SAN FRANCISCO—Eager iPhone fans started lining up in front of the San Francisco Apple store in the dark of night, depriving themselves of sleep for a chance to get their hands on the highly coveted, feature-filled 3G iPhone, which went on sale on the 11th.
"My parents and I camped out just outside the Apple store. I'll be one of the first people who will get the new 3G iPhone," Alice Wu said excitedly. Alice Wu is a High School student at Lowell.
The sleek mobile devise works as a phone, Internet browser, camera and music player.
Some of the new features include fast 3G wireless technology, Satellite GPS mapping, email, and a desktop-quality web browser. Plus the phone offers support for users of Microsoft Exchange, a line of server products widely used by corporate enterprises.
"We came around 3 o'clock in the morning, but it really started to pick up at around 6 a.m.; then the line grew substantially," said Ron Thompson, a manager Web Development from San Francisco.
"I wasn't going to get the first-generation iPhone. First, I don't get first-generation hardware; second, it wasn't 3G and I was gonna wait for the new-generation iPhone to get faster speed," Thompson said.
The 3G iPhone goes on sale today in more than 20 countries. With a cost in the U.S. of $199 for the eight-gigabyte version, it is a much better value than when the innovative gadget was first introduced on the U.S. market in 2007 at a price of $599 for a version with 8 gigs of storage.
"The main reason, I'm getting it is so that I can have the work and the personal stuff all in one place. I wanted the iPhone to be faster, I wanted more space, and I figured that they have to response to the market by lowering the price," said Software Engineering Manager Maira Benjamin from Alameda, San Francisco Bay Area.
"For me there's no 'If', time is money. For people whose time is valuable it all comes down to faster service," Benjamin said.
Experts say that many of the iPhone aficionados will be trading in their first generation iPhones, terminating their two-year service contracts early, to get the cheaper, faster and feature-filled 3G iPhone.
The original iPhone was much sought-after. But when Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs unveiled the new gadget a month ago, it rattled the cell phone industry with its dramatic second return—3G iPhone new features and innovative design are being copied feverishly by other handset makers.
"I bought the old iPhone and returned it. Now, I'll be switching my Blackberry service for the new 3G iPhone, said Darren Adler, 30, an IT consultant from San Francisco. "When I got here before midnight, about 30 people were already in line."
In the U.S., Apple and AT&T are requiring a credit card and a social security number to activate the device immediately and to start using AT&T's network. Last week, AT&T disclosed its plans for the iPhone, which started at $69.99 with 450 anytime minutes. An unlimited Anytime plan would cost $129.99 a month. Family plans start at $129.99 a month for 700 shared Anytime minutes.
Internationally, the iPhone retails for up to $1000 apiece. In Belgium, for example, the iPhone sold for more than four times the U.S. price, at $825; and the iPhone 16-gigabyte version cost $966.