Apple

So I admit it: I bought an iPhone.

That was the easy part. I should have realized that if the customer service whizzes at AT&T could find a way to mar what was otherwise a perfectly pleasant experience, they would. After nearly nine hours over 36 hours, AT&T has yet to activate my iPhone, and it can't be used until they get around to it, hopefully sometime before 2010.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Earlier on Friday, I had taken photographs of the throngs gathered outside the San Francisco Apple store at 6 … Read more

Barely a few hours into the launch of the Apple iPhone, and already a few very brave souls have torn apart the $600 phone to reveal its precious innards to all. Both the folks over at Think Secret and iFixit have taken apart the phone, but only the iFixit guys managed to open up the logic board without ruining it (oops!). Judging from their gratuitous shots of the iPhone getting ripped apart, it looks like disassembling the phone was quite a difficult task. From what I can see, it looks like the battery is huge, there are about 16 screws … Read more

The coronation of the heralded iPhone in America's tech/geek capital began 10 minutes before 6 p.m. as the downtown San Francisco Apple store shed its temporary window drapings to the roar of the waiting hordes.

Oversize iPhones in the windows counted down the minutes as Apple employees began a bizarre ritual. Half of the black-shirted workers formed a receiving line while the other half jogged through the front door to high fives and cheers.

As the countdown clocks in the windows hit zero, employees managed to push back the crush of onlookers and reporters, and the first … Read more

It's officially happy hour in San Francisco, and as busy commuters make their way home through the Stockton Street area, hundreds are lined up for Apple's iPhone.

The line at the Apple store has now moved around the block and over onto Powell Street, while the lines at the AT&T stores are building as well. There are hundreds in line at the Apple store, while there are about 50 people in line at the AT&T store at Fremont and Market, with about 75 in line at the store a few blocks away at Third … Read more

WASHINGTON--In a city where line-standing at Capitol Hill events is an occupation unto itself, I was halfway expecting to see hordes of seasoned lackeys holding spots for high-powered lobbyists during my Friday afternoon circuit of AT&T stores boasting the iPhone.

But alas, instead of the usual guys in bike messenger garb holding up cardboard signs bearing their clients' handwritten names, I found relatively short lines of mostly earnest Applephiles, many still donning their buttoned-up office attire and ID card lanyards (among those I spotted: U.S. Department of State, DC government). Many of those who actually agreed to … Read more

WOOHOOOOO! Rich DeMuro and Wilson Tang got iPhones and brought them back to the office and I got to play with...the box. I now present to you the ultra-exclusive, behind-the-scenes, iPhone Pre-Unboxing Video from CNET.

One of the things talked about most in the aftermath of the iPhone's New York debut was how streamlined the launch was. A gauntlet of Apple store employees kept everyone in a single file, and upon entering the Apple store customers were ushered directly to the checkout line where they received (and paid for) their iPhones. The press, however, was not so calm--seriously, I felt like I was taping something that would wind up on TMZ or Perez Hilton.

At last count, there was no shortage of iPhones, and many of the people who happened to walk into line … Read more

As planned, Apple shuttered its flagship San Francisco Apple store at 2 p.m. today to prep for tonight's first iPhone sales.

Apple employees gawked back at the gawkers outside the store on Stockton Street in downtown San Francisco. A constant stream of curious passersby snapped camera-phone shots, local news cameramen hovered, and independent video bloggers galore were on hand for the closing of the Apple store curtains before they'll be raised again this evening for the first iPhone sales in the Pacific time zone.

New Yorkers got their phones earlier this afternoon, and News.com reporter Caroline … Read more

The first New Yorkers have their iPhones, showing off the sleek black packages to a massive crowd of paparazzi-esque press (really, we're animals), Apple Store employees, and a large number of spectators. Yes, spectators. Stadium-style. Yes, David Pogue is still hanging around, taping the scene with a personal camcorder but largely avoiding the sweaty press mobs. No, there is no sign of Steve Jobs, Bono, John Mayer, or any other celebrities associated with Apple.

There is not yet any word on shortages or the lack thereof. It's 6:26 PM and they are still letting people in, so … Read more