iPhone supply running low with AT&T, some Apple Stores

AT&T reported on Saturday that the company had all but depleted the supply of the Apple handsets it had been given for the launch just a day before. The cellphone carrier was unwilling to state just how many of the phones had been sold but noted that "virtually all" of the company-run stores had sold out completely.

Various allegations have been made online, however, that suggested each of AT&T's more than 1800 official stores received relatively few of the devices versus their Apple counterparts, making them more likely to run out from the beginning. Apple has so far declined to say how many units had passed through its doors, and said only that it had seen "a lot of excitement and buzz" at its 162 US shops, according to a company spokeswoman.

Apple supply, in turn, had initially been healthy but was also set to run low over the course of the weekend. The firm's web-based availability tracker initially reported all American stores as having stock on hand by the end of Friday evening but is now showing signs that its own retail branches are feeling the effects of strong initial demand.

California was the hardest hit by the first wave of customers, according to the charts. Outlets in the Los Angeles and San Francisco regions have cleared nearly all of their iPhones, with the Bay Area's stock having reportedly emptied its backrooms particularly quickly.

"The Burlingame Apple Store went through two shipments of iPhones this morning, selling out by 10:30AM," said Scott Beale of art promo house Laughing Squid. "I was able to get there just in time."

Parts of Hawaii and Texas were also reporting iPhone droughts as of Saturday night, while certain major cities such as Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Miami, and Oklahoma City similarly claimed to have exhausted their supplies.