Submitted by Bob Bhatnagar on
Some lucky customers have received notification from Apple that their iPhone 4 pre-orders have shipped and will arrive on time. Launch day is June 24, and some of the notifications have listed the "Delivers By" date as June 23, a full day ahead of schedule.
As has happened before, it's likely that shipping companies will hold the package to insure that everyone receives the iPhone 4 on June 24. The iPhone 4 pre-order process has been fraught with difficulties for many customers, including some receiving notification that their pre-order was cancelled, not shipped.
AT&T and Apple web servers collapsed under extreme demand as over 600,000 pre-orders were submitted in one day. Best Buy has notified customers with white iPhone 4 pre-orders that devices will not ship until after June 24 due to manufacturing shortages. Apple, despite planning to release the white iPhone 4 along with the black model, has stated on the Apple Store that the white model will not be available for pre-order or in-store pickup on launch day.
Customers looking to pre-order the iPhone 4 currently face a shipping date of July 14. In contrast, the lower-end 3GS model with 8GB of storage can still be pre-ordered to ship on June 24. Some pre-orders that were submitted on the second and third day of pre-ordering won't ship until July 2nd or later.
Lines are sure to be long for those who did not successfully get their iPhone 4 pre-order shipping notification. Radio Shack, Best Buy, Wal Mart, AT&T and Apple are currently all retail options for those looking to score an iPhone this Thursday. It's possible iPhone 4 launch day lines could be segregated into pre-orders, pre-authorized and new customers, further complicating the process amid a short inventory supply.