The elusive white iPhone 4.

While the wait persists for an iPhone 5, a new report says the much-delayed white version of the current-generation iPhone 4 will go on sale by the end of the month.

Citing three sources familiar with Apple's plans, Bloomberg reports that the company intends to put the white version of the popular handset up for sale "in the next few weeks" for both AT&T and Verizon Wireless customers.

Bloomberg also said that Apple does not plan to announce a follow-up to the iPhone 4 at the Worldwide Developers Conference slated for early June, adding additional fuel to rumors that Apple is behind on its usual handset release schedule.

Apple promised a white version of the iPhone 4 when it first announced the phone, though the company failed to ship it alongside the black version that's been on sale for the past 10 months. At the time, the company said the alternate color was proving more "challenging to manufacture than we originally expected."

According to Bloomberg's sources, the sizable delay had been attributed, in part, to the white model's paint peeling when it got hot. An analyst report published last month said Apple had changed the film material being used to keep the device laminated, putting the company back on track to ship the phone in April.

When introducing the iPad 2 early last month, Apple CEO Steve Jobs made it a point that the iPad 2 would ship in both black and white from day one. The company delivered on that promise. Days later, Phil Schiller, Apple's vice president of worldwide product marketing, posted a note on Twitter saying the white iPhone 4 would be available this spring.

Apple broke its own record in its last fiscal quarter, selling 16.2 million iPhones. The company announces its second fiscal quarter earnings next Wednesday, with some analysts predicting it's sold an even higher number during that time.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Bloomberg report.