By AppleInsider Staff

Published: 03:00 PM EST (12:00 PM PST)

In Manhattan and searching for an iPhone? You'll reportedly have no luck finding one today. Meanwhile, Apple is just about ready to cut the ribbon on its Cherry Hill retail store; Gartner releases its 2008 PC forecast; Intel debuts low-power Xeons; and new versions of iPod Reset Utility and Apple's PluginManager for pro apps are available.

Manhattan iPhone sellout

Apple's Manhattan-based retail stores and others are having trouble maintaining stock of iPhones.

The Huffingtonpost is reporting that not a single iPhone -- either 8GB or 16GB -- was available for purchase on Tuesday from any of the company's three flagship retail stores on the island.

"Apple Store employees at all three New York locations -- the original SoHo store, the 59th Street location, and the most recent addition, on West 14th Street -- have confirmed that each store is sold out of iPhones, and they don't know when they'll be getting new ones," the paper said.

AT&T retail stores in Manhattan aren't yet feeling the affects of the shortage, though Apple's online store is also reflecting an approximate 1 week delay for all new orders, suggesting that considerable backlog currently exists for whatever reason.

Cherry Hill store grand opening

Meanwhile, this weekend will see New Jersey gain its 10th Apple retail store when the Apple Store Cherry Hill opens to the public on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. EDT.

Located at the Cherry Hill Mall, the shop is just a short drive from the Apple Store Sagemore in Marlton, New Jersey on Route 73 South.

2008 PC forecast

Gartner said Tuesday that worldwide PC shipments are forecast to total 293 million units in 2008, up 10.9 percent from 2007 shipments of 264 million units. However, analysts warned that growth could fall into single digits if global economic headwinds strengthen.

"In many respects, the PC market is fundamentally in good shape. Mobile PCs continue to exhibit strong momentum, emerging-market growth remains robust, and desk-based PC replacement activity is stirring," said George Shiffler, research director at Gartner. "However, a deepening U.S. recession, the rising possibility of a sharp slowdown in China's economy following the Beijing Olympics, and the elevated price of oil mean global PC shipments face increasing economic headwinds."

Worldwide demand for mobile PCs remains one of the key drivers of strong PC market growth, according to Gartner, which added that technology and design improvements have not only lowered the price of mobile PCs but also significantly improved their value proposition relative to desk-based PCs.

The relative value of mobile PCs has also been bolstered by the continued expansion of mobile access, which continues to stimulate strong demand for mobile PCs across both mature and emerging markets. Gartner analysts said mobile PC shipments will gain additional momentum as so-called "affordable" mobile PCs, which address price points once thought impossible for mobile PCs, become more widely available.
 
45nmm Xeons in low-power configs

Intel today used little fanfare to introduce new Xeon 5000-series quad-core processors that promise lower power without the accompanying drop in performance.

The 2.33GHz L5410 and 2.5GHz L5420 are built on the smaller 45 nanometer Penryn architecture that underpins most of Intel's lineup but are tuned to consume much less power than standard Xeons.

At their thermal design limits, both of the new Xeons consume no more than 50 watts, according to the chipmaker. This advancement allows for smaller, more efficient workstations and servers that can still handle heavy-duty tasks.

iPod Reset Utility 1.0.3

Apple on Monday evening released iPod Reset Utility 1.0.3 for both Mac and Windows PCs.

First- and second-generation iPod shuffle owners can use iPod Reset Utility to restore the players back to their factory settings.

PluginManager 1.7.3

On Tuesday evening, Apple released PluginManager 1.7.3 (864KB).

The update is said to improve the reliability of most Apple professional apps, including Aperture, Logic, Final Cut Express, Final Cut Studio, and "related SDKs."

Upgrading requires at least Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.9 or Mac OS X Leopard.