iPhone

Apple's singular ability to whip up consumer frenzy might be in trouble after the debacle that was Friday's iPhone 3G launch.

Server problems turned this year's iPhone 3G launch into an exercise in patience for Apple fans and employees, as eager buyers faced waits of up to two hours to get their iPhone 3Gs activated in Apple stores, and many left with iPhone 3Gs in hand but the activation process incomplete. The same problems affected original iPhone owners trying to install the iPhone 2.0 software, turning their handsets into "iBricks."

The company had promised … Read more

What recession? Right now, there are several hundred people in line at the Seattle Apple Store in University Village, waiting to buy and activate a 3G iPhone, which starts at $199 and requires a two-year commitment to a voice-and-data plan that costs at least $70 per month. The line was just long as last year's, despite the tougher economic climate and the fact that we've had more than a year to get used to the iPhone--seeing one in public isn't much of a surprise anymore.

But apparently the promise of a faster data connection, GPS transceiver, third-party … Read more

It didn't take a check of other CNET stories to confirm that Apple/AT&T's registration servers have either went back to bed or checked out early on a Friday. After the cheers at 8:00 a.m. the line moved less than 20 feet within the first hour. There were at least two announcements from Apple reps (one in a utila-kilt even) that things are "a little bit slow," because of the "overwhelming demand." An insistent, we could always come back later was touted too.

At one point, I was getting discouraged. … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO AND EMERYVILLE, Calif.--Apple's iPhone 3G just made its debut on the West Coast, and CNET News reporters Erica Ogg, Josh Lowensohn, and yours truly brought offered live updates from our perches in downtown San Francisco and Emeryville, just across the Bay Bridge.

I was at the Stockton Street Apple store in downtown San Francisco, Erica was at the AT&T store a few blocks away at 3rd and Market streets, and Josh was checking out the Bay Street Mall in Emeryville, which has both an Apple store and an AT&T store.

The following … Read more

Some things never change: Despite being a stranger in a foreign land (a San Franciscan in sales-tax-free Portland on business), despite only getting 4 hours of sleep and despite iPhone 1.0 waffling towards getting iPhone 3G, I found myself in line in front of the Apple Store at 7:00 a.m. in Portland, Oregon waiting for the new iPhone 3G. And, of course, I wasn't alone.

My goal: the white 16-GB iPhone. Will I get it? Only time will tell. But like last year's wait in San Francisco, those earliest of the early adopters are primarily … Read more

As you know, the Macalope's not galloping out this morning to get an iPhone 3G. Particularly since he feels like he just got a new iPhone yesterday with the 2.0 software update.

And it seems that might not be a bad idea all around. Taking a look on the Twitter, MacUser's Dan Pourhadi says AT&T's in-store activation system isn't working and they're telling people to activate at home (that won't get you a phone you can unlock, though, unless you want to pay $600 for it -- failure to activate).

Meanwhile, … Read more

The iPhone 3G is about to hit the streets of New York, after making its debut earlier in the Far East and Europe, and CNET is ready to bring you all the news you need.

Caroline McCarthy and Maggie Reardon will be on the ground in New York monitoring the action at the Apple store on Fifth Avenue and various AT&T stores. A little later on, I'll be parked outside the downtown San Francisco Apple store, while Erica Ogg checks out the 3rd and Market AT&T store and Josh Lowensohn covers the scene at an … Read more

Shazam has been around for a few years now--CNET U.K. took note of the service back in 2006--but with today's launch of Apple's App Store, it could become a whole lot more popular. It has the potential to change how people discover and buy music.

The concept behind Shazam is simple: whenever you hear a song playing and can't identify it--on the car radio, at a friend's house, at a bar--you activate the Shazam application on your mobile phone. It "listens" to the song for about 30 seconds, then sends a text message … Read more

Apple may be launching its iPhone App Store a day earlier than expected, because the sun never sets on the iPhone empire.

Forbes is reporting that Apple will launch the App Store--the delivery vehicle for third-party iPhone applications--at 9 a.m. PDT on Thursday, which happens to coincide with midnight New Zealand time Friday, where the iPhone 3G will make its worldwide debut. The App Store will be preinstalled on every iPhone 3G, but it will also be available as a download for owners of the current iPhone.

That means that some third-party iPhone applications could be ready … Read more