Stores run out of stock as iPhone 4 goes on sale

SHOPS around the world run out of stock after new iPhone 4 went on sale to huge demand.

Piotr Kubiak of Oakland, Illinois, shows off his new iPhone 4, right, next to his old iPhone outside of an Apple store / AP

THE iPhone 4 has arrived, but for some the wait continues as Apple sprints to keep up with fierce demand for its latest gadget.

From Tokyo to San Francisco, some stores started selling out of Apple's newest iPhone just hours after it went on sale yesterday.

Some would-be buyers walked away disappointed and tensions grew at Apple stores as customers queued for hours.

The latest iPhone was a hit before the world ever saw it — AT&T says it received 10 times as many pre-orders as it did for the iPhone 3GS last year.

Apple processed 600,000 requests before the ordering system failed.

Some analysts predicted Apple would sell a million iPhones on the first day.

In Aventura, Florida, shoppers queuing before sales began were told no one was allowed on mall property overnight. So about 120 people camped out nearby.

As smart phones have become both status symbol and lifeline, the lust is strong to have the best, according to cultural anthropologist and former South Australian thinker-in-residence Genevieve Bell, director of the user experience group at Intel.

"They have become desirable objects and desirable in that way where we become compelled to have them," Ms Bell said.

"It's your reptilian brain kicking into action. You get this overwhelming sense of 'I must have it', it's not necessarily rational."

It seems even Apple was surprised by the number of people who wanted to snap up the fourth version of the iPhone. On Apple's website, new orders weren't promised for delivery until July 14.

Those who didn't order lined up outside Apple stores in the hopes of snagging one on a first-come, first-served basis.

Apple spokeswoman Natalie Harrison said demand was "off the charts", and the firm was working hard to get phones into customers' hands as quickly as possible.

Some stores sold out completely within hours, said Brian Marshall, an analyst for Gleacher & Co.

Apple is having a hard time getting enough of the new custom parts for the iPhone 4, such as its new higher-resolution screen, Mr Marshall said.

Apple has said the white iPhone it plans to produce has been more challenging than expected, and won't be available until late July. Only black models are on sale.

It may also be the case that Apple correctly anticipated opening-day demand but sent too many phones to some of its 200-plus US stores and not enough to others.

The scenes at Apple stores — as the phone went on sale in Japan, Germany, France, the UK and US — were familiar ones.

As was the case with last year's iPhone 3GS launch, the eager throngs seemed unfazed by ongoing economic uncertainty.

Apple employees continued the tradition of providing bottled water, coffee, bagels and even cupcakes to people in line.

In Chicago, the store handed out black umbrellas with white Apple logos for customers who waited overnight through severe thunderstorms and even defied tornado sirens around the city.

In Tokyo's swanky Ginza shopping district, a man dressed as a giant iPhone danced and waived his arms as he made it to the front of the line.

As always, people travelled long distances to get an iPhone before their compatriots. Alex Lee, 27, flew from Dubai to join the 500-person-long line along London's Regent St.

The iPhone 4 is not due to go on sale in Australia until late July.