Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), worried about iPhone supply issues during the holidays, is restricting sales of the handset to two per customer. Also, no cash, only credit cards. Apple wants to know who you are and keep track of whether you are reselling those phones on the internet to make a quick buck."Customer response to the iPhone has been off the charts, and limiting iPhone sales to two per customer helps us ensure that there are enough iPhones for people who are shopping for themselves or buying a gift," an Apple executive told The Wall Street Journal (registration required). Although the company does not mention it, the move may keep people from buying large numbers of the phones and "unlocking" them so that they can work off the AT&T (NYSE: T) cellular network. AT&T has the exclusive contract to supply a national wireless network for the phone. Every time one is "unlocked" it can be used on competing systems.
Who knows? AT&T may have gone to Apple and made it clear that any program that allows iPhones to be distributed unlocked undercuts that partnership between the two companies. No one outside the companies can tell how much leverage AT&T has.One thing is certain. If consumers what to send iPhones to all of their friends for Christmas, there is going to be a problem.

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