Eager Customers Snap Up iPhones
News flash: The wait is over.
Hundreds of people who lined up Friday to be among the first to get their hands on Apple Inc.'s coveted iPhone are now going to be the braggarts and guinea pigs for the latest must-have, cutting-edge piece of techno-wizardry.
The doors of Apple and AT&T stores opened promptly at 6 p.m. EDT with cheers from employees and eager customers.
Techies, exhibitionists and luminaries — even the co-founder of Apple and the mayor of Philadelphia — were among the inaugural group of iPhone customers.
Will it have been worth the wait? For many, it didn't seem to matter.
"I just love getting new stuff," said retiree Len Edgerly, who arrived at 3 a.m. Friday to be first in line outside an Apple store in Cambridge, Mass. "It's the best new thing that's come along in a long time. It's beautiful."
Even Steve Wozniak, the ex-partner of Apple CEO Steve Jobs, showed up at a Silicon Valley mall at 4 a.m. aboard his Segway scooter. He helped keep order in the line outside the Apple store at Santa Clara's Valley Fair Mall.
"Look how great the iPod turned out," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "So who wants to miss that revolution? That's why there's all this big hype for the iPhone."
Apple is indeed banking that its new, do-everything phone with a touch-sensitive screen will become its third core business next to its moneymaking iPod music players and Macintosh computers. The gadget goes on sale in the United States at 6 p.m. Friday in each time zone.
Apple's media blitz wasn't without its glitches.
On NBC's "Today" show, co-host Meredith Vieira ran into problems trying to get the iPhone to work, laughing that "this is why gadgets drive me crazy."
With a team of Apple representatives hovering off-screen, Vieira was supposed to receive a call from co-host Matt Lauer in London. The iPhone — billed by Apple as the most user-friendly smart phone ever — displayed the incoming call, but she couldn't answer it.
Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to comment.
In Philadelphia, Mayor John F. Street was among those waiting in line at an AT&T store when he was asked by a 22-year-old passer-by, "How can you sit here with 200 murders in the city already?"
Street told the man: "I'm doing my job."
The mayor then left, telling an aide to hold his spot until he returns later in the day. Earlier, Street said he liked trying new technology and the iPhone would allow him to work outside the office.
"We don't have to be sitting in City Hall to be conducting city business," he said.
At Apple's flagship store in New York, the line snaked around the block as would-be customers brought a dog, an inflatable couch and good spirits, despite little sleep.
"I was too amped up to sleep," said Pablo Defendini, 28, a graphic designer. "Apple has a knack for creating very easy-to-use products. Their touch in the cell phone market is long overdue, I believe."
The gadget, which Apple CEO Steve Jobs has touted as "revolutionary," has been the focus of endless anticipatory chatter and has been parodied on late-night TV. Since its unveiling in January, expectations that it will become yet another blockbuster product for Apple has pushed the company's stock up more than 40 percent.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Hundreds of people who lined up Friday to be among the first to get their hands on Apple Inc.'s coveted iPhone are now going to be the braggarts and guinea pigs for the latest must-have, cutting-edge piece of techno-wizardry.
The doors of Apple and AT&T stores opened promptly at 6 p.m. EDT with cheers from employees and eager customers.
Techies, exhibitionists and luminaries — even the co-founder of Apple and the mayor of Philadelphia — were among the inaugural group of iPhone customers.
Will it have been worth the wait? For many, it didn't seem to matter.
"I just love getting new stuff," said retiree Len Edgerly, who arrived at 3 a.m. Friday to be first in line outside an Apple store in Cambridge, Mass. "It's the best new thing that's come along in a long time. It's beautiful."
Even Steve Wozniak, the ex-partner of Apple CEO Steve Jobs, showed up at a Silicon Valley mall at 4 a.m. aboard his Segway scooter. He helped keep order in the line outside the Apple store at Santa Clara's Valley Fair Mall.
The other customers awarded the honorary first spot in line to Wozniak, who planned to buy two iPhones Friday even though he remains an Apple employee and will get a free one from the company next month. He said the device would redefine cell phone design and use.
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See Cool Features"Look how great the iPod turned out," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "So who wants to miss that revolution? That's why there's all this big hype for the iPhone."
Apple is indeed banking that its new, do-everything phone with a touch-sensitive screen will become its third core business next to its moneymaking iPod music players and Macintosh computers. The gadget goes on sale in the United States at 6 p.m. Friday in each time zone.
Apple's media blitz wasn't without its glitches.
On NBC's "Today" show, co-host Meredith Vieira ran into problems trying to get the iPhone to work, laughing that "this is why gadgets drive me crazy."
With a team of Apple representatives hovering off-screen, Vieira was supposed to receive a call from co-host Matt Lauer in London. The iPhone — billed by Apple as the most user-friendly smart phone ever — displayed the incoming call, but she couldn't answer it.
Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to comment.
In Philadelphia, Mayor John F. Street was among those waiting in line at an AT&T store when he was asked by a 22-year-old passer-by, "How can you sit here with 200 murders in the city already?"
Street told the man: "I'm doing my job."
The mayor then left, telling an aide to hold his spot until he returns later in the day. Earlier, Street said he liked trying new technology and the iPhone would allow him to work outside the office.
"We don't have to be sitting in City Hall to be conducting city business," he said.
At Apple's flagship store in New York, the line snaked around the block as would-be customers brought a dog, an inflatable couch and good spirits, despite little sleep.
"I was too amped up to sleep," said Pablo Defendini, 28, a graphic designer. "Apple has a knack for creating very easy-to-use products. Their touch in the cell phone market is long overdue, I believe."
The gadget, which Apple CEO Steve Jobs has touted as "revolutionary," has been the focus of endless anticipatory chatter and has been parodied on late-night TV. Since its unveiling in January, expectations that it will become yet another blockbuster product for Apple has pushed the company's stock up more than 40 percent.
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I just can't afford one (sigh) so I will get one when I have the cash. I also hope they make it so att is not the only carrier. I like my carrier now and wouldn't want to switch.
Wow!! Americans really are entrepreneurial. lol!!
"Let's see! Do I want this phone badly enough to pay three times the cost, or can I wait until the stores restock and pay regular price?"
If this expensive to purchase and expensive to maintain toy is cutting into your savings for retirement, I'd rethink the purchase.
Dam, you'd think this was like the second coming of Christ. Ok you fools, and you know who you are....get down on your knees and let's hear it...."My new iPhone is my God"
Posted by Rafterman1
Maybe this explains what's wrong with the current batch of humans.
I've read in several articles today that many AT&T customers have noticed an abrupt increase in the speed of their EDGE data network. Maybe that's what ATT's recent network spending was all about. Maybe the data speeds won't be as bad as some have expected. I think it's really cool the way the iPhone just silently slips out of EDGE and onto a wi-fi network whenever you're within range of one, where wi-fi speeds are on par with typical DSL speeds.