Apple has released the long-delayed white model of the iPhone 4, today announcing it was making it available from its website and bricks-and-mortar stores, as well as select resellers from today.
Like the regular iPhone 4, the white model has a recommended retail price of $859 for the 16GB model and $999 for the 32GB model.
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The white iPhone 4 has been repeatedly delayed. Apple said in early July -- after rolling out the iPhone 4 last June -- that a white version would be out later that month, but later that month said it would be available later in 2010, only to delay delivery once more.
The phone is being launched simultaneously in in multiple markets, including Australia, the US, the UK, China, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.
Brian White, an analyst with Ticonderoga Securities, argued in an interview earlier this week that the new handset would provide "a bit of a tailwind" for Apple's sales in the second quarter, particularly in China, where he said "white anything is popular" among consumers.
White estimated that the new iPhone 4 will boost sales of Apple's smartphone by 1 to 1.5 million units per quarter, at least until the next-generation iPhone appears.
Most experts, White included, now believe that Apple will depart from its usual iPhone refresh window of June-July, and debut a new model in September instead.
Additional reporting: Bob Brown, Gregg Keizer.