Lack of iPhone 4: Apple's pleasant problem that hurts nevertheless

I know many electronics vendors would love trading places with Apple right now. After all, who would not want this scenario: thousands of consumers lining up at your retail outlets, eagerly awaiting their turn for the chance to part with their hard-earned money in order to lay their hands on your latest product.

Hell, I know several people who would sell their own mothers for the remotest opportunity to land in the vicinity of that scenario.

For Apple, this scenario has become part and parcel of most of the last few product launches the Cupertino company has had. From the market launch of the original iPhone and iPod, consumer demand has always had outpaced the company's ability to manufacture the bestselling products.

Apple has sold more than 3 million of the iPhone 4 barely a month after launching the latest-generation smartphone in the U.S. and several other top markets. Two weeks ago, the company expanded international sales to about 17 countries.

Now, some industry analysts are having doubts about the wisdom of that sales-expansion move. After all, why would a company, which can still barely satisfy demand in existing markets, ever decide to make its product available in other territories?

Take the case of Swisscom, Switzerland's largest telco. The company has met only 10 percent of the demand for Apple's smart phone since the July launch of the iPhone 4 in the country. Many customers were frustrated, including those who waited in line outside retail outlets for hours.

While this shows the extreme popularity of the iPhone 4, it can also drive frustrated consumers into settling with any of the Android-flavored smart phones in the market right now, or even with the latest BlackBerry phones.