Apple iPhone 4 Pre-Orders Sold Out

The first batch of the iPhone 4 has sold out in less than 24 hours, after Apple started accepting pre-orders on its UK website yesterday. All handsets ordered from now on will ship on 2 July – more than a week after the official launch.

The same is true in the US, where both Apple and network operator AT&T have stopped taking pre-orders for the 24 June launch. Problems were reported with both of the companies’ websites, as well as the UK and German Apple stores, as they struggled to cope with the deluge of traffic from customers rushing to secure their orders.

Meanwhile in the UK, Tesco joined the list of companies selling the iPhone 4, taking pre-registrations – but like other operators not publishing any pricing details.

“Because of the incredible interest in iPhone 4, today was the busiest online sales day in AT&T history,” said AT&T in a statement yesterday. “As of Tuesday afternoon, customers who pre-order iPhone 4 moving forward will receive their device on June 25 or later, depending on when the order is placed.”

Those desperate to get their hands on one of the first handsets can still do so when iPhone 4 hits the shops on 24 June. According to AT&T, devices will be available on a first-come first-served basis.

Pricing announced

Apple yesterday announced UK pricing details for its iPhone 4, with the 16GB model costing £499, and the 32GB model priced at £599. British network operators have not officially announced pricing tariffs for the Apple handset, but Vodafone’s tariffs were briefly leaked on the operator’s website on Monday.

According to the leak, Vodafone customers signing up for a two-year contract at £45 per month will be entitled to a free 16GB iPhone and, with a £60 per month contract, the 32GB model will also be free. However, customers signing up to the more standard £25-a-month tariff on a two-year contract will have to buy the handset for £189 or £280 respectively. Vodafone has denied the accuracy of the leak, describing the leaked page as a “test website”.

Apple’s iPhone 4 will be available from all of the major UK operators after it launches on 24 June, as well as Carphone Warehouse, Phones4U and Tesco. New features include a larger battery, a thinner body, a proprietary A4 processor under the hood, a front-facing camera for video conferencing, and a 5-megapixel camera paired with a rear illuminated sensor.

“This is beyond doubt one of the most precise, beautiful things we’ve ever done,” said Apple chief executive Steve Jobs at the at the company’s Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco on 7 June. He described the device as “the biggest leap since the original iPhone”.

Apple has not yet made any official announcement about how the number of iPhone 4s it has sold since pre-orders opened, but industry commentators say the figures could break records. Following the launch of the iPhone 3GS in 2009, sales reached one million over a single weekend, and Apple is expected to sell 10 million of its iPad tablets by the end of 2010.

No iPhone price war

The arrival in Tesco is no surprise, as the cost-cutting grocer announced it would sell the iPhone 3GS in November, shortly after Apple’s exclusive deal with O2 ended and the phone became available from other providers (starting with Orange).

At the time, there was hope of an iPhone price war, which would bring the cost of the device down – but even Tesco had limited room for maneuvre, as it uses O2’s network.