Still Waiting...

Well, it turns out that the fine folks in Cupertino, California (Apple's headquarters) are not smiling quite as wide as we guessed on Friday.
The line above is from the Apple Store on 14th Street yesterday afternoon where anxious customers were still waiting not because of any supply issues, but simply because Apple and (more importantly) AT&T require in-store activations for all iPhone purchases to discourage buyers from altering the software for use with other carriers as happened with the original iPhone last year. Overloads of Apple's iTunes servers caused delay after delay, while determined customers waited and waited all weekend.
The problem was not only high demand, but Apple's decision to invite existing iPhone users to upgrade to the new software at the same time.
We have to wonder exactly why the in-store activation was so necessary. Since the iPhone was subsidized like most other handsets, we don't understand why the terms of other subsidized deals wouldn't apply here. Generally, customers are required to stick to the terms of the deal, or else they are charged the full price of the phone.
Our advice is the same as it was before: wait a few weeks. There's plenty of them, and why waste a perfectly good weekend standing on the sidewalk like a dolt?