There were still long lines of iPhone 3G buyers at Apple’s stores the day after the product’s debut, even though the serious server glitches that created lengthy purchase delays on Friday had been fixed. Field surveys of San Francisco area Apple stores in mid-afternoon found at least 20 to 30 persons constantly in line to buy an iPhone, translating to a waiting time of 45 minute to one hour. At some stores, there was a 20-minute waiting line even for visitors who just wanted to browse. Once inside the store, iPhone buyers still experienced an extended purchase experience, mostly because of the requirement to register for an AT&T service plan before leaving the store.At the Corte Madera store, there was a line of 35 persons at 3:30 p.m. The next person who emerged from the store with an iPhone said they had spent three hours and 45 minutes at the store to make their purchase. The person at the head of the line said they had waited two hours to reach the front, and she still needed to endure the purchase process.
Over the next 90 minutes the line moved into the store very slowly, perhaps one every five minutes. The line remained constant at about 35 over the next hour, but then it dipped to about 20 constantly. Employees handed out bottled water to those in line, including those in a separate line who just wanted to browse or buy other products.
Timings of three people who went into the store showed that the purchase duration varied greatly: one person spent just 15 minutes inside before emerging with an iPhone, while the others took 34 minutes and 57 minutes.
At Chesnut Street in San Francisco, there was another line of 26 persons, with a waiting time of one hour. Once inside, the average buying time was 26 minutes. There was no line for those who wanted to visit for non-iPhone products.
At the end of the second day of sales, Apple’s on-line report of stores with stock of iPhone G3 models showed that 54 stores were sold out completely. Another 52 stores reported they were out of stock of at least one of the three iPhone models.
The Corte Madera scene was captured by Marin County artist Audrey Hulburd showing employees thanking those in the waiting lines (click image for larger view).
