Naoya Wada

I am a fan of Apple products through and through. I have been using Macs for a while, and jump at the opportunity to make company purchases to keep up to date with the "latest and greatest" of Apple products. The new 3G iPhone was no different.

For weeks, my friends and I planned an outing on Friday morning to stand in line to await the open doors of at&t. We were even planning it down to the last details, such as should we all go in one car? What color iPhone? etc. It was a laborious process, but we figured it out, or so I thought.

This fiasco lasted a complete weekend for me, so I will break it down into a planner format:

Attempt #1: at&t wireless @ Atlantic Station - Atlanta, GA
Friday - July 11, 2007
5:00am - Wake up
5:30am - Shelli and I arrive at the at&t store in Atlantic Station. About 30 people in front of us already.
5:40am - Ryan and Matt roll up to wait in line as well.
8:00am - at&t doors open.
8:45am - Still waiting in line. Shelli needs to leave for work, so she's out of luck scoring an iPhone already.
10:00am - Finally at the front of the line. Heard that the store only got 50 iPhones. All the 16GB Black models are out. Already I am out of luck.
10:30am - Inside the store, waiting to "pre-order" for the next shipment of phones to arrive at the store.
11:00am - Still trying to "pre-order". Watching the clock as I have a 12:00pm work presentation.
11:15am - iPhone is pre-ordered and we leave the store. Ryan and Matt both have 8GB Black iPhones now, though unactivated due to the activation server acting up.

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Attempt #2: Apple Store @ Perimeter Mall - Atlanta, GA
Friday - July 11, 2007
1:30pm - Following Mickey to the Perimeter Mall, we decide to check out the lines at the Apple store there. Lines are ridiculous, no doubt due to the "mandatory" activation process. We ditch the line and eat in the food court and split ways.

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Attempt #3: Apple Store @ Lenox Square - Atlanta, GA
Friday - July 11, 2007
5:30pm - Thinking we could go check out the lines, and run errands at the same time, Shelli and I drive up to Lenox. Crazy lines again. We decide to run errands and eat at Hashiguchi Jr.
8:00pm - We decide to check out the line after eating and errands. Still crazy. Get a call from Mickey. He is at Perimeter again. We decide to head over and stand in line with him.

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Attempt #4: Apple Store @ Perimeter Mall - Atlanta, GA
Friday - July 11, 2007
8:30pm - Though the line was less than it was during lunch, it is still crazy. We decide it's best to stay here and just tough it out.

Saturday - July 12, 2007
1:45am - We've been here for over hours in line now. We're all frustrated, and I have been up for nearly 24 hours straight now, about 1/2 of them standing in a line of sorts. Ridiculous!!!
2:00am - Our feet now step inside the Apple store. Amazing. But the rub is that we're now standing in a new line, inside the store. OMG!!!
2:15am - Tired of standing now... Apple employee announces that at&t has shut down the activation servers. Everyone has to leave. We receive vouchers to "cut" the line the following day, and have a phone reserved for each one of us. Still no iPhone in hand and we're forced to leave.

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Attempt #5: Apple Store @ Perimeter Mall - Atlanta, GA
Saturday - July 12, 2007
10:00am - Shelli and I decide to just get the madness over and head back to Perimeter Mall. It's great to pass the line, and to know that there is a phone waiting for each of us inside the store. We see Mickey and family there on their way out. I try and get the new iPhone activated, but there are problems due to my account with at&t. Something about an IRU block due to some small business code on my service. I have no idea what it is, and try to have it removed. They can't remove it immediately. Shelli now acquires her iPhone. I am still without. We decide to go home.
8:00pm - Earlier I was told that I was going to have to wait for 4 hours or so ("could be shorter, could be longer" I was told) to have the IRU removed. I called to check the status. I was told it was removed. I am hesitant to believe it.

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Attempt #6: Apple Store @ Perimeter Mall - Atlanta, GA
Sunday - July 13, 2007
1:00pm - After brunch with Matt and Nicole, we decide to head to the Apple store at Perimeter. Shelli finds her new iPhone, 1 day old, in a stream of rain water near the curb where we parked the car. She is devastated. All this work, and her new iPhone is now dead. Complete loss. I call AMEX on the way to Perimeter to see about their protection plan. They will cover the cost of the phone. She's still upset.
1:30pm - Walk into the store, jumping the line again, and find an employee to help me out. They get the phone that has been waiting 36 hours for me, and I am able to activate it. Finally!!! Shelli consults the employees about her dead phone. Nothing they can do. No hope in sight.
6:30pm - I arrive home from a few drinks to celebrate, and find Shelli's phone still dead. I take the hair dryer out and use it to help evaporate the condensation that still resides in her new iPhone. We let it run for a while.
7:15pm - We take the hair dryer away and cross our fingers. We depress the Power button and low and behold, the screen lights up with the Apple logo. We wait a minute more and her Home Screen appears. She is able to make calls, etc. We're in business!

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Total Miles driven: 134.9 mi

Attempt #1
5.2 mi - Home to at&t Atlantic Station
5.2 mi - Atlantic Station to Home

Attempt #2
11.7 mi - Midtown to Perimeter Mall
15.7 mi - Perimeter Mall to Home

Attempt #3
10.5 mi - Home to Lenox Square

Attempt #4
5.6 mi - Lenox Square to Perimeter Mall
16.2 mi - Perimeter Mall to Home

Attempt #5
16.2 mi - Home to Perimeter Mall
16.2 mi - Perimeter Mall to Home

Attempt #6
16.2 mi - Home to Perimeter Mall
16.2 mi - Perimeter Mall to Home

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Ridiculous... Last time I do this for sure.