Apple Delays White iPhone (Again) To 2011Apple Delays White iPhone (Again) To 2011

When the iPhone 4 went on sale in June (only in black), Apple said that the white version would be available by the end of July. In late July, Apple announced a delay of the white iPhone 4, saying that it wouldn't be available until "later this year." Now, Apple has delayed the white iPhone until "spring 2011."

Speaking to Reuters, Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller said, "We're sorry to disappoint customers waiting for the white iPhone again." She went on to indicate that the device won't be available until some unspecified time during the spring of 2011.

Speculation for the reason behind the delays has been rampant. The first delay was announced just after the widely publicized "antennagate" press conference. At the time, many surmised that Apple was delaying the white iPhone so that Apple might have a chance to remedy the iPhone 4's signal attenuation issue.

Others believed that Apple has having a hard time manufacturing the white iPhone, with problems such as color-matching issues rising up. In fact, when the delay was first announced by Apple in July, the company said, "White models of Apple's new iPhone 4 have continued to be more challenging to manufacture than we originally expected, and as a result they will not be available until later this year."

This time around, Apple declined to provide a reason for the long delay of the white iPhone.

At this point, we're left to wonder if Apple will bother bringing a white version of the iPhone 4 to market. Given the typical June launch of new iPhones, why would Apple bother to launch a white version of what will then be a nearly year-old phone? Perhaps Apple is skipping the white iPhone 4 altogether, and will simply debut a white version of the iPhone 5 at the same time as the black version.

It's also worth considering that if and when a Verizon-compatible version of the iPhone is brought to market -- which many expect to happen in early 2011 -- Verizon will score a white iPhone.

At this point, anything is possible.