The 2nd generation iPhone went on sale today. There were long lines in all the big cities, but how about the smaller towns? Well, the answer amazed me. Here in the middle of North Carolina, we don’t have an Apple store, but we do have an AT&T store in nearby Aberdeen, NC. I went by this morning just before they opened at 8 am. The line wrapped around all four sides of the large building.

AT&T Store in Aberdeen, NC

The amazing part is that the new iPhone’s big draw is that you can get higher data speeds on the AT&T 3G network, but the AT&T 3G network is not yet available in our area of North Carolina. The closest AT&T 3G network is in Fayetteville, which is 45 minutes away.

Just goes to show you that the lure of a new gadget at a good price is irresistible to gadget mavens everywhere. Also shows that the number of those infected with the gadgetitis is increasing everyday.

UPDATE: Our local AT&T store ran out of iPhones before 1pm. However, they then started taking what they called “auto-fufillments”, so you could go in and purchase an iPhone for delivery in the very near future. They are telling customers that the iPhone will be delivered to the store in 7 days.

Although Apple and AT&T had many technical difficulties getting the iPhones they sold the fist day activated, the way they controlled the number of iPhones was an artificial, but smart move ………Make enough iPhones for everyone, yet limit the sales on the first day to add to the buzz and lower the traffic on the activation process. Then get the rest of the people their iPhones quickly enough to get their money in the Apple & AT&T bank accounts. It’s pretty ingenious!