Apple Inc announced the white iPhone 4 would hit the shelves on Thursday in 28 countries and regions including the Chinese mainland, Sina.com reported.

Apple.com.cn claimed Thursday that the product is now available. But the website offers only the black iPhone4 on its online store, and the online store hotline said it does not have white ones. Apple.com on Thursday morning Beijing Time (Wednesday night in the United States) still showed the products will be "available tomorrow".

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Apple Inc said the white iPhone 4 will be available at $199 (16 gigabytes) and $299 (32 GB) with a two-year contract with AT&T or Verizon.

The company also said the iPad 2 with Wi-Fi would also be available Thursday in Japan. It will hit stores Friday in eight countries and regions including Hong Kong, but Apple.com.cn reported the Chinese mainland will see the product on May 6.

The Wi-Fi iPad 2 with 16 gigabytes of storage starts from $499 in the US, and the product with 3G capability starts from $629