If you were lucky enough to get past the technical glitches on the first day of pre-order sales, then you are most likely a proud owner of an iPhone 4, which was shipped to the comfort of your home on today’s launch.
For those of you who chose in-store pick up, we wish you good luck.
Early reviews this week have already called the new iPhone a hit. David Pogue of The New York Times concluded in his review:
Now, the iPhone is no longer the undisputed king of app phones. In particular, the technically inclined may find greater flexibility and choice among its Android rivals, like the HTC Incredible and Evo. They’re more complicated, and their app store not as good, but they’re loaded with droolworthy features like turn-by-turn GPS instructions, speech recognition that saves you typing, removable batteries and a choice of cell networks.
If what you care about, however, is size and shape, beauty and battery life, polish and pleasure, then the iPhone 4 is calling your name.
But you probably didn’t need a review to tell you that.
In fact, the iPhone is calling more names than expected, with Apple stores worldwide dealing with an overwhelming number of customers waiting for their very own. As CNet reports:
While the flagship stores in New York and San Francisco are still making sales, other stores are already out of stock. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster reported in a research note Thursday that he had called 20 Apple stores in the morning and found nine already out of iPhone 4s.
New York’s Upper West Side Apple store ran out of 32GB devices around 10 a.m., and Apple employees have been turning away new people trying to line up without reservations.
At the same time, some have learned to turn Apple’s annual iPhone waiting game into a business. Mashable writes:
That’s where Chris Banks comes in. He secured the first spot in the iPhone 4 line, but he already has eight iPhones. So he decided to rent out his tent on Airbnb. For ‘just’ $300, you can be the first person to get your hands on an iPhone from the San Francisco store.
Regardless of how and when you get your iPhone, tech sites Gizmodo and Wired have already reported on reception complaints.
Wired asks new owners for feedback on the issue:
Got an iPhone 4 yet? Hold it carefully by the glass, avoiding the new steel antenna band that runs around the edges. Note the number of signal-strength bars you have. Now, touch the steel band with your other hand, preferably the left and bottom sides together. You will almost certainly see your signal disappear, or drop by three or four bars.
While Gizmodo posted dozens of videos of the phenomenon and one possible solution, “Reader Rich applied some Scotch tape and actually solved his problem.”
It’s now hours into the iPhone 4 launch on a foggy afternoon here in San Francisco, Apple diehards aren’t letting up, and I still have some line waiting to do.
