White iPhone shipping times grow in Europe

From coming soon, to coming eventually, to arrives tomorrow, to finally here, the white iPhone 4 landed on Thursday with a promising premiere.

Only one day after it became available, wait times for the pale iPhone 4 reached five days in several of Apple's European online stores, including the U.K., Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Ireland. Currently, customers in the U.S. and Canada must wait a slightly more modest 3–5 days before their white iPhone 4s board a delivery vehicle. In contrast, the black iPhone 4 ships within a day or two.

The iPhone 4 in white began shipping in 28 countries on April 28, delayed by about 10 months after the popular black version hit the market. The long delay for the alabaster phone, caused by various technical hurdles, created extra "mystique" and perceived "scarcity value" for the device, according to analyst Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities. The appropriately named White expects the new color to incrementally boost iPhone 4 sales by 1 million to 1.5 million units per quarter.

The sellout crowds in Hong Kong and mainland China and expanding shipping times in Europe and North America certainly support the idea that consumers were holding out for their preferred color of iPhone 4. Did you wait patiently for the vanilla-flavored iPhone 4? Let us know why in the comments below.