Update: Apparently Apple is having massive problems which are preventing iPhone users from activating their phones in-store. This is contributing to the huge lines, and some users are being sent home with their phones to activate it online with little success… Read more here…

I just took a quick tour of the local AT&T / Apple Stores in my area to check out the 3G iPhone launch line situation - it was way over the top!

This is not the dinner rush at PF Chang’s - this is the line for a 3G iPhone at The Westchester.

Greenwich AT&T Store - there was a line out the door, but its unclear as to why, because a store rep was outside letting everyone know they only got 40 units and were sold out this morning - line started around 4:30 AM.

Stamford Apple Store - the same AT&T rep told me that Stamford had plenty of phones, but there was a 4-hour line. I-95 Northbound is typically jammed from exits 4 to 8 anyway, so there was no way I was going to bother checking it out.

Westchester Apple Store (White Plains) - The same AT&T rep told me he didn’t know the situation there, so I checked it out firsthand - YOW! Easily also a 4-hour wait there. Oh, and don’t forget the line that starts on 287 westbound at Exit 8 - due to all the bridge construction, the exit is backed up onto the freeway.

Here is the video I took of the line at the Westchester Mall, just to save you some time and gas - I count roughly 215 people in line:

3G Apple iPhone Launch - Line at Apple Store in White Plains, NY (The Westchester Mall) from StationStops Admin on Vimeo.

I would have expected there to be smaller lines today than the original launch, but I was completely wrong, and when I think about it it makes sense why they are longer.

1. A *lot* of people (myself included) waited for the 3G as we knew how bad EDGE is.

2. Although cost of ownership is higher, the threshold handset price was cut in half, which is far more significant when trying to get people to buy a new handset - Americans will gladly finance anything! This is especially true for kids trying to get their parents to let them get one, I think.

3. The phones must be activated in-store. This has got to be slowing the lines to a crawl - whereas last year you could just grab your phone and leave.

4. Its getting good reviews. Where as last year all the reviews made a very clear point about how incredibly slow the EDGE connectivity was on the original iPhone, that major barrier - as well as exchange support for many business people - has been taken down.

I also want to warn people that, for some reason, everyone is driving like a moron today - among the winners - a Ford Expedition SUV attempting a 3-point U-Turn in the middle of one of the busiest intersections in Greenwich.

The top prize, however, goes to this woman attempting to park outside across the street from the Greenwich AT&T store:

OK, first off - she has no need to parallel park - the front THREE spaces are open in a row, and there is nothing in front of the front space - this is a ‘drive-in’ situation for all but a semi.

However, for some reason, she pulled forward and decided to BACK the SUV in ( WHYY!!??) - VERY SLOWLY - while she was talking on her CELL PHONE, running up on the curb, and eventually parking - IN TWO SPACES! I WATCHED this for about 5 minutes - it was sooo painful to watch. I took this I took this photo when I came back to my car 10 minutes later - she was still sitting in her SUV, on her cell phone. GAH! If I was a cop, I would have tasered her, just because.