Leaked Vodafone, Best Buy screenshots point to white iPhone 4s, 'soon'

A leaked screenshot from an unnamed source points to a possible white iPhone launch as early as February 27. The information, reportedly from a Best Buy inventory database, shows SKUs and model numbers identical to those Best Buy previously used when it was taking pre-orders for the white iPhone 4 prior to last summer's launch. Those orders were canceled when Apple delayed the white version.

AppleInsider received the screen shot on Monday, one day after Engadget spied a white iPhone 4 in the inventory system of Vodafone Germany. In that case, the only date given for a launch was "soon".

It's possible the screenshot from Best Buy is a computer glitch, since the info may still have been in its database. Or, they two companies could be preparing for the Spring, which is the last "date" Apple publicly gave for the white version.

In October, Apple publicly announced a delay of the white iPhone 4 until the Spring. Some have theorized that, since the iPhone's next annual refresh would be only 3 months or so after a Spring launch of a model, Apple simply delay the white iPhone into extinction.

The delay has been so long that cottage industries have arisen to fill the need for white iPhone 4s. We'll see if it ever emerges, or if we just have to wait for the iPhone 5, soon enough.