As I’m sure you know by now, the iPhone has arrived to much fanfare.  Across the nation, people are gathered in lines waiting for access to their newly beloved devices, while a fortunate few already have them and are discovering the joy of their new phone, music and Internet toy.  Being a resident of Modesto, I decided to cover the launch from an AT&T store on Sisk Road here in town.

Explaining the rules

The rules for the launch were thus:  AT&T stores (and probably Apple stores) would close at 4:00 pm in preparation for the launch.  Sometime within the next 2 hours, a delivery truck would stop by and unload the desired treasures.  At 6:00 pm sharp, the first 12 buyers in line, plus their immediate parties, would be allowed into the store (12 representatives helping 12 customers at a time), and as one customer left, another would be allowed in.  Otherwise, everyone had to wait outside, whether or not in line, and could not enter the store until the last customer in line had been helped.  I opted to leave before they got to the last customer, or I would have needed a much more powerful flash on my camera.

First!

The first people in line were a young man named Dave Bright, about my age, and his girlfriend.  I spoke briefly with Dave, asking him about his upcoming purchase.  He indicated he was definitely looking forward to receiving his iPhone, and that he didn’t have any apprehensions about its featureset.  In a twist of fate, Dave and his girlfriend did not leave the store, iPhone in hand, until 45 minutes after they had entered due to problems with their point-of-sales workstation.

Proud owner of
a brand new iPhone

Mark Silva was another young man who agreed to show his iPhone to me and the reporters from the Modesto Bee.  He explained that he had been waiting in line since approximately 8:15 in the morning, and he was one of the first purchasers.  He was excited, a little nervous, and quite relieved to finally have the coveted device, and most likely eager to go home and activate it.  He held his new toy out for pictures, and while I could not get a great look at it, I did manage to get some pictures, which will be up later tonight.

The main event

Unfortunately, it was not actually possible for anybody to turn their iPhones on and give a demo.  By Apple’s design, customers must take the phones home and activate them through iTunes; in-store activation was not being offered at this time.  I shall be returning tomorrow to play with a demo unit, and I will write about my experiences using the device and try to get reactions from other customers.