Our tale begins with the game plan of trying to figure out how to get one of them shiny new iPhone 3Gs, which launched today around the world (see video). The "traditional" route of getting a device (going through Apple PR) was scratched off the list -- we don't even bother contacting them any more, as those requests get sucked into a black hole, never to be heard from again.
Plan B: Head out on launch day with three different people (Jonathan, Kevin and me) at three different locations. We figured our best bet was with the AT&T stores, as the Apple Stores in New England would probably be jammed with longer lines.
Jonathan's tale: Strike One. Even with a bad back, our brave iPhone hunter went to an AT&T store in Cambridge, Mass., at 6:45 a.m., and was #25 in line. The store had received only 10 8GB models (there were no 16GB models, but supposedly those were coming in). After standing in line for about 30 minutes, he was approached by an AT&T staffer, who said that he could pay for one now and receive it in about seven to 10 days. Jonathan left the store without an iPhone.
Keith's tale: Strike two. With two kids, it was tougher for Keith to wake up early, so he didn't end up at the Millbury, Mass., AT&T store until 8:45 a.m., to see a line of people already outside the store. The store had quickly sold out of its 10 8GB models, but another 20 16GB models were due to arrive via the Fed Ex truck later that morning. Other "word on the street" reports came in that Fed Ex had messed up the entire New England iPhone shipments, and Apple had to ration whatever devices that made it through.
Unfortunately for Keith, there were already 23 people in line for the 20 models that were arriving. The extra three people were hoping that some of the people in front would not buy their models, as there were 10 white models and 10 black models, and some people didn't want to buy the white models (we heard this from other adventurers as well). For those people behind those 23 people (Keith was among them), they were doing "direct fulfillment", which is the "pay now, and receive the device later" – what a great deal for AT&T, they get $300 for a free week. One staffer says that the devices would arrive "sometime next week", and another one says "within seven to 10 days". Keith chose this option, so we'll see how long that takes. As he leaves, he asks when the first guy to show up at the store arrived, and the guy says "Midnight", and he wants a 16GB version, so he was still waiting.
Kevin's tale: A hit! Kevin goes to the Manchester, Conn., store and arrives at 5:50 a.m. and is #20 in line. He grabs the last black 16GB version, infuriating a lot of people who are behind him. He doesn't get into the store until 8:45 a.m., and then it takes a long time for the phone to get activated. He arrives at the office at about 10:45 a.m., and then tries to synch the iPhone with iTunes (so he can transfer his music over to the new device), and discovers that the iTunes Store has crashed. But at least he has the device.
Any other adventurers out there who either secured a device or struck out? Add to the tale by hitting the "leave a comment" link.
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iPhone
I stood in a thunderstorm at 4am to get my hands on the 16GB white iPhone. I was successful in obtaining the phone, but the activation is hell. I've been refreshing the iTunes store all morning. As of 11:36 CST, the store is still down and I'm not able to activate. I called the local Apple store to ask if they had any advice. The associate told me, "Dude, just wait it out. No one is able to activate their phone.". That doesn't sound good. Way to drop the ball Apple. I'll be refreshing all day. Seeing how I'm phoneless, not much work will be getting done anyway.
I went to the AT&T Store in
I went to the AT&T Store in San Leandro, I got there at around 7:15am. I was #55 in line, but people joined the people in front of me. Anyways, the store had 60 iPhones, but I didn't get one. Everybody that didn't get one was told their options of either coming back tomorrow or order one that will only arrive in a week.
This morning I found an ATT
This morning I found an ATT store and a Bureau-of-Motor-Vehicles within a mile of each other in Saint Charles, MO.
I left the house at 8AM toward the ATT store. While on the road nearly every radio DJ was talking about the iPhone. That is sad. One could even say it is sadder the I was correcting all the incorrect details they were broadcasting. But they did say something of note - ATT nationwide infrastructure crapped out. ATT was no longer able to activate phones in-store. Seeing how the afore mentioned DJs were saying this from a Text-Message from their cousins in Florida - I just kept driving.
I showed up at the ATT store. It was dark. The open light was off. A woeful looking young gentleman came out to tell me the store has moved. He had no info about the state of infrastructure or stock. I drove to the next exit watching the gas dip below E (this extra stop was not in my calculations). The moved ATT store had a relatively short line. Great! They were out of stock and their systems were down. People were still in line to order a phone that will show up in a week. Crazy!
I drove back to the old ATT store. My directions to the BMV were from that store. I informed the young about the state of things. Luckily I had my wife's iPhone. I got lost in the 1.5 miles between the store and BMV. The iPhone showed me the way!
Given the luck so far I just imagined I would be turned away at the BMV over some bureaucratic i not dotted. This BMV must be visiting from an alternative universe. Bright. Clean. Long but quick lines. Friendly peppy service with smiles. My new license has a new picture of a guy needing a haircut - just like the previous.
Since I was on the road I decided to try The Apple Store. I got there at 10:30ish. The line was beyond huge. I queued up at the end and started talking to my neighbors. One lady was in this insane line and she didn't even know what the iPhone did besides make calls and play music. The guy immediately behind me drove hours to be in that line and proceeded to argue with his girlfriend on the phone because she just signed up on some other contract - essentially wasting his trip.
Apple Store reps were continually scanning the line making certain everybody was ready, reassuring there was enough stock, and handing out coffee.
Another guy, who my money is on being the "Juno's Dad" actor, and I were talking about abandoning ship. He saved my place in line while I took some pictures of the line. A not about talking pictures in a mall; they don't like that. A friendly older security guard asked me to stop while rambling on about nine-eleven. I finished taking my pictures when he turned away.
We moved 1.5 pillar distances in 30 minutes. Given the people density increases and number of pillars left we calculated 5 more hours. We walked away. The lady and frustrated boyfriend remained. I'll call tonight. Likely they will have stock and no line - just like when we purchased my wife's a year ago.
iPhone Activation Woes
My roommate and I showed up outside of a one week old AT&T store on Broadway in New York City this morning at 5:30 and discovered that there wasn't a soul in line. (We had previously scoped out the area, and after seeing the long lines already being formed outside of the SoHo Apple Store, the 14th Street Apple Store, and I won't even mention how long the lines were at the "flagship" fifth avenue store. So we went to breakfast at a 24 hour diner. When we returned to the AT&T store at around 6:00, there were already 10 people in line.
While we were waiting for the store to open at 8:00, the line grew to around 50 people or so. They opened the doors, and at 8:20 or so enough people's phones had been activated that we were able to enter the store. (My roommate entered only a few minutes before I did, which later proved to be a big hassle for me). After quite a long wait, my roommate's phone was finally FULLY activated (including iTunes) around 9:00 or so.
My phone, on the other hand, was having considerable problems even with AT&T's activation. At 9:15am, their systems were still continually crashing, and they were on the phone with their own AT&T representatives who were frantically trying to resolve their activation issues. At 9:40, the manager finally decided to try replacing the SIM card, which finally solved the problem a good 20 minutes later. Then, the iTunes activation process began. Unfortunately, iTunes had "crashed" at this point, and all of the phones waiting to be activated in the store were returned to their owners and we were told that we could either a) wait to have them activated in the store, or b) go home and plug them into iTunes ourselves, or c) come back to the store later in the day to have them activated.
I'm now sitting at work (yes, I was late to work because of this) with the phone plugged into the wall, waiting to go home and finally go through the final steps for activation. Luckily I was able to maintain a positive attitude throughout the process, but unfortunately I can't say the same for the others in the store at the time.
It's the first day a product is released, people! There are bound to be bugs. Give them a few hours to sort things out!
AT&T has acknowledged my order
I just got an e-mail from AT&T (oddly, the e-mail address is ) that says my iPhone has "officially" been ordered. It gives me a link that lets me know what the status of the order is, but of course it only says "In progress" right now, and even lets you know that orders placed within the last 24 hours probably won't show up anyway. This should be interesting once it starts to ship at some point.
But at least it's nice that AT&T cares (or Cingular, at least). iCare - how quaint!
Got mine in NYC..
Was #2 in line - the trick is finding the right store (read: NOT Apple) and in a location not well publicized.
I wrote about the whole ordeal - it wasn't pretty.
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