Apple: iPhone 5c, 5s to roll out to more than 50 countries

The latest iPhones are spreading across the world like an epidemic ... of attractive, well-designed consumer electronics. On Wednesday, Apple detailed the next victims of the iPhone plague, laying out the more than 25 countries on which its latest iPhones will soon descend.

Beginning on Friday, October 25, the iPhone 5s and 5c will be available in more than 25 additional countries. Ready? Deep breath! They include: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, French West Indies, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Reunion Island, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and Thailand.

Phew.

Then, in case that wasn't enough, the list of afflicted countries will expand further on Friday, November 1 as the 5s and 5c spread through Albania, Armenia, Bahrain, Colombia, El Salvador, Guam, Guatemala, India, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and UAE.

(Eat your heart out, Yakko Warner.)

Along with those nations in which the phones have already been released, the total number of countries will hit 62, putting Apple well on its way to fulfilling its promise of 100 countries by December.

Of course, here in the U.S. Apple is still having trouble meeting its demand for the iPhone 5s; the high-end iPhone 5s remains in short supply at many Apple Stores. That said, if there's one thing Apple CEO Tim Cook knows, it's supply-chain management, and if the company plans to roll out the iPhone to another 50 countries in the next few weeks, you can bet it's confident about its ability to have phones on hand, though the 5s may continue to be elusive for some time.

Me, I'm just glad that this contagion of iPhones is, ultimately, on our side.