White iPhone Takes Another Hit

Last week, we reported that the white iPhone has been delayed until Spring, and along the way linked to a couple stories with possible reasons why. One of the more outlandish-sounding ideas was that Apple was killing the white iPhone entirely and just waiting for the iPhone 5, but suddenly that idea doesn't seem so crazy.

Last week, Apple pulled the white iPhone 4 from its online store, basically removing any possibility that it will be available for pre-order or sale anytime in the near future. The device hasn't been wiped totally out of existence though, as Apple's iPhone gallery still touts pics of the enigmatic phone alongside other, existent products.

So what are we to make of all this then? From the order of events (Apple posting the phone in the store, announcing the delay and then pulling it entirely), we're led to believe that the company had every intention of releasing the device for the holidays, but had to pull the plug at the last minute due to undisclosed reasons. We assume the issues are technical in nature, as there have been all sorts of rumors about the iPhone having trouble with pictures, lighting and so forth due to the lighter casing. The actions of the company this week seem to to be the result of slamming the brakes on a locomotive running at full steam; at this point Apple's just hoping the whole train doesn't derail.

While a Spring release is still the company's official line, the idea that the phone may ever come out is looking less and less likely. If the iPhone 5 arrives around June as expected would Apple even bother to release a soon-to-be-outdated iPhone 4 model, or will they just cut their losses and move on to the next generation? We believe that if the snags that have held up the device don't clear up soon then it will definitely be the latter.

[via TiPb]