Various reports reaching us indicate that at least in the U.S. there seems to be somewhat of an iPhone shortage. This is not to say that you can’t get one if you really want one, but it is more attributable to the shrinking of ‘on hand’ inventories of iPhones.

While some have suggested that Apple might be having some sort of a supply/demand issue or maybe even availability issues with a particular component that goes into making the iPhone, we suspect that this is more of a smoke and mirrors cover story to make sure that those considering an iPhone purchase will continue to wait.

What would potential buyers be waiting for? Well, it would seem that at least some sources think that a 3G version of the iPhone is on the horizon, and maybe even a new 32GB upgrade as well, since Apple is already doing 32GB versions of the iPod Touch. Of course, Apple will also be releasing the 2.0 version of the iPhone software at some point in June, and this was announced back in March.

So, it would seem that an inventory management tactic is at play so that Apple can ensure it does not wind up with a bunch of old iPhones it has to sell at a discount in order to move them. As is normal with each generation of a new Apple product, we can expect this 3G version of the iPhone to be sexier and offer something more. In the meantime, we can only wait and see until an announcement is made.

It seems that we are not the only ones that think something is afoot. Read more here.