Canadian Providers Running Out of iPhones

noiphone_canadaThe iPhone sells well, be it the iPhone 3G or the 3GS. And it appears that north of the border, it’s selling even better than Apple had predicted.

Canada’s exclusive iPhone service provider Rogers Wireless is completely out of stock of the iPhone 3GS and 3G, the Globe and Mail is reporting. Fido, its low-cost subsidiary, is also out of the 3GS, although according to the report it still has some stock of the 4GB 3G on hand in a few brick-and-mortar locations.

Canada’s not the first country to run out of phones, either. Australia exhausted its supply earlier this month. Phones are still coming in from Apple, but shipments have slowed to a trickle as Cupertino’s supply chain struggles to keep up with demand. The U.S. appears to be one place where iPhones are still relatively easy to find, which makes sense considering that it remains Apple’s cornerstone market.

If you’re looking for an iPhone in Canada, you aren’t totally out of luck. Apparently Apple Store locations, which only began selling the devices this year following the release of the 3GS, still have stock — which works more in Apple’s favor than selling the devices via a non-company-branded location anyway.

Apple’s probably looking at shortages because it underestimated the ongoing success of the iPhone. In light of the sales numbers for the iPhone 3G, and the general economic climate, the company most likely planned for a rapid sales spike quickly followed by a period of slow but steady market share growth. And since it’s unlikely Apple will place a large order at this stage in the game, for fear of getting stuck with massive stock overages, Canadians may not be spending their loonies on new iPhones anytime soon.

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