We know, we know -- this one's going to be a doozie, but it's something that just has to be done. For folks out there too far from the reaches of GSM or simply unwilling to cough up the requisite dough to pay for AT&T's comparatively pricey plans, we figure Kevin's question will hit very close to home:

"What is the best alternative for the iPhone / iPhone 3G? I am looking for a touchscreen phone that has most of what the iPhone can provide, such as media and decent web browsing. I am also looking for a device with a lower cost (with or without a new plan). Could you please help point me in the right direction?"

Feel free to dish our your best options for GSM and CDMA, particularly if you've wondered this yourself and found your answer. Keep it civilized down there, alright? Got a question you'd like to pose to Engadget's fine, fine readers? Shoot it over to ask at engadget dawt com and hope for the best.

Conspiracy theories tend to run rampant when a phone (or any object of desire, for that matter) that's produced in absolutely enormous quantities dries up in retail locations. Are they really sold out? Is the retailer trying to work prospective buyers into a frenzied lather? Is the CEO sleeping on a bed fashioned of gilded iPhone 3Gs? The answer to that last question is very likely "yes" either way, but for their part, AT&T and O2 have both come out to promise customers that they're putting handsets out in retail just as quickly as they possibly can, with AT&T additionally noting that it's shipping out direct fulfillment orders on a "first-come, first-serve basis" with lead times currently running around two weeks -- in other words, "ship us some more frickin' phones, Apple." Seriously though, how's Apple going to come even close to keeping up with the next round of national launches when they're so woefully behind on the existing ones? And more importantly, if these execs would just sleep on queen-sized iPhone beds instead of king-sized ones, just imagine how many more happy customers we'd have out there?

Read - O2
Read - AT&T

We've already seen the iPhone 3G got unlocked to function on any carrier (and you can already buy unlocked versions in several countries), but we haven't seen a locked handset get unlocked via software only, and the folks at gsmphone-unlocking have the first video we've seen of Steve's newest baby doing the SIM swap dance without any adapters. Yep, there it is, going from Rogers to Fido. Sadly, the video is more of a shameless ploy for publicity than actually useful information, and until we're told otherwise, we're just going to assume that they've just gotten hold of an early copy of the Dev Team's unlocking tool -- which should be free to the public sometime soon. So, you know: video after the break, but feel free to ignore the obnoxious phone numbers and URLs.

Sure, it was already possible (if complicated) to jailbreak a first-gen iPhone running the 2.0 software under Windows, but this is the one-click tool all you crazy cats with those extra G's need if you don't have a Mac -- too bad no one's come up with a better name than "pwn" yet. Please, people. Let's do better.

PS.- As usual, you run the risk of totally destroying your phone mucking around with this stuff, so don't say we didn't warn you.

Update: winpwn.com is down already, mirrors in the comments!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

For many, dropping $199 / $299 on an iPhone 3G (provided you actually locate one not hidden behind a 4+ hour line) is enough. For those who fell head over heels with the original iPhone dock, it's not. Here's your chance to send 29 more US bucks Cupertino's way, as the official iPhone 3G Dock is now on sale at Apple's website. Oh, and if you're really a sucker, you'll lay down 9 whole US dollars for a 3-pack of iPhone 3G Universal Dock Adapters to slip your new mobile into a Universal Dock.

Update: So apparently these have been in Apple stores since day 1. Considering just how long it'll take to get in one, though, this whole "online route" is still probably your best bet.

[Via Wired]

Read - Apple iPhone 3G Dock
Read - iPhone 3G Universal Dock Adapter 3-Pack

iPhone unlocking is a little more cash-intensive now that Apple and AT&T are all contract-happy with the 3G, but it looks like would-be unlockers will have a little more time to save up those pennies -- the erstwhile hackers on the iPhone Dev Team say that while a forthcoming version of the sadly-named Pwnage tool will activate and jailbreak the iPhone 3G, unlocking is taking a little longer than expected, and they don't want to release the code until it's exactly right. The tool still unlocks first-gen iPhones running 2.0 and allows jailbreak apps to co-exist with the App Store, so if you're desperate to unlock right away, we'd say a first-gen unit is your best bet.

Tech firms seem to have this uncanny ability to significantly boost functionality while significantly reducing cost with each new generation of a product -- and you'll never believe this, but it looks like Apple is no exception. The teardown and bean-counting experts over at iSuppli are at it again with the iPhone 3G, finding that the whole kit and kaboodle tallies up to just $174.33 (give or take) for the 8GB model in material and manufacturing costs. That works out to about $53 less than iSuppli's estimate for the original 8GB model back in June of last year, an amount saved in part by moving to a single 10-layer circuit board (versus a pair of 6-layer boards). The firm figures Apple's shelling out about $50 in royalties for each iPhone 3G that rolls off the assembly line, leading to a grand total of $224.33 in costs. Offset that with a healthy AT&T subsidy, and all told, we're looking at something like a 55 percent margin to help Steve finance his next round of black turtlenecks.

[Via AppleInsider]

Craziest thing, Apple apparently launched some sort of device being loosely coined as a "cellular telephone" last Friday. The darned thing makes calls, keeps track of contacts, and even receives messages -- all right from your pocket! Wild, sci-fi caliber stuff, that. We're catching up on the latest iPhone 3G buzz, and here's what we've got going on at the moment:

• Jonny Gladwell, better known as the first iPhone 3G owner in the world thanks to his perfect storm of location (New Zealand) and line position (first), has been outed as a plant for New Zealand's Yellow Pages. Turns out the guy was hired by the directory service to see if he could "survive" the brutal multi-day sitting experience using nothing but -- you guessed it -- the Yellow Pages to get by. Ironic that you don't need a friggin' Yellow Pages when you have an iPhone, isn't it? Hmm, Jonny?
• Portelligent has sacrificed an iPhone 3G to conduct perhaps the most thorough teardown thus far, finding some incremental improvements, largely to accomodate 3G and bring the design in line with the iPod touch, while carrying over a good deal of componentry that had no reason to be upgraded. Infineon and Toshiba had big wins here in the radio and flash memory departments, respectively.
• AIM acts as a conduit for sending text messages by allowing users to add phone numbers as "buddies." The iPhone has an AIM client. See where we're going with this? Yep, it's a cheesy way to avoid shelling out for a text messaging plan, if you want to go to the trouble of using AIM in place of the native SMS app.
• The plot thickens in the yellow screen issue. As we'd mentioned yesterday, Apple claims the warmer color temperature seen in the iPhone 3G was a purposeful attempt to make things prettier and sharper -- but now, Ars Technica reports that forcing an update in iTunes from the 3G's shipping firmware of 5A345 to the ever-so-slightly newer 5A347 pushes things a little bit back toward the blue end of the spectrum. So what's it gonna be, Apple?

[Thanks to everyone who sent these in!]

So many of you are probably still in your jammies, reveling in the afterglow of yesterday's purchase, repeatedly opening Maps on your glossy new iPhone 3G and watching in exaggerated wonderment as your location is determined with frightening speed and accuracy. Others might be standing in a line snaking hundreds of bodies long into your friendly local Apple Store, reading this post from the comfort of your Motorola RAZR V3 and realizing that these are some of the last moments you'll be using a physical keypad. Still others are bemused by the fuss -- but whatever your stance on the phone, it's pretty hard to ignore the buzz that's floating around in the aftermath of day zero. Here are some of the goings-on we're tracking:

• The masses of humanity continue to collect. Massive stock shortages don't seem to be an issue (yet), but patience is not a virtue we hold dear to our hearts, so we really can't blame these people.
• Some buyers are reporting a yellow tint to their screens -- probably not enough to notice without another unit side-by-side for comparison, but real nonetheless. Of course, the first iPhone suffered from the occasional crappy backlight, bum touchscreen, or negative black, so we wouldn't be surprised if a few lame displays made it out of the factory floor for this model as well; we're following up with Apple on this and we should have more for you later today.
• We took the iPhone 3G on a decent drive around New York, and found its tracking to be impeccable. In a situation where we might have veered off the path following Google Maps directions, the blue blip kept us right on track. Despite what you've read (we're looking at you, Mr. Pogue), we see no technical reason that the aGPS can't provide turn-by-turn directions, provided there's software to take advantage of it.
• There are some complaints floating around about 3G reception, but it's been just fine on our review units around the world so far. How's it treating you out in [your location here]?
• iphone-dev has a video up of BootNeuter going about its business on a first-gen iPhone that's been upgraded to firmware 2.0, and the process is looking as slick and painless as ever. Unlockers who haven't shelled out for the 3G, commence your salivating.
• MobileMe seems like it's up for the moment, but don't breathe too hard lest you bring the whole thing down again.

Update: We just spoke with Bob Borchers, senior director of product marketing for the iPhone, and he had some very interesting info regarding the "yellow screen" phenomenon we've been hearing about. According to Bob (and Apple), the screen's color temperature has been purposely altered on the new iPhone to produce warmer, more natural tones, sharper images, and deeper blacks. The company says that 1st gen iPhone screens appeared colder and less defined, and they made some adjustments for the new models. In our opinion, what he says is right on -- the screens do look better on the iPhone 3G versus the older variety. What do you guys think?

This'll come as no surprise to those of you that've been following our worldwide line / stock watch, but with lines hitting six hours long, Apple's started capping them so that stores can close and prepare for tomorrow. Reports of line capping are coming mostly from larger stores in the East Coast and Midwest, but the Glendale Apple store in California is reportedly capped as well. Interestingly, while carrier stores worldwide have all sold out, we've heard that most Apple stores have had more than enough inventory -- one tipster reported that delivery trucks were being used to store overflow, since the main stock rooms were full at his local store -- so we're guessing the lines have more to do with the slowness of the activation process catching Apple off-guard. It certainly wasn't smooth sailing today, but eventually things started working, and it seems like anger's turned to love for a lot of folks. And isn't that the basis of every good relationship? Oh, right. So who's going to get up and do this all again with us tomorrow?

It's only 4pm ET and the iPhone 3G has already had a pretty rough go of it, with most customers forced to wait for Apple's activation servers to get back online and render their devices operational. AT&T just told us that the servers are back online, though, and that activations are occurring for 3G customers -- we're guessing that means first-gen upgraders are seeing things work as well. Lines are still killer right now, but now that the servers are back up, let's hope the chaos subsides a bit. We'll be filling in stock / line situations worldwide after the break as they come in, let us know what's up by you in comments or email iphone AT engadget DAWT com!

Update: Most AT&T stores are out of stock -- if you must have an iPhone today, it looks like an Apple store is the only way to go. Have fun in line!

Update 2: You guys are amazing -- keep those updates coming in! Right now it looks like the best place to nab an iPhone is Brandon Mall, in Tampa, Florida: plenty of stock and only 20 people in line. Who's up for a road trip? So much for that -- see below.

Update 3: It looks like Apple is starting to cap lines so that stores can close by midnight or so. How crazy will it be if there are four hour lines for this thing again tomorrow? Keep those updates coming!

Final update for the night: Apple's capping lines so that most stores can close by 11, or midnight at the latest. We'll do this all again tomorrow, thanks for all your help!

NYC:
Cube, 4:12pm ET: Line is two to three hours, they don't anticipate running out of stock.
Soho, 7:42pm ET (updated): Lines have been cut off so the store can close later tonight. [Thanks, Jeff]
14th Street, 4:34pm ET: 4 hour (!) line, "plenty of phones," don't think they'll run out, surprised to see that the line hasn't died down.

Chicago:
Apple store on Michigan, 7:34pm ET (updated 3): Line is GROWING (!), approaching 6 hours, Apple still says "we have enough supply to meet the demand." Lines have been cut off for the night so the store can close at midnight. [Thanks, Dan and Neil]
AT&T on State: Sold out. We're double checking. Yep, out of stock.

SF:
Downtown, 4:22pm ET: Two hour line, "Quite possible" it'll run out of stock, in stock right now.

In a repeat of last year's problems, it looks like the insane demand for the iPhone 3G has taken its toll on Apple's iTunes activation servers -- that's a picture of iTunes locking up in the Chicago AT&T flagship earlier this morning. We're hearing that the servers are now definitely down after being intermittently active for the past few hours, and that customers are either being turned away or sent home from both Apple and AT&T stores to activate at home using iTunes. That's especially interesting since it suggests that AT&T was insisting on in-store activation to thwart unlockers, but for right now the real news is that lots of eager iPhone 3G buyers are stuck with two useless phones, since upgrading from a first-gen unit disables the SIM. Ouch. We'll keep you updated.

Update: Apple has confirmed to us that activation is down, and that customers are being asked to take the phone home and activate via iTunes later. We're not sure what good that'll do, since the servers are down no matter where you are, but Apple says it's "working on a solution." In the meantime, it looks like the new SIM works in first-gen units, so at least upgraders aren't totally phone-deprived. Oh, and remember that updating a first-gen iPhone to 2.0 requires hitting the server as well, so if you haven't taken the plunge we'd say hold off until this all gets sorted.

Update 2: In related news, those updating their first-gen iPhone to 2.0 are also getting caught in the activation shuffle, leaving some with bricked iPhones. In our test case, the activation servers came back up after about 45 minutes just long enough to get 2.0 running on our first-gen iPhone, but not all have been so lucky. Is your first-gen iPhone stuck in activation limbo from the update? Let us know.

So we can't help but notice that Apple still hasn't officially released iPhone software 2.0 for first-gen iPhones, even though most self-respecting gadget freaks have pulled it from the direct download links that popped up earlier. Since the file was hosted and available on Apple's servers around the time it was expected for release, it seemed safe to assume that it was legit -- and indeed, it (for the most part) works fine and plays well with the newly-live App Store. But a few of us here have had persistent problems on our first-gen iPhones: interface lag, crashing apps, hard resets, you name it. On top of that, we're hearing whispers that the .ipsw in question was meant only for 3G phones and not first-gen units -- and bizarrely, the build number of what we've got is 5A347, while our launch iPhone 3G is running build 5A345 on them. So until Apple stops being, well, Apple, and clears this all up, we're putting it to you: how are things going? Any problems, or smooth sailing? Happy you took the early plunge? Let us know in comments!

If you've been scouring the dictionary for sour grapes, chances are you'll find Ivan Seidenberg's picture. Verizon Communications' chairman and chief executive recently sat down for an interview with Financial Times, and while he spent the vast majority of his time boasting of just how amazing Verizon is, he did stop to remark about Cupertino ever so briefly. Granted, he did start off by admitting that Apple was a "great company," but that didn't stop him from pillorying the iPhone as well as Dear Leader himself. He actually accused the interviewer of "declaring [Apple] a winner before it had earned it on the field," suggesting that the iPhone wouldn't become a mass-market handset simply because the next iteration will be subsidized. He also stated that "Mr. Jobs had no monopoly on innovation," and took the conversation even further off track by blurting that "Steve Jobs eventually will get old." At least Keystone knows where to find its next bitter beer face, right?

[Via The Inquirer, image courtesy of Pace, thanks Frank]

For the smattering of Canadians wealthy enough to pick up an iPhone 3G from Rogers Wireless without worrying over the lack of an unlimited data plan, we've stumbled across what appears to be internal verbiage detailing the in-store activation process. Quite frankly, there doesn't seem to be any real surprises here, but it is somewhat interesting that retail locations will be required to download and use a special version of iTunes with an "Activation Only Mode," which will enable employees to unbrick the mobiles before customers leave. In any case, feel free to hit the read link if you're anxious to know exactly what the sure-to-be-hair-raising experience will be like come July 11th.

[Via GearDiary, thanks to everyone who sent this in]