Apple Struggles to Keep Up with iPhone Demand: Enter Blackberry, Sony Ericsson and Nokia

It may be a notion that no one has considered before, but perhaps Apple’s number one competitor is… Apple itself.

iPhone sales have already cut into iPod profit margins, and now the electronics giant has admitted that even it is surprised by the level of demand for the new iPhone 3G S, with demand currently outstripping supply.

Apple CFO, Peter Oppenheimer, said that the company is “currently unable to make enough iPhone 3GSs to meet robust demand, and we’re working to address this”.

This provides a monster chance for other smartphone manufacturers such as Blackberry (RIM), Sony Ericsson and Nokia to step in and capture some of Apple’s marketshare.

These companies will have to make every minute count though, as Apple has made a recent increase in iPhone 3GS production, which is reported to be enough to meet the projected demand.

Apple is due to launch the iPhone 3GS in 20 more countries on 22 August. By the end of the year, Apple intends to to bring its total global saturation point to over 70 countries.

While all of these plans sound like Apple (as usual) has the market under control, the smartphone king needs to make sure that it’s not biting off more than it can chew. Apple can create the hype for a new smartphone, but if it can’t meet supply, someone else will have to.

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