The wait is over, Apple fans. Finally, the moment you have been waiting for has arrived. No, the iPhone 5 is not out (nor is there a definite release date for it yet). Instead, I’m referring to the white iPhone 4 belatedly hitting our shelves, nearly a year after the black version graced our presence. You’d expect a company of Apple’s size and stature to produce different colored smartphones in next to no time. Think again.

“We appreciate everyone who has waited patiently while we’ve worked to get every detail right,” was how Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, attempted to put a gloss on the lengthy delays, which were due to the color’s effects on internal components.

So has the wait been worth it? The fact that the iPhone 5 could be available as soon as June if online rumors are to be believed will make consumers extremely wary of purchasing yet another iPhone 4. Perhaps the suggestion that Apple will wait until September before unleashing the next-generation iPhone is a little closer to the truth, giving the White iPhone 4 the time it needs to garner some sales.

Either way, what is not in any doubt is that the White iPhone 4 is easy on the eye. Well, that’s if you like white, of course. It also appears to be fractionally thicker than its black counterpart, although the difference is minute, if there is any actual difference at all. This is open to some debate. You’d expect that to be the beginning of a series of minor tweaks here and there, but sadly not.

That’s not to say that changes were needed to the original iPhone 4, because it remains hugely popular and that speaks volumes about the quality of the handset and Apple’s eye for detail. If anything, perhaps I’m guilty of expecting too much of the White iPhone 4. Perhaps I thought the end product would differ 10 months after it should have been launched.

Ten months, it’s worth remembering, is a long time in the mobile phone industry and in that period Apple’s rivals have been filling the marketplace with plenty of healthy competition from the likes of HTC with their HTC Desire HD device & Sony’s Xperia Play mobile/hand-held gaming device. Apple themselves could even undermine the White iPhone 4 if they bring out the iPhone 5 too soon.

Whether or not you should buy one of these smartphones is a question that only you can answer. If you already own an iPhone 4 then is it worth getting the ‘new’ version simply because it’s white? I’m guessing in most cases the answer to that will be a firm “no”, unless money is somehow no object. However, if you fancy getting an iPhone for the first time, at least now there’s a choice of colors. There is, however, the tempting option of hanging fire and waiting for the iPhone 5, which is expected to have a faster processor.