iPhone stock update: go get 'em

Wanna know if you still have time to get an iPhone? Get your car warmed up, because most West coasters only have about a half an hour left -- but the good news is every store we called still has stock (and not for lack of demand), and what's better, none of them even have lines at this point. Hell, we also checked all fifty states in the union -- not one showed the little red out-of-stock dot.

Just to drive the point home:
LA - has stock
New York 5th Ave (open 24x7) - has stock
Palo Alto (University) - has stock, 4GB stock only
San Diego - has stock
Seattle - has stock
San Francisco - has stock

[Got one @ Jun 30th 2007 2:36AM]

I skipped the lines and went barhopping instead. Went to the apple store in NYC after and walked out with an iphone in 5 minutes. The keyboard is not that bad at all. In fact I'm sending this from the phone. I would never bother trying on my blackjack.

[Maxx @ Jun 30th 2007 2:39AM]

My iTunes still says "Please wait while ATT is activating..... it has been like that for a long time now..... I got an email saying that I will get another when it activates....

will the iTunes thing change to finish the setup or what ? Should I wait it out ?

[Lou @ Jul 2nd 2007 3:36PM]

Mine was like that and it changed after 20 minutes.

It will then allow you to continue the updating!

I love my new iPhone!

[John Doe @ Jun 30th 2007 2:40AM]

I wouldn't exactly consider it good news that they aren't selling out. Yes Apple may have created enough to meet demand but if they don't sell out on day one where the biggest demand will be it isn't probably going to pick up as time goes on. (Xmas season maybe.)

This is no different then the 360, PS3 sales. Forget about day one. Show me numbers 6 months from now. That being said come January if sales aren't where the want them to be expect Jobs's RDF to be on high gear to spin it. I still believe that price is going to be the ultimate buzzkill on the iPhone. But I think Apple knows that. they have a history of starting their prices off high for the sucke...I mean faithful and dropping it if there is justification. I expect a price drop before the holiday shopping season.

[Sowande @ Jun 30th 2007 2:46AM]

wait til people get their first bills.

;)

[cheaper for me @ Jun 30th 2007 10:21AM]

yeah i know tell me about it. it should be $20 cheaper than my bill with the blackjack! even more awesome.

[fearless_fx @ Jun 30th 2007 2:40AM]

"I Has A iPhone"

[geckotek @ Jun 30th 2007 2:46AM]

Dallas has them in stock.

[Gordon @ Jun 30th 2007 2:48AM]

I don't think not running out of stock says anything. The only thing that says anything are the final sales vs. projected sales. Of course, you could always say that stock levels reflect projected sales, therefore if stock paces sales properly (doesn't run out and not overstocked) then things are going as planned. Therefore, no sell-out can still be good for Apple.

[Larz @ Jun 30th 2007 2:49AM]

Why did Apple immediately remove my post asking if they cripple bluetooth file transfer on the iPhone? Do they not want people to know this? Here is the question I posted that Apple quickly removed...

Would like an official Apple answer and explanation to this one:

Is the bluetooth file transfer CRIPPLED on the iPhone?

I'm a musician. With other bluetooth enabled Cingular/AT&T phones I can create my own ringtones from scratch on my computer and load them via bluetooth onto my phone.

Considering Apple is a champion of personal creativity, please tell me how I can do this with my iPhone. If it's not possible, please tell me why. Keep in mind, i just paid $600 plus tax for this thing.

[Sowande @ Jun 30th 2007 3:01AM]

I thought it was made very clear that at this time you cannot use the iPhone as a file storage disk. You can only store your pictures, and iTunes content on it.

That's part of why I didn't get one.

On topic: There are still quite a few in the Las Vegas metro area at ATT stores.

[Kyrra @ Jun 30th 2007 3:01AM]

Maybe you should phrase your question in a more polite manner? You are asking it to force them to give a defensive response. A better way to ask it would be: "Apple, do you support Bluetooth file transfers to and/or from the iPhone?"

Transferring files over Bluetooth is a feature, it doesn't HAVE to be implemented as part of the spec. Just because you think it should be there doesn't mean they are require or will put it there.

[Alex Padilla @ Jun 30th 2007 3:05AM]

@Larz

Here's an idea:

Create your ringtones on your PC, then upload them to http://www.myxertones.com, then send them to your phone. It's not a multimedia message, it's merely a text message with a link to download the file from their server.

Just a thought.

[scurvy @ Jun 30th 2007 3:03AM]

Most AT&T stores only got 60 iPhones so they sold out quickly -- even the ones in major cities only got 60. AT&T near Wall Street? Yeah, 60. Guess that Apple is keeping the stock for themselves.

[Nick @ Jun 30th 2007 3:06AM]

All 50 states? Umm...hello... No ATT in Alaska, and no apple stores here either... Thank god though... at least some people in this dumbass country will be saved from this POS...

[rockintom @ Jun 30th 2007 11:50AM]

Last time I checked, you don't have to buy one.

[Dominic @ Jun 30th 2007 3:07AM]

Curious..but how did you guys check all "fifty states in the union", with the Apple Store checker when only 35 states have apple stores in them? Is there an at&t stock checker somewhere?

[stephenbratz @ Jun 30th 2007 3:12AM]

Cingular/AT&T lost me as a customer today. My 9 month old LG phone died today, so I went down to the local shop. I got there about 5PM. There was a long line outside, I walked up and the door was open. I walked in and there were about 5 people standing inside. They told me that I would need to leave because they were closed until 6 and I would need to wait in like like everybody else.

They gladly accept my payment every month, but when I need service because a phone that I bought through them no longer works, they are closed and are unwilling to do anything about it. I have had an account from AT&T/Cingular/at&t since 1998, and this is how they treat people who are not there to buy an iPhone?

[jason @ Jun 30th 2007 10:01AM]

uh, they were closed; what part of that did you not understand? the door may have been unlocked but they weren't conducting business. where have you been that you didn't know that at&t stores were going to be shut down yesterday afternoon?

do you stop visiting your local grocery store when you go for milk in the middle of the night and they are closed, yet you can see the stock people filling the shelves? talk about self-centered.

[stephenbratz @ Jul 3rd 2007 6:08PM]

And how often does the local grocery store close down when they are releasing a new flavor of Nabisco crackers?

And I think it is self-centered to think that I should go without a phone just so you can get an iPhone. This is different than them being closed because it is not normal business hours, they just closed to cater to a small group of people. I demand that [Circuit City|Best Buy|other electronics store] close down early to prepare the next time Microsoft releases a new OS, Zune, etc. and not allow sales of any Mac products. Would that be OK?

[Larz @ Jun 30th 2007 3:17AM]

Uhhh Kyrra, I don't really think my question was impolite. In fact, I used "please" twice. I know Apple doesn't HAVE to do anything. I'd just like to know what their rational is. Sprint and Verizon cripple the bluetooth file transfer in part to ensure an additional revenue stream through ringtones and wallpapers. Cingular has historically allowed bluetooth file transfer, and the iPhone is a Cingular/AT&T phone. In addition, Apple is the "creative" computer company. They go to great lengths in their marketing to show how they support personal creativity, especially when it comes to music.

So it seems somewhat hypocritical and capitalistic to deny musicians the ability to create their own ringtones to use on the iphone. I don't really think I'm being unreasonable in thinking that.

[Jorge @ Jun 30th 2007 3:18AM]

LA/Manhattan Village store has no 8gb ipods at this time. People behind me just arrived from an at/t store where they had waited in line by the front door, apparently the staff had had their pick of the stock, then let some people in from the emergency exit with the excuse that 'they'd been there earlier' without informing the people in the front door line that they were already out of stock at which point they started charging full price downpayment for pre-orders to the next shipment. Nice.

[jason @ Jun 30th 2007 10:06AM]

it would probably help if you went to the at&t store looking for iphones and not the ipods you reference in your comment. that may be why they were out of stock when you went.

[Shabbis @ Jun 30th 2007 3:21AM]

Waited in a line at an ATT store for 4 hours only to get skunked on an 8GBer. I was number 18 or so. Gave up and went home around 6:30 PM. Went to Apple's site and checked the iPhone retail inventory and it said the Apple store near me had them in stock. I called, they said "we sure do" and I drove down there at 11:30 PM and picked up an 8GBer.

While the iPhone is cool and all, the activation process thru iTunes is the most amazing development for the wireless industry ever. Truly an Apple designed workflow. Pure genius.

[James @ Jun 30th 2007 3:33AM]

So many lemmings.

[valor @ Jun 30th 2007 3:39AM]

Still waiting for activation, but aside from that..

Anyone notice that Apple's availability checker is updated at 9pm? Is that true for tonight, or did I wait 12 hours in vain?

[Bon @ Jul 1st 2007 2:24PM]

Took me 5 mins to get an 8GB iPhone at the Apple store in Pleasanton, CA. They had plenty in stock.

[bbear200 @ Jun 30th 2007 4:13AM]

Bought two 8GB iPhones at the Apple Store at Valley Fair Mall in San Jose 15 minutes before they closed tonight.

I think they made a lot of them.

[tim @ Jun 30th 2007 4:33AM]

you can't have checked all fifty states in the union and found the iphone available. it isn't available in alaska.

[Sketh @ Jun 30th 2007 6:51PM]

Too bad you have to accept a dinosaur of a service provider in order to have the cool thing this week. Service makes or breaks a phone... ATT is not known for its network.

[Chris Flynn @ Jun 30th 2007 4:42AM]

Why comment on something you clearly HATE and despise for it's very existence. Wow, this is like ihating has just been seriously unbelievable I just don't understand it. Why don't nasty anti-apple people just FCKU off and buy a blackberry, keep your RAZR or whatever it is you believe in but seriously just leave iphone alone if it's not for you. It's real easy - just walk away or better still don't even expend the effort in actually deliberately trying to kill it dead. WTF?? Why try and kill something beautiful -it's like shooting eagles or seomthing. Seriously revealed a pathology in the public mind has this whole Apple iphone thing. I don't like strawberry ice cream but I don't start posting on forums everywhere hating strawberries, going into a mad stew every-time I see one. I can't believe so many people want this product to fail. It's really shocking me.

[jimmyb @ Jun 30th 2007 5:04AM]

Yup but i don't run around screaming that strawberry ice-cream is the greatest most revolutionary flavour ever... ;) the reason people are speaking out against it is because of the barrage of apple supporters who are all drinking the kool aid, and now it seems the general media is wondering what this kool aid is...

anyways... some people are just pointing out that the iphone has got a lot of problems... sorry if that upsets you...

[ChinkBastard @ Jun 30th 2007 5:15AM]

keep in mind chris that the reason why some of us have been ripping on the iphone is because we've been waiting over six years for this product only to find out that this thing did not quite live up to our expectations. and for the price, it should be more equipped with features that are comparable with it's hefty price tag.

[Leonard Nimrod @ Jun 30th 2007 8:25PM]

@ ChinkBastard,

You are just an uninformed asshole. You cry about a lack of foolish features and complain and about the cost without having a clue about how much the contained hardware actually cost. Not to mention the R&D involved.

You and your kind are the types that get all excited about jobs next keynote. predict foolish things and then feel betrayed when they don't come to pass. If the iPhone doesn't fit your needs then don't buy it. There are other options available for you. You need to edit excel files? Great! get something with Windows Mobile on it. You need an integrated GPS for traversing the Congo? Great! By a phone with that capability. If you don't need a real web browser, a large capacity in a cell phone, and integrated iPod, WiFi, or want OS X in a cell phone then move along.

[Chris Flynn @ Jun 30th 2007 5:45AM]

well maybe so...maybe the apple fans got a little excited - maybe a lot of people got a little excited but where's the harm in that ?

Is that any reason to launch a global campaign of hate and speculative disinformation ?.

Do so many people find it so hard to sit and watch, read ( and ignore would be preferable) the enjoyment of others.

That's what I'm getting here overwhelmingly - the vibe is that too many people are really finding is the fact that a lot of people are taking a great deal of pleasure out of the whole iphone thing and there is a massive amount of people who just can't bear to see this!!.
So it's not perfect - so what - nothing is - NOTHING IS - but we let it go.

Yes, it's a shame tat some over exciteable Apple fans get drawn into a debate over why it's better than a blackberry but heck it's new and it's exciting and apple folks are a bit like that - they get a little hysterical sometimes .Can't we learn to make allowances for that ?

Seriously, what is so wrong with digging something so much and morethan that WANTING , ASPIRING TO OWN, and HOPING it will be great ?

When did competition become a crime.

Lately, I realise that everything mediocre is ignored on the internet but anything that strives to be great is trounced on by ave after wave of hate and usually attracts the words ' it sucks'..

[Leonard Nimrod @ Jun 30th 2007 9:44PM]

@ Ryan Block,

How many stores did you call? Is that number a fair representation of the 162 US Apple Stores?

You certainly can't go by the Apple's availability list as it's only been 11 to 8 hours since the phones went on sale, depending on the time zone. The list will be updated once a day so I expect that we need to wait a few more hours before we pass judgment on the iPhone's Day 1 availability.

[jilie @ Jun 30th 2007 5:47AM]

Go Engadget, Apple needs your best help to sell more of those briks

[Chris Flynn @ Jun 30th 2007 6:00AM]

Chink,

I hear what your saying. I would personally have liked GPS in it but it's not in it and so that's just the way it is but what we really need to take care of is the fact that there aren't a whole lot of companies that actually manage to make perfect or amazing products. We need to nurture the Apple's of this world because they take the entire planet forward even though they are most definitely not perfect and do not get it right - they at least TRY their absolute best. LG just rushed that thing out - as neat as it was and as great as LG are they didn't take the extra 12 months to make it really special..that's the difference and it should be appreciated even if it doesn't necessarily deliver exponential results.

I think we need to take heed of Concorde as an example . It took two countries a monumental effort to make that plane over 40 years ago - a plane which even in 2005/6 when it was retired was unsurpassed and flew so fast that the modern military jets could not catch it ( hence why it was actually retired as it posed a massive security threat) but the point is that we shouldn't take greatness for granted or the aspiration to accomplish it because it really doesn't come around all that often and as with Concorde it had flaws that made it exclude a massive section of the population but it was still great - in fact unsurpassed. So it is with iphone.It's not as practical as blackberry but it is great and it represents a herculean effort to aspire to something great, practical and beautiful. it follows a different brief to a blackberry and we should appreciate that because one day there will be no Apple and then who will lead the way ? Who will show us the 'opposite' direction'? And yes that sounds elitist and it's not because Micorosft have taken Apple's direction and SURPASSED it . They made the Boeing 747 of operating Systems and we the world should be grateful because Apple learned some lesson too. Microsoft actually gave more, and less, simultaneously.

So I guess I just think we should watch these amazing products unfold with gratitude no matter who makes them and buy the ones we like and live and let live, live and let die the ones that don't, but make no mistake about it ( and this is equally aimed at over zealous apple fans) we should not take such great pleasure in watching or trying to help an effort towards greatness fail - no matter who is attempting it. It's spiritually immoral!

[Jeff Lewis @ Jun 30th 2007 7:24AM]

And it took the Wii.. how many months to catch up with demand?

And the DS when it came out? :)

And the iPhone - the thing that we've been led to believe will herald the second coming of Christ - has caught up with demand in just one day? Either they made a LOT of these things or...

BTW, RIM's stock price went up 22% today. Let me repeat that - twenty two percent in one day. Apparently the market doesn't see the iPhone as the Blackberry killer yet...

Maybe it's time to wind down the hype and come back to reality. :)

[Got one @ Jun 30th 2007 10:31AM]

that would be because it's not a blackberry killer. Nor was it ever meant to be. Even though I'm typing this out almost as fast as my blackberry...

[Matt @ Jun 30th 2007 11:11AM]

I thought the Wii still hadn't caught up to demand, leading many people, to think they're artificially limiting the number they produce.

[FuzzyCat @ Jun 30th 2007 9:13AM]

... that photo, is that a picture of the new iTard?

[Roger @ Jul 1st 2007 12:29AM]

Read the fine print on that green dot.. it's updated at 9 pm, it's for the next day, and it doesn't specify 4's or 8's. Neither do apple store people on the phone unless you specifically ask them. California/manhattan village suckered me in on both counts.

(re GPS: external bluetooth GPS are available. The blackberry's google maps app can connect to one. Maybe the iPhone can, too.)

[t-bone @ Jun 30th 2007 1:17PM]

When I went to the local AT&T atore it looked like there were a lot of people. Then I noticed almost everyone was an employee. I played with a demo for about 10 minutes and half the time the employees were playing with the other demo.

[Mark @ Jun 30th 2007 5:07PM]

So all those people camped out for nothing...well I guess they got to look like idiots on tv.

[TNP @ Jun 30th 2007 5:30PM]

What a perfect picture of the prototypical Apple fanboi: white, rich, young, and idle, sporting the prerequisite five o'clock shadow and backward baseball cap (ya know, just like in da hood). Pathetic.

[Leonard Nimrod @ Jun 30th 2007 9:50PM]

The updates were made after 9pm PER THE POSTING ON THE WEBSITE.

Approximately 35% of the Apple Stores in California are sold out. There is no way of telling how many units the other stores have left or any info about the AT&T stores.

Does anyone know how many units the stores were receiving on average? I'd like to figure a base figure for how many units were sold in the first 27 hours.

[Matt @ Jul 3rd 2007 5:08PM]

Just called the Pleasanton, CA store and the guy just laughed. Said they had one left and it should be gone within seconds. Anyone know where the hell I can get one of these in the bay area?!?