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U.S. iPhone Launch, More Photos, and Impressions

I got to the local AT&T store at 8 this morning and saw about 5 or 6 people waiting in line for the mall doors to open. I stayed in my car 5 minutes until then let everyone in. I was about 8th in line when I finally made it over to the AT&T store only to find out that the 16gb iPhones were delayed during shipping and haven't made it to the store yet. They took down my name and phone number and asked if I wanted them to call when they came it today.

They called me at about 11:30 a.m. and said the shipment had arrived so I went back down there about 15 minutes later to get my white 16gb. There were only 3 other people getting iPhones at that time so there was no line at all. I was in the store about 10 minutes total.

Now if I could only activate it via iTunes.
 
Ok, so all of a sudden I got a home screen and full bars with the 3G logo.

BUT, iTunes is still not connecting, etc. I guess it's ok and I can do the rest later.

At least I have a phone again.

I got "that text message" that comes thru from AT&T when you activate. "Welcome to AT&T..." blah blah.

I just got the -4 error again. So, I guess I can have my cake but not eat it. Or something like that.
 
Know what the really ironic thing is? Is that Steve Jobs used todays experience as a reason in his keynote for the original iphone as a reason to activate phones at "the comfort of your own home." There is nothing better than the first time you open the box, plug it in and activate it in iTunes.

Well, that went out the window when (presumably) ATT required in-store activations to limit the amount of unlocked iphones. Now Apple takes a hit for customer satisfaction.

This really shouldn't have mattered, because 1) this is the second launch, and there wouldn't be as much demand as the first time, and 2) iPhones are available in 70 countries, so the threat of unlocking and reselling is much lower due to the widespread availability.

They should have allowed for ordering online and home activation just like before, and this could have been avoided (for the most part). Oh, and maybe launch the iTunes update a week or two before, and delay the launch of the app store a couple days later just to save a little bandwidth. Me.com? Probably shouldn't have launched that today either...
 
2.0

At 2:33pm EST I checked for updates in iTunes and after clicking the update buttons several times, iTunes finally found 2.0 update. First time I tried to download I got a Network Disconnect error, but second time It downloaded and I'm now updating my iPhone. I'll post back if something goes wrong! :)

BTW the phone backup before update failed, so it will be a clean sync for the first time it boots.

update: After 2.0 update, iPhone tried to connect to iTunes to complete update but could not connect. I have a nice little brick now until problems are solved. Like many others have stated, you might want to wait until the iTunes connection problems are solved!
 
bogman12 said:
Very good point.. My hypothesis is stupid action plan by apple?

Probably the same culture that is responsible for not having a dedicated testing team for the OS X product.
Click to expand...

Of course they could have wanted to make sure they made as much money as possible as I am now much more UNLIKELY to get a new phone until at least Christmas since I got my "new toy" fill with all the apps from the 2.0 software.

I wonder if anybody is keeping track of % of iPhone 3G buyers who bought the original...
 
AlmightyG5 said:
is iTunes Working for anyone...I can't get my iPhone to sync...when will Apple restart there damn iTunes servers...wtf...
Click to expand...

My iPhone Mk 1 updated with 2.0 software this morning just successfully finished the process and reactivated! YESSSS! I have been trying since noon! So either it is a just luck I got connected or they fixed something.

So moral is KEEP trying :)
 
sigh

I have clicked on "Music" or "Podcasts" or "Videos" and back to iPhone at least 100 times this morning in a futile attempt to activate the firmware on my 2g iPhone.

This post isn't meant to really add much to the discussion...but hopefully it vents without sounding shrill.

Patience...patience...patience...

*click* *wait* *click* *wait*...
 
bogman12 said:
Xperian lists for $1000.. cough cough..

For the price I can get the 800wx for, IT IS badass and featured phone! Nice upgrade from my POS Palm OS 755P (but still better than iPhone because I use the copy paste feature all the time... and have been enojoying 3G for a couple of years now :D)
Click to expand...

Fair enough, anything would be an improvement over a Palm OS-based Treo (I gave up on my Treo 650 after a couple of years). I just find Palm's Treo line to be completely underwhelming compared to what HTC and others are doing.

Personally I couldn't deal with Windows Mobile (had an AT&T Tilt for a while before switching to the iPhone), but as long as you don't mind it, I guess it should be OK.

-Zadillo
 
Activated and Synced!!!

Guys, I am now activated and re-sync'ed. Looks like things are starting to work again. I've been trying for about 3 hours. It is now 1:59 CST
 
No love in itunes yet, but my activation suddenly came over the air from AT&T

When I first powered it on, it said emergency calls only. After about half an hour of trying nonstop on itunes, it still isn't working, but my phone suddenly came to life and it's fully functional, I just can't get it to come up in itunes. I'm even able to download apps on the app store, and somehow it knew my name, so i guess part of the sync with itunes worked if it already knew my screen name for the app store.

:) :) Listening to Pandora now... How cool!
 
Do you wait for the error message (which takes at least 2-3 minutes here) before trying again? I'm talking to those who successfully activated their phones...
 
patsfan83 said:
...
This really shouldn't have mattered, because 1) this is the second launch, and there wouldn't be as much demand as the first time...
Click to expand...

I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one. The lines down here in Fort Worth Texas were much longer today than they were last year and I've yet to hear of anyone getting there after the launch and still getting one (as was the case in most places last year).

But still - yes, launch the 2.0 software earlier and if you're worried about App Store issues just wait until today to open it up. I mean, I'm quite certain Apple has an insane network which can handle terabytes a second (just guessing) but it's just so hard to gear up your network for something that you know for a fact is just going to be a 1 time peak (at least until the iPhone 4G comes out in 3-5 years)

I know this is off topic a bit but I was thinking about things they are going to add/change until 4G is ready to go in more countries (maybe even a lot more than 5 years...)

1) Obvious increase in storage space
2) upgraded camera, at least 3.2 w/ auto-focus, zoom, low-light software
3) I could see them going with the front facing camera route eventually but not with the next update
4) Denser/better battery

That's all I've got for now - feel free to add on ideas!
 
I guess me and the other few hundred thousand people who also purchased an iphone today are stupid?

Feel free to call me to discuss.....440-539-8605.
Click to expand...

if they went in thinking it was going to be an easy and seamless transition with absolutely no problems, yes I do think they are stupid.

now go cry elsewhere.
 
Laurent said:
Do you wait for the error message (which takes at least 2-3 minutes here) before trying again? I'm talking to those who successfully activated their phones...
Click to expand...

I waited for the error message each time. Clicked OK or whatever, clicked a playlist on my machine then clicked back to the iPhone.. Took probably 20 tries I'd say.
 
gmcbay said:
AT&T might be having problems as well, but if this were just an AT&T issue it wouldn't cause problems for your iPod Touch since AT&T has nothing to do with that.
Click to expand...

Ahh but thats the thing it would cause problems with the ipod. The 2.0 upgrade is almost virtually the same thing. if you ever spent time messing around with an ipod touch, just saying, you will see some things from the iphone that should not be included with the ipod. for instance when in music, and your move the volume meter while turing the ipod to its side you will see the volume icon appear like you would if you were turning the sound up on the iphone using its volume control buttons.

AT&T had issues with activation last year with the iPhone. activation was put through itunes, just like before.
 
Just upgraded my first gen iPhone with 1.1.3 to 2.0 with iTunes 7.7. Took 15 minutes. Activated in seconds.

Everything went swimmingly. Try upgrading/debricking now. :apple:
 
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