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So, in short, here's the tale: I want an iPhone. Because we're heading over to Tamara & Ken's house for the twins' birthday party I can't stand in line all night. We'll be on the road just as the doors are thrown open at 6 pm. What to do? I IM Dave, a neighbor of theirs, to suggest that we run to a near-by store during the party to see if there are any iPhones left after the initial surge.
He can't, he says. At work, in Livermore. Doesn't want a first-generation iPhone anyway. Okay, I figure. My Saturday is booked; a bas mitzvah in Santa Rosa. I guess I'll head to an Apple Store sometime next week. I mean, it's a consumer item, and there's lots of stock. (I can't imagine that, as rumoured, only a hundred iPhones have been supplied to each store. I'm guessing Steve Jobs wants to jump on the incredible hype that's built since MacWorld last January and will want to satisfy every customer on this opening weekend.)
I bring my PowerBook to the party so I can keep tabs on the racous goings-on at the Apple Stores nationwide. To my surprise, Dave calls. He was driving home, past some mall in Pleasanton, and decided that the line "wasn't so bad", so he's waiting to pick up an iPhone for me!
Hours later, no Dave. I suggest that we call him, to make sure he knows when to bail. Then I see him through the front windows, with a small black bag in hand.
It turns out that he got the iPhones home, unboxed his, realized that his iTunes music hard drive was back at the office, (wait for it) drove back to the office, then back home, started sync'ing photos, music, and contacts. Then, and only then, did he walk over to the party to put me out of my anticipation! That's why his is working and mine is still tethered, getting activated by iTunes.
Buzzkill: AT&T seems to have been caught completely off-guard by six months of non-stop hype. The most anticiptated consumer product launch has their computer systems swamped and crashing (the first a few minutes after the Apple Stores opened on the East Coast). It may be more than 24 hours before they straighten out this mess.
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