Smartphone shortages hitting this summer

From the hot new iPhone 4 to the HTC Evo 4G and the HTC Droid Incredible, millions of potential consumers are leaving stores empty-handed with nothing more than a promise that they'll get their coveted smartphones in a matter of weeks, if they're lucky.

Customers wanting an Apple iPhone 4 will have to wait about three weeks. HTC Evo phones are sold out indefinitely, and HTC Incredible phones are back-ordered at least a month. As Motorola's Droid X goes on sale this week at Verizon Wireless stores, some people wonder if there could be shortages of that phone as well.

"Smartphones are what people want," said Roger Entner, a senior vice president at Nielsen. "And they want the best and the hottest devices. That's creating a lot more demand in the market."

For more of this story, read The summer of the smartphone shortage on CNET News.