Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― The next generation of the iPhone went on sale around the globe at 8 a.m. local time, and the frenzy is in full swing.

But a glitch with Apple Inc.'s servers turned frenzy to frustration for some customers when their phones could not be activated.

A spokesman for AT&T Inc., the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the U.S., said there was a global problem with Apple's iTunes servers that prevented the phones from being fully activated in-store, as had been planned.

Instead, employees have been telling buyers to go home and perform the last step by connecting their phones to their own computers, spokesman Michael Coe said.

At Apple's flagship store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue in New York City, customers were waiting at the counter for at least 20 minutes to get their new phones activated. Lines were also long throughout the day at the Chicago's flagship Apple Store, at 679 N. Michigan Ave.

When the first iPhone went on sale a year ago, customers performed the whole activation procedure at home, freeing store employees to focus on sales. But the new model is subsidized by carriers, as is standard in the wireless industry, and Apple and AT&T therefore planned to activate all phones in-store to get customers on a contract.

The problem extended to owners of the previous iPhone model. A software update released for that phone on Friday morning required the phone to be reactivated through iTunes.

"It's a mess," said freelance photographer Giovanni Cipriano, who updated his first-generation iPhone only to find it unusable. 

As CBS 2's Vince Gerasole reports, people were excited when the iPhone 3G first went on sale at 8 a.m.

A crowd flooded the Apple Store the minute the doors opened. About 40 people were camped out in line well before dawn, and some iPhone fans dodged raindrops and did battle with the elements, donning raincoats and waiting in line fore more than 14 hours.

"We knew there was going to be a wait, and this was the place to do it," said Jessica Edwards of Crown Point, Ind.

Andy Pichotta camped out a total of 17 hours to be first in line.

"Honestly it makes it more worth it because now I have a story behind getting it, I'm talking to all of you people, that makes it more fun too, it made it more exciting by waiting in line," Pichotta said.

Most of those camped out in the rain were techno-savvy 20-somethings who already have last year's model.

"I waited in line for about 13 hours last year, so I figured I'd keep the tradition up and head out here," said Leland Brewster of Lake Forest.

Some were stocked up for a long night out. Their overnight wait came complete with provisions.

"We took a trip to Wal-Mart, stocked up on food," Edwards said.

Edwards and a friend who joined her had turned the sidewalk on Huron Street into a campsite, with ponchos and several layers of clothing to protect themselves from the rain.

The new iPhone 3G will sell for $200 and $300. Sales started in Asia Friday morning, where lines in some places were half a mile long. In New Zealand, security guards had to be brought in to control crowds.

But in Chicago, the crowds were peaceful, if eager. The wait gave a father and son some time to bond.

When asked how it felt to be the oldest person in line, the father replied: "Not good. But I'm not here to buy an iPhone. I'm just here for my son."

That son, Danny Krause, said he was always eager to get the latest and fastest products.

"For me, technology is a big thing, so I always have to have the newest and best thing in my hand," Krause said. "I don't know necessarily why, but that's how I am."

When asked why her generation always needs the latest and fastest, Edwards replied, "You have to keep up now."

CBS 2's Vince Gerasole and Ed Curran, and the Associated Press, contributed to this report.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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