Apple's latest iPhone sells out before launch

Apple and its exclusive US carrier, AT&T, said Monday that pre-orders of the phone had sold out, and that customers could face a wait of a week or two after launch day on Friday to get their coveted gizmos.

Apple's latest edition of the iPhone is matching the popularity of its predecessors.

The company, and its exclusive US carrier, AT&T, said Monday that pre-orders of the phone had sold out, and that customers could face a wait of a week or two after launch day on Friday to get their coveted gizmos.

Apple announced the launch of the faster, larger capacity and more capable iPhone 3G S June 8 and gave customers the option of pre-ordering them over the Internet.

A 16-gigabyte capacity phone costs $199 with a two-year contract, while the 32GB version costs $299.

Apple and AT&T have not revealed how many pre-ordered iPhone 3G S handsets were sold, and some industry watchers think the companies will have a hard time matching the iPhone 3G's launch, which sold more than a million units in three days when it launched last year.