Apple stores finally started to run out of the coveted device Sunday. An employee at the Apple store in downtown San Francisco said all of their iPhones were gone early Sunday afternoon, but he said he was expecting a shipment Monday morning. AT&T stores were mostly out of iPhones on Saturday. The pause in iPhone sales might give Apple and AT&T time to catch up with the activation issues that bedeviled some iPhone customers over the weekend. Apple and AT&T unveiled an innovative activation scheme with the iPhone launch. Usually, activating a new cell phone means spending almost an hour or so in a wireless store as the sales representative lights up the phone. But with the long lines expected last Friday, Apple came up with a way to use iTunes to connect to AT&T’s activation process so iPhone customers could set up the device at home.

However, several glitches were reported with the system on Saturday and Sunday as new iPhone owners grew frustrated waiting for activation. At times the system seemed overwhelmed by the sheer volume of those trying to active their new iPhones. Those customers setting up new numbers with AT&T appeared to have fewer problems than existing AT&T customers, based on comments on Apple’s support discussion and on message boards elsewhere. Activation was supposed to be a snap: Customers hook up the iPhone to a Mac or PC with the latest version of iTunes installed, and the software automatically walks them through the process. After entering a credit card number and selecting a rate plan, the system was supposed to send an e-mail confirming the iPhone had been activated. But waiting for that e-mail turned into a frustrating experience for some iPhone customers.

“There are a small percentage of iPhone customers who have had a less-than-perfect activation experience. We’re working hard to resolve any issues quickly,” Natalie Kerris, an Apple spokeswoman, said via e-mail. Other iPhone owners on Apple’s Web site reported problems with the SIM (subscriber identity module) cards inside their iPhones. SIM cards hold information unique to a mobile phone account and allow users to easily switch between phones while keeping their numbers and contacts–except on the iPhone, which uses a SIM card that works only with the iPhone. Otherwise, the launch went almost perfectly with no other serious issues – and first customers look mostly satisfied with their brand new gadget.

Source: Apple, Cnet 

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