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When you're Robert Scoble, you don't wait for an iPhone

CNET News' Greg Sandoval has to sleep on cement, but a famous blogger can sidle up to the line minutes before the doors open for the iPhone 3G.

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Greg Sandoval Former Staff writer
Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. Based in New York, Sandoval is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at @sandoCNET.
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Greg Sandoval
Robert Scoble with iPhone 3G
A jubilant Robert Scoble poses with his new iPhone 3G at the Apple store in San Francisco. James Martin/CNET News

SAN FRANCISCO--The perks of being a famous tech blogger include not having to stand in line all night for the latest gadget.

I was out in front of the Apple store near Union Square here at 9 p.m. PDT on Thursday standing in line for the iPhone 3G that makes its debut today. Robert Scoble walks up at 7:15 a.m., 45 minutes before the doors are scheduled to open, and a fan lets him take cuts in line.

It would be easier to be bitter if Scoble wasn't such a nice guy. It's 15 minutes before Scoble and 29 other people are let in. The crowd, which numbers around 250 people, is whooping it up as they break down folding chairs, drink coffee, and talk about the new iPhone apps they want to buy.

A legion of marketers are handing out coupons for iPhone skins and other accessories. There's some apprehension among some of those who are well back in the line about how long the activation process is going to take. We'll see.

Update 9:40 a.m. PDT: OK, it would have been easier to get pissed at the congenial Scoble when Apple's doorman started letting the first batch of people inside the store and stopped at me. It was only a few seconds' delay before they granted me access.