For those of you questioning the intentional shortage business model Apple uses, it works. It creates desire and purchase rush, out of thin air, on a product that is otherwise just the next one.
Yes there are also components in short supply which are ramping, but that will enter supply-demand balance at some point.
By releasing the product when they have enough units to serve the estimated first week or two of sales through all "selected channels", they get enough out there so all leading edge adopters show the units to everyone else. The rest of folks order or not, and simply wait till they can get it first come first served.
The resulting constant shortage condition keeps the product in the news and blogs and provides a sense of popularity, true or not.
Apple products meet the popularity test on a post facto basis, so there is no sense of "false claim".
But the shortage is managed in a sense that they determine the release date based on production capacity and known channel sell-through.
More to the point, it works. They have a negligible marketing cost which they largely shift to the retail build out capital costs, and nearly zero discounting. That all flows right to the bottom line of the balance sheet.
Rocketman
