Apple iPhone 4 flies off the shelf on first day of sales

LOS ANGELES — Hundreds of thousands of customers lined up Thursday at Apple Stores, hoping to nab the elusive new iPhone 4.

By the end of the day, Apple's latest iPhone was all but sold out across the U.S., including Chicago, San Francisco, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., Miami and Charlotte.

Best Buy said it was sold out; RadioShack said it hoped to replenish its stock for the weekend. Wal-Mart said sales were "brisk" and that it is working to get more phones. "They can't get here soon enough," said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien.

In the competitive smartphone market, iPhone 4 set to have biggest launch day

When the latest iPhone goes on sale in retail stores Thursday, many diehard fans won't care: They got theirs in the mail Wednesday.

Others -- including those shut out last week when orders overwhelmed websites for iPhone manufacturer Apple's website -- are expected to stand in lines at Apple stores begining at 7 a.m. to snag the much-hyped iPhone 4 smartphone, priced from $199.

Best Buy and Radio Shack stores also will deliver phones to customers who preordered -- though they won't have enough for walk-in customers. And South Florida Wal-Mart stores said they received few or no phones, even though it was publicized they would be selling them for Thursday's launch.