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iPhone 3G playing hard to get

A report says that Apple stores in 21 states have sold out of the devices.

Erica Ogg Former Staff writer, CNET News
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur.
Erica Ogg

Updated at 10:04 a.m. PDT to correct the total number of Apple stores there were checked for iPhone availability. The total is 188.

These days, Apple has enlisted a widget to deliver its bad news.

According to a man who checked all 188 Apple stores via the company's iPhone Availability widget, the iPhone 3G is in very short supply, says Fortune's Apple 2.0 blog. In total, it appears the device is sold out in 21 states.

The list of states fresh out of iPhones includes: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin.

The widget is updated every day after 9 p.m. with the current stock of each store.

If you live in one of those states and are able to get a phone from an Apple store there Tuesday, let us know in the comments.

Though AT&T stores nationwide were also carrying the iPhone when it launched Friday, many of them are still sold out of the devices. All three AT&T stores in downtown San Francisco reported that they still don't have any in stock as of 9:30 a.m. PDT Tuesday.

CNET's Josh Lowensohn contributed to this report.