iPhone lust spans the globe — in West Windsor

An international crowd lines up at AT&T store in Nassau Park shopping center to be among the first to buy trend-setting device

By: Greg Forester
   WEST WINDSOR — Max and Jack Kelleher had been casing the Nassau Park AT&T store for days, ready to camp outside at the first sign that a line was forming for Apple’s coveted multimedia iPhone.
   The two brothers, British nationals living in Hopewell and attending The Lawrence School, were determined to be at the head of the line when the store opened its doors at 6 p.m. Friday to begin selling the much-promoted phones.
   The iPhone, at $499 or $599, triples as cell phone, multimedia player, and an Internet browser, giving its users the ability to talk on the phone, wirelessly surf the Internet, and download music, movies, and TV shows.
   Oh, and it’s a camera as well.
   The Kelleher brothers claimed their place outside the store at 8 a.m. Friday, prepared to camp there for a full 10 hours, leaving only to take turns for food runs and bathroom breaks in the shopping center. They said the wait would be worth it.
   "This is just going to be such a revolutionary product," said Max, 13,sitting with his iMac laptop in hand during the vigil. "It’s like buying a piece of the future."
   "I love buying technology that is going to do well," said Max. "When we lived in France, we used iMac computers, and we’ve been using Apple products ever since."
   Jack Kelleher, 15, had come to watch over his little brother, but he said he was contemplating purchasing an iPhone for himself once he got inside the store.
   "The touch-screen is a really great feature of the iPhone," said Jack. "I really might end up buying one once I get inside."
   By 4 p.m. Friday, about 30 people had joined the Kelleher brothers on line. Most said they were really excited about the iPhone’s touch-screen functionality and the capability to combine several of their favorite gadgets into one.
   Another Hopewell resident, Yagul Davis, said he was disappointed that the store was enforcing a one-phone limit per customer.
   "I own an iPod, iMac, and another Apple computer, but this is the future of Apple," said Mr. Davis, a Mexican immigrant. "Once I get it, I’m going back to Mexico City to show it off in Mexico, and see how it works."
   When he actually goes back to Mexico with his iPhone, Mr. Davis will be bringing a product that won’t even be available in his native country until next year. A European release is planned for late 2007 but the iPhone is not scheduled to go on sale in Mexico, Australia and Asia until sometime in 2008.
   The iPhone, available a 4 gigabyte $499 version and a 8 gigabyte $599 version, comes with varying service plans that start at around $60 a month.
   Apple developed a new method of phone activation for the iPhone, relying on iTunes music software and the customer’s computer rather than a time-consuming process at AT&T stores.
   Customers simply plugged their phone into their iTunes-enabled computer and followed steps to activate their phones, although there have been numerous reports of problems with the activation process.
   The touch-screen featured on the iPhone is only responsive to human fingers, or any material similar to human skin, not requiring a stylus or similar implement used on other products.