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iPhone 4S carrier preorders sold out in U.S.? Not so fast

A new report is claiming that carriers have sold out of the iPhone 4S, but you can still buy one. You just won't get it until after the launch.

Josh Lowensohn Former Senior Writer
Josh Lowensohn joined CNET in 2006 and now covers Apple. Before that, Josh wrote about everything from new Web start-ups, to remote-controlled robots that watch your house. Prior to joining CNET, Josh covered breaking video game news, as well as reviewing game software. His current console favorite is the Xbox 360.
Josh Lowensohn
2 min read
Sprint's site this morning.
Sprint's site this morning. CNET

One day before Apple's iPhone 4S goes on sale, a new report claims U.S. carriers have sold out of preorders.

Bloomberg today points to AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint's online stores as being "sold out," yet only mentions Verizon and Sprint as listing "no immediate stock" of the entry-level 16GB model.

A quick check on the carrier sites tells a different story: people can still pre-order most models of Apple's new iPhone, but there's no longer the guarantee they'll get it by tomorrow, something that's been the case for most of this week.

Here's how it currently works, by carrier, when trying to buy the device as a non-business customer:

AT&T: All models for sale with the note "You can expect your device to ship within 21 to 28 days."

Sprint: 16GB listed as "sold out" and 32GB and 64GB models come with a note that "We'll do our best to get a new iPhone in your hands in 3 to 8 business days."

Verizon: All models "deliver by 10/28/2011"

The iPhone 4S went up for preorder last Friday, just after midnight, a process that let users purchase an iPhone for delivery on, or shortly after the iPhone 4S's release date.

Apple itself ran through release-day preorders after less than a day of offering it for sale, later pushing back new orders of the phone to one to two weeks. Verizon and AT&T took similar paths, letting buyers continue to preorder after initial release-day preorder stock ran dry. By comparison, Sprint stopped taking orders of the 16GB model after running out of its preorder allotmentearlier this week.

Carrier and Apple retail stores are also not the only places to preorder Apple's upcoming phone. Best Buy and Target will also be offering the new handset, alongside Sam's Club and RadioShack.

The iPhone 4S goes on sale in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the U.K at 8 a.m. local time tomorrow morning. Earlier this week Apple said it sold more than 1 million preorders for the device within the first 24 hours of it going up for sale, the most preorders the company had ever received for a product.