Don’t worry that you won’t be able to buy that iPhone 4 during the holiday madness, production of the popular handset has finally caught up with demand, one analyst told investors Tuesday. Where once Apple had a three week backlog in June, you can now get an iPhone 24 hours after ordering online.
“Apple has now expanded distribution to Target (Target also sells the iPad) to join others including Apple stores, AT&T, Best Buy, Radio Shack and Wal-Mart,” writes Barclay’s Ben Reitzes.
In addition to a wider retail presence, Apple is also in better shape to meet the growing demand for its products overseas. “Perhaps more importantly, we believe availability is improving overseas, with the iPhone 4 set to ship for its first full quarter in China,” the analyst adds.
Apple’s fiscal first quarter of 2011 ends Christmas Day, and Reitzes sees the Cupertino, Calif. company selling 14.8 million iPhones selling during that three-month period. That’s in line with the 14.1 million iPhones the company reported selling the previous quarter. Apple reported selling 39.9 million iPhones during fiscal 2010. If Verizon gets the nod to sell the handset next year, Apple could sell 54 million phones during fiscal 2011, according to the analyst.
[Fortune]