iPhone is here.

I work in Berkeley, CA, so I decided to stop by the AT&T store on Shattuck Avenue to catch a glimpse of the crowds awaiting the iPhone. I arrived about 50 minutes before the doors opened and the line was about half a block long--reasonably long, but not amazing (not surprising, considering there is an Apple Store a 15-minute drive away). I was greeted by my friend Andrew, who at that point had been waiting in line for about a half hour. When I arrived he was about 15 people from the end of the line, which seemed ti indicate that the line had been gradually growing for most of the day. Unlike iPhone lines in New York, the Berkeley line was fairly young--the first man in line had been waiting since only this morning. He came well-prepared with a lawn chair, of course.

Some people waiting had their laptops, and as you might have guessed, they were all Macs.

As 6 PM approached, another crowd of people gathered around the front of the store. You guessed it--onlookers! With cameras! I never knew watching a line of people was such a spectator sport, but I guess it is one. I didn’t feel like quite as much of a loser after that.

Some passers-by knew what was up, others were completely clueless. And still others ridiculed those who were standing in line--and those of us who were watching the scene.

At approximately 6:01 PM, the door opened and those near the front of the line shouted out, “iPhone! iPhone!” Then an AT&T employee stepped out to explain the ground rules (she was hard to hear, but from what I could discern, they were only allowing one customer per sales associate in the store at a time). I had to head home at this point (I already had other plans for this evening), but I did get some photos and video clips, which I will upload later tonight.

I only have one thing to say to all of you who managed to get your hands on an iPhone tonight: LUCKY!

Anyway, be sure to check out our gallery for photos!

UPDATE: Here’s a short video clip of the opening of the AT&T Store. My apologies in advance for the less-than-steady camera work.