Let the games begin...or should we say let them continue! The marathon of 3G iPhone launches continues here as we can't help but spread the joy of finally getting a shiny new 3G iPhone to call your own. Although lines developed in areas as early as a week ago for the sake of breaking some self imposed "standing in line" record, those early long lines were few and far between. Only a handful of AT&T stores and malls with Apple stores had lines last night in stark contrast to last years launch where the lines stretched around blocks and through the malls for days before launch. Most lines began early this morning a couple hours before the 8am bewitching hour in respective cities, with the West Coast stores last on tap to open at 11am eastern. According to sources out on the streets, it has been taking about 18-22 minutes average to walk in and walk out with an iPhone 3G--that's AFTER you've waited your turn in line. Some stores are reporting to have had lines of 100-200 people or more at opening. Given Apple's track record, they should be able to serve 20-30 customers at a time with their nifty hand held checkout kiosks which were recently updated to interface with AT&T's credit/account check system to make sure you have the collateral (credit?) to support your purchase. Of cours barring any checkout system issues or delays (yeah right!), thing should go smoothly. Problem is, some stores are already reporting shortages with some already out of stock, especially AT&T stores. Supposedly the AT&T stores received three separate shipments, one marked for sale today, one marked specifically for sale tomorrow, and one marked for Sunday, and the stores are NOT allowed to sell Saturdays or Sundays earlier than designated to spread out the madness despite probably having to turn away customers today where the demand will probably be the strongest!! Other than that for now, the Apple MobileMe (formally .Mac) website/portal is FINALLY up and running at the moment (after more than a 24 hours of downtime following its launch) and it looks good-we will report extensively on MobileMe once we've had a chance to put it through its paces. In the meantime, sit back, relax, and enjoy the that air conditioned spot you're in now--and think of all those poor clueless souls waiting in line in 85-100 degree heat waiting for a chance to get their hands on a 3G iPhone they probably could walk in and buy without delay later this afternoon. Shortage? Forgetaboutit!!!
