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On the night of Thursday, July 10th the rest of the household was getting ready for bed. I, on the other hand, was getting ready to head out the door to the local Apple store at The Gateway. I arrived at 2:30 AM to something I didn’t exactly expect: a rather long line of people who, like myself, were waiting for the iPhone 3G to hit the shelves.

Throughout the morning, the line continued to grow to a point where I couldn’t even see the end of it. As 8:00 drew nearer, even more people began to arrive in droves. I’ve never seen such a huge crowd lined up for a product before, but then, I’ve never lined up for a product as exciting as the iPhone 3G (although I must admit, Leopard comes close).

After a long, grueling wait, the black veil was dropped and the doors were opened. The first group of people was let in, but it was clear the wait was going to extend for a bit longer. Luckily, Apple employees brought two iPhones out - one white, one black - for those of us in line to glimpse.

Apple was also kind enough to bring coffee and bottled water to those who wanted it. Talk about classy. It was a hot morning, and the water was a welcome surprise.

While most of us waited in line for iPhones, one individual came looking for something else. I watched as this man walked up to one of the Apple reps at the door, entered the building, and minutes later exited the building with a brand new MacBook Pro. Even with hundreds of people lined up outside the store, pining for glimpses of the shiny new toy and shouting out superfluous questions, Apple was able to help someone who wanted nothing to do with the madness! If you ask me, that really speaks to quality service.

After a two hour wait, I entered the building and purchased my new iPhone. The activation servers were down at the time, and I was told to activate it from the comfort of my own home. The process failed a couple times, but within 10 minutes I was good to go. Compared to the time spent in line, this wait was hardly something to complain about.

The first impression of the iPhone 3G is: WOW! I’ve seen the imagery and advertisements put out by Apple, but none of it compares to holding the device in your hand. I can’t say a lot about the new iPhone at this point, but the first impression is definitely there. Here’s to hoping it’s everything it promises!