Has Apple sold out of initial iPhone 4 devices?

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Apple is believed to have sold its entire initial batch of iPhone 4 devices for the UK, according to widespread reports, and the shipping date for those who pre-order now is 2 July.

This means that anyone who pre-orders one of the contract-free devices from today from the Apple online store will not receive the iPhone 4 until a week after the official launch date, at the earliest.

Apple had only announced SIM-less iPhone prices and opened up the pre-order availability yesterday so that people would be able to get their hands on the device on 24 June.

Apple, in a statement sent to IT PRO, said: “Yesterday Apple and its carrier partners took pre-orders for more than 600,000 of Apple’s new iPhone 4. It was the largest number of pre-orders Apple has ever taken in a single day and was far higher than we anticipated, resulting in many order and approval system malfunctions.”

The electronics giant added: “Many customers were turned away or abandoned the process in frustration. We apologise to everyone who encountered difficulties and hope that they will try again or visit an Apple or carrier store once the iPhone 4 is in stock.”

No operators have yet opened up pre-orders for the iPhone 4, but today Orange became the first UK provider to officially announce its pricing plan.

The cheapest Orange deal to get the device for free is a £75 a month contract for the 16GB model.

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