on May 19th.
That sounds about right. Any reason that you have chosen that date?
at a wild guess
That sounds about right. Any reason that you have chosen that date?
I have a friend who is reliable.
I have a friend who is reliable.
A lot of people are going to criticize you here, but I think you are right. There is no way that this is waiting for WWDC.
The 3G iphone will be announced on May 19th.
Apple never release a major product upgrade on Mondays. It will be a Saturday for sure. But... I really hope you they do release it sooner than later.
Apple never release a major product upgrade on Mondays.
The Brand New iMacs dropped on a monday.
The Brand New iMacs dropped on a monday.
You took the words right out of my mouth...
It's not a good habit to use the words "always" and "never"...
A lot of people are going to criticize you here, but I think you are right. There is no way that this is waiting for WWDC.
I have a friend who is reliable.
Makes sense, release the new device first, and talk about the SDK a bit later. That would be cool. Maybe Apple is actually running ahead of schedule.
There also have been no 8 GB refurbished iPhone models on the Apple Store for a while now (2-3 weeks).
Or, can Apple request that the FCC hold off on publicly releasing a product has passed in favour of a date set by Apple?
It's not a good habit to use the words "always" and "never"...
It's always a good idea to never use absolutes.
This is strange and unprecedented. I didn't now how Apple was going to deal with this. Since I can't find any info that suggests the FCC can black any info of a newly approved product Apple would have to be very clever about how it releases the 3G iPhone. Since the 2.5G iPhone is essentially 'sold out" or, to put another way, not stock piled in warehouses and stores to be sold at a loss, could Apple be ready to release a 3G iPhone the day the FCC approves it? I believe only a back panel etching (if still metal) of the FCC # and packaging would be needed before shipping from China. That means that new iPhones could announced one day and arriving within a week.
Or, can Apple request that the FCC hold off on publicly releasing a product has passed in favour of a date set by Apple?
It's always a good idea to never use absolutes.
It's nothing strange. O2 got rid of its 8 Gig iphones by pricing it below US iphones so that companies can buy them and export them to China and Russia.
It's not like iphones are sold out in France, Germany or the US as well.
Nothing prevents Apple from making any more 2G iphones --- except that O2 doesn't want to stock them anymore.
The Brand New iMacs dropped on a monday.
Oh ok. Apple never release product upgrade on Monday (Except The Brand New iMacs "processors upgrade")
Oh ok. Apple never release product upgrade on Monday (Except The Brand New iMacs "processors upgrade")
And the original iPhone was released on a Friday at 5pm for each timezone in America. I think the UK release was at 5pm on a Friday, too.
There have been many non-Tuesday releases in the past year. "Apple Tuesday" seems to be less stringent than it used to be.
And the original iPhone was released on a Friday at 5pm for each timezone in America. I think the UK release was at 5pm on a Friday, too.
There have been many non-Tuesday releases in the past year. "Apple Tuesday" seems to be less stringent than it used to be.
It was a joke as why it will not be released on May 19th
It was a joke as why it will not be released on May 19th
I'm just not with it today. Not getting jokes or formatting my thoughts 'good'.
Carphone Warehouse, the high street retailer of UK-based wireless operator and exclusive iPhone provider O2, has completely run dry of both iPhone models as Apple is reported to have permanently ceased production of the 8GB model.
This is misleading. O2 have their own retail stores. Carphone Warehouse are a separate company entirely who sells phones from all of the carriers, not just O2.