The Apple iPhone 3G Receives a Lukewarm Welcome as Activation Glitches Keep Customers Hung Up

Sometimes instant gratification isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. At least that’s what many Apple iPhone users learned when they lined up in the wee hours of the morning on this last weekend to get the hugely anticipated Apple iPhone 3G. This makes me so glad I decided to wait to upgrade my iPhone:). At this rate though, who knows when it will come as stores are looking at a 10 to 21 day waiting period for new phones to come in. Apparently many Apple store employees at stores anticipated the frustrations because of the “point of Sale systems” crash last year when the first phone rolled out. That’s understandable as there is bound to be some hang ups (no pun intended) with the launch of the new iPhone but that doesn’t mean customers expected to wait hours in line only to be told while they are still number 35 or 87 in line that there are only 12 phones left or less, which was the case many customers were telling online as the news about the activation glitch became known.

AT&T spokesperson Mark Siegel was quoted as saying “the iTunes software appeared to have been so overwhelmed by demand on Friday that customers were not able to go through that final stage and sync their iPhones”. Tough luck for those who actually got the phone – at this point you would have been better off being one of the millions who didn’t get it if you couldn’t do anything with it.

However, it may not excuse Apple and AT&T from not being better prepared; this all sounds like a repeat of the first iPhone roll out when many experienced long waiting lists. If you’re thinking that you can just pop online to get the new iPhone 3G, think again - Good luck with that as well since even Apple’s online store is completely out. Best bet is to pitch a tent and camp outside the nearest store tonight as most stores haven’t even restocked yet.

The funny part about the whole thing is that even if you are waiting for your new Apple iPhone 3G, chances are it will be awhile as Nokia still outsells the iPhone with 10 million sold every week. Here’s hoping that Apple and AT&T can meet the demand, otherwise their one million phones sold last weekend won’t mean much in the weeks to come.