POTENTIAL BUYERS of the Apple iPhone are being told they could have to wait until December to get hold of the much-coveted device.

Both O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores have repeatedly sold out of stock since the 3G version of Apple's touchscreen mobile phone was launched simultaneously in 21 countries on July 11th.

The iPhone can only be purchased in Ireland through O2 or Carphone Warehouse shops - or from O2's website.

People looking for phones are now turning to various internet forums to complain about the lack of availability.

O2's own online forum (www.forums.o2online.ie) has a 75-page discussion, now closed, with potential buyers sharing information about where iPhones might be available.

Many online posters were angry that while O2 was adding names to a waiting list, people who happened to be in a shop when deliveries arrived were sold one straight away.

O2 has a post on the forum which it updates when new stock becomes available.

This post has not actually been updated for two weeks - since September 17th.

At that time, a poster called Mary, who is described as an "O2 guide" said, "We are currently out of stock of the iPhone 3G and, at the moment, have no next available date that we can give you.

"As always, once we have any further information we will update this thread again."

Last night a spokesman for O2 told The Irish Times: "As a matter of priority, we are currently in the process of trying to clear any remaining backlog of demand for the device as quickly as possible."

It is understood that the company hopes to have this backlog cleared within weeks.

When asked if demand had exceeded O2's initial sales projections, he said, "O2 is still seeing strong demand for the iPhone."

Pat Phelan, a blogger on telecoms and founder of Cubic Telecom, said the shortage in Ireland is "completely unique".

"I could walk into a shop in London, Paris or Palo Alto in the morning and pick you up one," said Phelan.

"In fact, I bought one in the US last week with no problems."

It emerged recently that O2 had reviewed its upgrade policy which meant that many customers who were due to get a new subsidised handset had to wait for an even longer period.

However, this policy has now been partly reversed.

The spokesman said last night that this policy had been reviewed again and the eligibility criteria reduced, making it easier for customers to get an upgrade.