So the day has come and gone and the iPhone 3G is in the hands of many thousands of happy At&t customers. Last night, the Cellfanatic crew was down at the Pasadena Apple Store watching the die-hard fans live out their dream of being one of the first to own the iPhone 3G on the West Coast. It was a night of fun, excitement and ultimately disappointment for many. With iPhone activations, credit card transactions and the iTunes software bugged from the get go, the experience was simply a nightmare.
The night started off without a hitch, complete with CBS, NBC and KCAL news crews interviewing the first 20 people in line. By 11pm that night, we had completed a half dozen interviews with local media and we were in complete iPhone 3G bliss, soon to be unmasked by a series of late night encounters with Pasadena Police. The first encounter was just after 1 am when a group of iPhone 3G supporters left their places in line to throw a football back and forth across Colorado Blvd. A harmless act at first, but after a warning from Pasadena Police an incident ensued which left at least one citation and a night full of police patrols and flashlights shined in our faces.
A couple hours later, the same group of guys who were playing football in the street decided to turn to a less aggressive alternative, hacky sack. Once again, Pasadena Police returned, but this time all of those involved were told to leave the line and go home, essentially ending their iPhone 3G dreams. By 5am, Starbucks had opened and those of us who had pulled off the all nighter were ready for a kick of caffeine in the form of a well deserved ice latte. As luck would have it, Coffee Bean came through the iPhone line a couple hours later and brought complimentary iced tea and coffee for all. The Apple Store added to the free drinks by passing out an endless supply of Smart Water.
At 8am the wait was over, so we thought and Apple employees walked through the line giving out high fives and applauding our dedication to the latest in Cupertino tech. Unfortunately what happened next was a surprise to most, but with our eyes fixed on a Gizmodo homepage we knew what was coming: iPhone 3G Activation nightmares in the US and Canada. For the record it took over 1 hour for the first person in line to complete the purchase of their iPhone 3G and the device still required ‘Unbricking’ at home. With over 300 tired fans in line, the demand for the iPhone 3G simply overpowered the Apple Servers, credit card machines and Activations leading to utter disappointment.
Besides the two hours it took us to get our iPhone 3G purchased, the activation nightmares and the harassment by Pasadena Police, in the end it was all worth it. A taste of sweet white Cupertino tech in 16GB form is enough to let us sleep tonight and well into tomorrow afternoon. One big word of advice for anyone with a Student/Corporate/IRU/FAM discount through At&t: You WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PURCHASE your iPhone 3G at an Apple Retail Store. You MUST PURCHASE YOUR iPHONE 3G from your local At&t store. This was a tough lesson for many of the iPhone 3G customers waiting in line overnight at the Pasadena Apple Store. Unfortunately no documentation from Apple or their website indicates that customers with a discount on their monthly bill will not be able to make their iPhone 3G purchase at an Apple Store. The only option is to remove your discount off your account by calling At&t before making the purchase at the Apple Store.
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