Apple selling iPhone 3G S at 8 a.m. June 19, AT&T at 7 a.m.

Click the photo for more pics of last year's iPhone launch.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

This post was udpated with information about AT&T store hours at 3:45 p.m. PDT.

Apple offered clarification Wednesday for when exactly the new iPhone 3G S will go on sale.

Though Apple Senior Vice President of Marketing Phil Schiller said during his keynote speech at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference that the phone will first be available in the U.S. and seven other countries on June 19, he didn't offer a specific time. The 3G S will go on sale starting at 8 a.m. (in all time zones) next Friday. We know that many stores will open early that day for the occasion.

AT&T Stores will open even earlier, at 7 a.m., just for those who have pre-ordered an iPhone 3G S from the carrier. Those who haven't will have to wait outside AT&T stores until 8 a.m. with the rest of the public.

As usual, we'll be following iPhone sales in various time zones. Will Apple fans stand in line for the third straight year? We'll find out. In the meantime, click the photo above for a gallery of very committed line standers from the 2008 launch of the iPhone 3G.

[C0mmanderB0nd]

Note to AT&T without tethering and MMS messages until mid summer why would anyone with sense get in line for this crap....

[BogusBasin]

Here here!

[Wi-Fi Man]

because it's better than any of the other crap out there

[MickBurke]

Because they got in line for the iPhone and then again for the iPhone 3g, and then for a laptop that you can't swap the battery out of...

Here they come... Baaahh Baaahhh

[subie09lega]

Apple should be embarrassed that the exclusive US dealer of their latest offering can't manage to support the *basic* capabilities of the phone. Take note for the next time they want to extend the exclusivity deal.

[BogusBasin]

I would be happy with text messaging included in the data plan, tethering included in the data plan, and no restrictions on MMS. Unlimited data is unlimited data. Do that, and I can live with the price the way it is. Don't do that, and I will jump to another network as soon as one is available. But I will never, ever abandon my iPhone. I love this thing!

[Retard-X]

I dunno if you will get as many crowds this year as a lot of us who got iPhone 3G's on launch day still have 6 months left on our contract and can't upgrade yet (Dunno if it work's different for the Americans)

TBH this years upgrade isn't as "Revolutionary" as going from Edge -3G i had an american Edge iPhone unlocked on orange network but as edge is overlooked in this country due to the popularity of 3g edge coverage was crap so i was left wanting faster internet connection on it.
So when apple announced the iPhone 3G i payed off orange and ended my contract early so i could sign up with o2 and get a shiny 3g one and i love it.
However this years iPhone is only a minor upgrade, i can live without video and auto focus as i don't use the camera much and the voice command would just be a gimmick for me to play with.
However i will get one when I'm eligible for my upgrade in December/January and TBH i believe a lot of people will do the same as to upgrade early will cost a fortune and for the minor new features its not worth it.

That just my 2 Pence worth so don't have a go at me please LOL

[Retard-X]

Forgot to mention I'm in the UK

[Eddie-c]

ATTs' 3G coverage in south Silicon Valley is disturbingly pitiful. You'd expect a great deal better from them for this location.

[Retard-X]

@Eddie-c now its the other way round over here 3G signal is good whereas edge is non existent we opted for GPRS - 3G then Edge came as an after thought, i found that most of the time my original iphone was on good old fashioned GPRS and hopped onto EDGE in rural area's

[subslug]

"I dunno if you will get as many crowds this year as a lot of us who got iPhone 3G's on launch day still have 6 months left on our contract and can't upgrade yet (Dunno if it work's different for the Americans)"

Surely AT&Ts not going to let that be a hurdle are they? I'm betting some magic voodoo will happen between now and then so all you folks who just have to have the next one of these can go forth and upgrade.
I mean seriously, despite this miracle phone, both AT&T and Apple's numbers are down so to think they won't spin something just seems ludicrous.

[Retard-X]

@subslug lol i wish i could say the same about o2 in the uk, they have actually increased the prices for us on 18 month contracts, i think its an attempt to lure us onto a 24 month contract

[Retard-X]

iPhone 3G 16GB on £45 A month contract for 18 months the handset cost is £59
iPhone 3GS 16GB on £45 a month contract for 18 months the handset cost is £87

this comes after Apple announced that they were dropping the price of the 16GB - last years 8GB price, and that the 32GB would be the same as last years 16GB

i believe that o2 thinks they can charge what they want as they are the exclusive carrier in the UK. I think Apple should let all networks have it then healthy competition will push down prices and TBH i wouldn't effect Apples profits as UK networks subsidize the cost of the handset hence why we have same nice expensive handsets for cheap/free .

[Sbell42]

Order it online now through the Apple store and have it delivered free on the 19th. Makes a lot more sense than waiting in line and going through the bother of purchase/activation in a busy store.

[kevkarkat]

I have one of the original Iphones and thought about upgrading to the 3Gs...but as I understand it...AT&T now wants to charge me a $30/month data fee to upgrade! One of the original positives about the phone when compared to others (such as Blackberry) was that there was no data fee. I am one of the fortunate few who are eliglible for the upgrade at $199, but I was unaware that now there is an associated data charge. Who can we complain to? I'm not going to upgrade and will look for other options..

[C0mmanderB0nd]

Your previous data plan was cheap/non existent because you were on the Edge network with the first gen iPhone. I believe I was paying $9.99 for data and bumped to $29.99 going 3G

To pay for infrastructure/3G AT&T upped the data plan for iPhone 3G, and is going to up it again if/when they decide to include tethering, some rumors have it going as high as $70 extra with no texting included for "unlimited" data/tethering.

I would not pay extra for the tethering, as I currently have an old Samsung blackjack II I just pop my iphone sim card into if I need to tether. A phone I got from AT&T before the iPhone and they decided unlimited data is fun to sell but a pain to actually build out infrastructure for so they handicap it at every turn until they can charge more for it.

[Eddie-c]

Bond: the data plans are different and tethering is considered data so you may find either it doesn't work or a big bill.

[Dan7637]

ive been paying the $30 data plan so kevkarkat dont complain

and does anyone know if i will be eligible for an upgrade since i bought the iPhone 3G back in August of 08

[SenorFrog]

Per AT&T, I'm not eligible to upgrade to iPhone 3GS without penalty until early next year, which is fine. Plenty of time to see how AT&T implements MMS and tethering. I'm guessing there are a lot of people like me who are only using a pittance of their voice, text and data allowances (assuming 5GB data limit) and would hesitate to pay additional $$$ to AT&T for tethering. Those few times (1-2 times per year) where I need to get online and do something with a computer without WiFi or ethernet access, shouldn't cost me anything to tether when I'm using less than 300 MB per month of my data plan by taking advantage of WiFi accessibility. I'd pay for an AT&T tethering app, especially if it helped me to track my data usage so I don't go over, but not an additional monthly fee. Now that Apple has added video recording and MMS is coming (assuming no additional cost), how AT&T handles tethering is the last thing that may keep my current and future iPhones jailbroken.

[Zippy-T-Pinhead]

Why pay AT&T for tethering if you're only going to use it once in awhile. Virgin now has a pay as you go plan with their dongle. For those 1 or 2 times a year, you buy how much data you anticipate using and viola! Problem solved.

I'm also not eligible for an upgrade until January so I think I'll just wait for the iPhone 3GS 2.0 that will undoubtedly come out next July...

[Eddie-c]

Why does ATT have only *1* international texting plan, i.e. 100 @ 9.99/month when SMS is everywhere, and highly used by many - including corporations?!?!?! ATT get a damn clue!!

[The_happy_switcher]

The kvetching never ends. I'm not gonna get one because it can't make cappuccinos. What's wrong with you Apple/AT&T don't you realize your ignoring coffee drinkers?

[Perry_Clease]

That swooshing sound sound of you may be hearing is the snark going over your heads. Anyway, AppleRocks1963 you will get a kick out of this story http://creativebits.org/opinion/my_you_suck_apple_rant

[karpenterskids]

Love the rant! Thanks so much for sharing that link! xD

[bayguy13]

I was in that line in the picture. But not this year. ATT won't give me any early upgrade until March 2010, even though they waived that requirement last year. So much for being a qualified customer.

[Ronlap]

I am an at&t business customer and my phone will be shipped to arrive on June 19. No need to get in line. I wonder how they'll ship it?

[rob1400]

Something bothers me with respect to the video capture capability in the new iPhone 3G S. Can't Apple just enable it in the yet-to-be-released 3.0 OS for the old iPhone 3G also? I know those old phones can do video capture because there are a bunch of video capture apps available but they aren't available on the app store and will require a jail-broken iPhone to install and use. Well, maybe the old phones aren't as fast and can't do video capture as smoothly but we iPhone 3G users will love it if Apple just lets us have it.

Does Apple leave out the old iPhone 3G users deliberately because they want to make this video capture a unique feature of iPhone 3G S? Can't help but wonder...

[Vegaman_Dan]

I am so totally NOT waiting in line on Friday for this. I have to work. I'll go over the weekend when the lines are smaller if not existant.

The first gen release was a big deal.

The second gen release was also interesting but the lines never got to anything beyond around 30 minutes in my area.

This third gen release should be a fairly short line accordingly. Maybe longer due to the 1st gen users with expired contracts, but who knows.

No worries, no rush. Not like they are going to run out of the things.

[contfce]

Who cares!

[seven7dust]

was that supposed to be sarcastic ? I'm confused !

[Wi-Fi Man]

I pre-purchased at an ATT store yesterday and had this confirmed. If you buy now, get your receipt and you will have a free ticket in the store at 7am. No lines!! They have finally figured this out. 3 launches is a charm.

[lumpoco]

I'll wait until the end of the year when I can get it for 50% less and with possibly more features.

[ralfthedog]

If you want to upgrade your phone for free, just bring lots of breakfast food. When the people around you start getting hungry offer them a doughnut for $20. Early morning hunger + sausage biscuits + hash browns = lots of money.

[pepestudio_dotmac]

No no, cookies the way to go. Remember there are vegetarians, the wacky vegans, and the "what-the-f***" fruitarians!

[pepestudio_dotmac]

I like the iPhone. Just pre-ordered one already. Still, you'll have to be as stupid as a cow to line-up. So, I'll wait a little longer. I DO NOT want to LINE-UP EVER!

[missionmom1]

what's with using the word retard? that is just so wrong.

[k1m0d0]

Until there is an app for AT&T I'm going to be happy with my 3G. When I was a wee lad my mom would bake the most wonderful pies. Just out of the oven and piping hot I couldn't wait to get that first small bite. It would burn my mouth but the taste was worth the pain. 3GS is mighty tempting but not worth the AT&T pain. The line I'll be on is the one waiting for Verizon to roll out its' LTE network and hopefully carry the iphone.