Will O2 satisfy business iPhone customers?

O2 has experienced a lot of demand for the soon to be released 3G iPhone

Businesses looking forward to adopting the new 3G Apple iPhones may have something of a wait on their hands as two of the UK's main retailers have admitted to stock shortages, despite only so far taking pre-orders for the devices.

O2's pre-order system crashed on the first day it went live, and now a note on the mobile firm's web site says, "Due to huge demand for the iPhone 3G, we're currently out of stock online. Come back on 10 July for more information." The Carphone Warehouse's site echoes this, with its own message explaining that due to huge demand visitors should revisit the site on 11 July. 11 July is the official UK release date.

According to O2, demand has far exceeded that for the original iPhone. “We’ve never seen any mobile device create the excitement and demand of the iPhone 3G,” said Ronan Dunne, chief executive for O2 in the UK. “We want to ensure that everyone who wants an iPhone 3G can get one so we’ll be working with Apple to continually replenish our supplies throughout the summer.”

The firm said that businesses can start placing orders for the phone now, but will only be advised of delivery timings once the order has been placed.