Suppliers to Apple Inc have begun production of white iPhones after a delay of almost 10 months, pointing to a launch date of within a month, two people familiar with the situation said Thursday.

White Apple iPhones to be in shops soon

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, flagship of Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group, would assemble the iPhone, said one of the people, who declined to be named.

Apple Senior Vice-President of Marketing Phil Schiller first said in a Twitter post in March that the white iPhone would be available for sale by Spring, which ends in May in the northern hemisphere.

The white iPhone would be available from AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc by the end of April, Bloomberg News reported on its website. Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs first unveiled the white version of the smartphone when the iPhone 4 was launched in June last year, but it has been delayed because of a manufacturing issue that the company has not elaborated on.

Many telecommunications operators have been eager to sell the iPhone, hoping that the feature-jammed device will help boost data network use and increase revenue. For example, China Mobile has been in talks with Apple for more than a year on distribution rights for the handset.