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Apple claims to have sold over 600,000 iPhone 4 units in just over a day. Customers struggled to pre-order yesterday as online systems failed and eligibility verification was inaccessible for hours at a time. The mad rush for the next generation iPhone has resulted in shipping delays and the complete suspension of AT&T Wireless pre-ordering.

Apple now lists the iPhone 4 as "Shipping by July 14," a full three weeks later than the original June 24 release date. Apple retail stores will open on June 24 at 7:00 am across the country, however it's first come first served and if the online demand is any hint, the lines could rival those of the original iPhone.

Well, that didn't take long. Only hours into the iPhone 4 pre-order period, US pre-ordering is down. Whether you're attempting to pre-order through Apple or AT&T, for the time being, you're likely to find yourself unable to complete the process. What's the reason? Overload. As has happened multiple times in the past, either Apple, AT&T or both, underestimated the technical requirements necessary to handle demand for the iPhone.

Many of you who have recently tried the Apple Online Store route have like found yourselves staring at a spinning cursor as the Apple store attempts to contact AT&T to determine your eligibility for an iPhone upgrade, which in turn determines the price that you'll be charged to complete your pre-order. Unfortunately, after what seems an eternity of staring at that spinning cursor, most are met with the message seen above, which apologetically informs you that "Your request couldn’t be processed. We’re sorry, but there was an error processing your request. Please try again later."

Apple officially takes pre-orders for the iPhone 4 tomorrow, June 15. The device will ship on June 24 with iOS 4 and redesigned hardware. Pricing with a two-year AT&T Wireless service contract comes in at $199 for the 16GB model and $299 for 32GB. It's also possible to purchase the iPhone 4 without a contract but this adds $400 to the price.

Pre-ordering will begin tomorrow in four countries, with 18 additional countries following in July. iPhone 4 can be pre-ordered from Apple Stores, Best Buy and Radio Shack. Pre-ordering will also be available online from Apple and AT&T. In addition to these locations, Wal-Mart will carry the iPhone 4 on launch day, June 24.

Forget about Verizon Wireless. The next US carrier to get the iPhone 4 after the exclusive AT&T deal is over could very well be T-Mobile. Rumors of Apple negotiating with Verizon won't go away, however it seems more logical that T-Mobile could be the next step for iPhone.

Analyst Shaw Wu at the investment firm Kaufman Brothers made waves when he said he expects a T-Mobile iPhone 4 to arrive this fall. T-Mobile has compatible network technology and handles a variety of smartphones on its network. In fact, its parent company already has iPhones on networks in Austria, Croatia, Germany and Holland.

Steve Jobs officially showed off the iPhone 4 today at WWDC 2010. He described the iPhone 4 as the "biggest leap" since the iPhone was first released in 2007. Although photos of the new iPhone have been seen already, the design is quite impressive.

Antennas are integrated into the stainless steel frame of the new iPhone and aluminosilicate glass that's 30 times stronger than plastic makes up the front and back surfaces of the device. The iPhone 4 is 24 percent thinner than the iPhone 3GS.