Even as the demand for the 3G iPhone has far outpaced its supply in the US (footprint link), Apple, in its quarterly conference call with financial analysts has announced that it will be launching the 3G iPhone in 20 more countries world-wide on 22nd August. That will make the 3G available in 42 countries globally in a month’s time from now. That is keeping in tally with Apple’s proposed goal of selling 10 million 3Gs, in 70 countries, by the end of 2008.  And they are on track as the statistics suggests – the 1 millionth iPhone has been sold within 3 days of its launch (footprint link). No wonder the Apple COO Tim Cook is all smiles as he declares :

I like what I’m seeing in the production ramp

However, Tim Cook did not specify which 20 countries would be added. And Apple’s iPhone page list does not give any hint either. The “Coming Soon” header there includes African, Asian, Central and South American and European nations.

Meantime, the shortage continues. A report published by the Computerworld says that only about 9% of all of Apple’s stores had any phones to sell at all. Plus, there have been rumors going around that in some states, only single units are available. (Gone, if those reports were even fractionally true).
The responses to these two contradictory trends – promised future availability and present actual unavailability have so far continued along two lines.

1. The users in the iPhonecentral at Macworld.com have come up with basically light-hearted global MNC vs American MNC vein digs at each other. The argument is basically that some people are saying that Apple should be pro-global, while others are wondering why those “others” in other countries should get the iPhone before them.Here is a sample thread.
2. And the analysts have been wondering whether Apple under-anticipated the craze or whether they are  holding back the unit supplies as a marketing strategy

I suppose we’ll find out one of these days. In the meantime, as eager buyers of iPhone 3G, we aren’t too concerned about the Apple marketing strategy. What I’s like to know is:

Which are 20 lucky countries to get the iPhone this time round?
Is Apple actually releasing the 3G iPhone in these countries, or, as in US, only releasing its shortage?