NOT ENOUGH IPHONE 3GS PHONES SENT OVER TO MEET LOCAL DEMAND

       Many customers who booked iPhone 3GS mobile phones will have to wait until the middle of next month because the first shipment from Apple was not enough to go around.
       Papon Ratanachaikanont, assistant to the president and CEO of True Move as well as deputy group chief commercial officer of True Corp, said yesterday that more than 10,000 phones had been pre-ordered but Apple only supplied 3,500 of the latest models in the first lot.
       The first batch will go to those who had specified tomorrow as the delivery date, though those expecting to pick their phones up from Saturday to next Thursday will have to wait for the next lot.
       The new lot is expected to arrive some time next week and should be available from the second week of next month. However, Papon could not say how many 3GS phones would be delivered in the second lot.
       Customers having to wait for the second lot will be receive a free iPhone leather case as a kind of consolation for the delayed delivery.
       There some 3,500 customers waiting to pick up their phones tomorrow and most of them are in Bangkok.
       True Move allowed people to reserve the devices from August 5-24 for a deposit of Bt2,000. The customers could set a date for pick up between August 28 and September 3. The 16-gigabyte 3GS phone costs Bt24,500, while the 32GB model goes for Bt28,500.
       Papon said several other countries, such as Australia, Taiwan and Singapore, have also experienced the same shortage mainly due to the higher-than-expected demand for the 3GS model, which is a newer version of the iPhone 3G phone.
       Those who want to cancel their order and take their Bt2,000 deposit back can do so at all True Move shops from Tuesday onward.
       The supply for local consumers should stabilise next month, Papon said.
       True Move should be able to make the phones available at all its shops nationwide on September 11.
       Papon is not concerned that the supply shortage would have people to rushing to purchase smuggled 3GS phones.
       He said pre-bookings for the 3GS model was three times that of the 3G iPhones early this year.
       True Move is the exclusive authorised cellular service provider for 3G iPhones here and expects sales of the 3GS iPhone model to exceed 50,000 units this year.