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So many of you are probably still in your jammies, reveling in the afterglow of yesterday’s purchase, repeatedly opening Maps on your glossy new iPhone 3G and watching in exaggerated wonderment as your location is determined with frightening speed and accuracy. Others might be standing in a line snaking hundreds of bodies long into your friendly local Apple Store, reading this post from the comfort of your Motorola RAZR V3 and realizing that these are some of the last moments you’ll be using a physical keypad. Still others are bemused by the fuss — but whatever your stance on the phone, it’s pretty hard to ignore the buzz that’s floating around in the aftermath of day zero. Here are some of the goings-on we’re tracking:

• The masses of humanity continue to collect. Massive stock shortages don’t seem to be an issue (yet), but patience is not a virtue we hold dear to our hearts, so we really can’t blame these people.
• Some buyers are reporting a yellow tint to their screens — probably not enough to notice without another unit side-by-side for comparison, but real nonetheless. Of course, the first iPhone suffered from the occasional crappy backlight, bum touchscreen, or negative black, so we wouldn’t be surprised if a few lame displays made it out of the factory floor for this model as well; we’re following up with Apple on this and we should have more for you later today.
• We took the iPhone 3G on a decent drive around New York, and found its tracking to be impeccable. In a situation where we might have veered off the path following Google Maps directions, the blue blip kept us right on track. Despite what you’ve read (we’re looking at you, Mr. Pogue), we see no technical reason that the aGPS can’t provide turn-by-turn directions, provided there’s software to take advantage of it.
• There are some complaints floating around about 3G reception, but it’s been just fine on our review units around the world so far. How’s it treating you out in [your location here]?
• iphone-dev has a video up of BootNeuter going about its business on a first-gen iPhone that’s been upgraded to firmware 2.0, and the process is looking as slick and painless as ever. Unlockers who haven’t shelled out for the 3G, commence your salivating.
• MobileMe seems like it’s up for the moment, but don’t breathe too hard lest you bring the whole thing down again.

Update: We just spoke with Bob Borchers, senior director of product marketing for the iPhone, and he had some very interesting info regarding the “yellow screen” phenomenon we’ve been hearing about. According to Bob (and Apple), the screen’s color temperature has been purposely altered on the new iPhone to produce warmer, more natural tones, sharper images, and deeper blacks. The company says that 1st gen iPhone screens appeared colder and less defined, and they made some adjustments for the new models. In our opinion, what he says is right on — the screens do look better on the iPhone 3G versus the older variety. What do you guys think?

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Source: Chris Ziegler

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Filed under: Cellphones

If you hadn’t heard, hundreds of people were turned away from Apple Stores last night, iPhone 3G-less. However, being gluttons for punishment — and having nothing to do over the weekend — they’ve returned in droves to Apple Stores, with reports of lines longer than 200 people stretching out from The Cube, Apple Store Chicago (pictured) and even a store in Durham, NC. Apple offered up vouchers last night, at least at some stores, to anyone still waiting in line, so those folks can show up whenever and jump the line for a phone — about 30 of them are lined up at The Cube currently. If you don’t mind you can let us know in tips what the current status on the line / stock is at your local Apple or AT&T store is, and we’ll try to keep track of this mayhem through the weekend. Good luck out there!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this stuff in]

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Source: Paul Miller

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No, really, will it? We’re on pins and needles here. Sure, the original blended up fine, but with all the G’s in this thing, perhaps not even the mighty Blendtec can reduce it to rubble. Video is after the break. Oh, and for extra bonus points, check out the fake Belgian edition, also after the break. Yeah, we said Belgian.Continue reading Will It Blend? iPhone 3G edition

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Source: Paul Miller

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This’ll come as no surprise to those of you that’ve been following our worldwide line / stock watch, but with lines hitting six hours long, Apple’s started capping them so that stores can close and prepare for tomorrow. Reports of line capping are coming mostly from larger stores in the East Coast and Midwest, but the Glendale Apple store in California is reportedly capped as well. Interestingly, while carrier stores worldwide have all sold out, we’ve heard that most Apple stores have had more than enough inventory — one tipster reported that delivery trucks were being used to store overflow, since the main stock rooms were full at his local store — so we’re guessing the lines have more to do with the slowness of the activation process catching Apple off-guard. It certainly wasn’t smooth sailing today, but eventually things started working, and it seems like anger’s turned to love for a lot of folks. And isn’t that the basis of every good relationship? Oh, right. So who’s going to get up and do this all again with us tomorrow?

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Source: Nilay Patel

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So yesterday we posted a link to a version of the 2.0 iPhone firmware which was supposedly the release version of the new system software. After getting weirded out by some buggy behavior, then discovering that there were number differences between our version and the version shipping with new iPhone 3Gs, we got a little suspicious. Today, we noticed that the file which Apple made available for upgraders via iTunes sported a slimmer file size and separate designation (1,1 as opposed to the 1,2 of the previous iteration). The new version (supposedly the “official” version) is now available from Apple’s servers — so if you had any misgivings about that initial update, you can snag this and get a do-over. We’ve updated and restored on our phone, and we’ll be honest — it does seem a little bit snappier. Hit the read link for the file, and let us know if you notice any differences.

[Via MacRumors]

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Source: Joshua Topolsky

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At first, we figured our Instinct here at Engadget HQ had just woken up on the wrong side of the bed, but we’re now receiving a flood of tips from individuals nationwide having the same issues. Put simply, it seems that certain data services are thoroughly borked, with our Weather app being unable to refresh for at least the past 18 hours (some are reporting even longer). Additionally, we’re hearing that folks are having to manually refresh their email and deal with all sorts of error messages when attempting to use any of the data services. So, what gives? Are you having data-related issues with your Instinct? C’mon Sprint, this is your best-selling EV-DO device of all time — it’d be nice to have it working for the weekend. Oh, and great job showing all those angered iPhone 3G users that your network doesn’t have issues, too.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Last we knew, a 436-page Treo 800w manual popped up from deep within the confines of Sprint. Fast forward a few days, and a few diehards are already trumpeting the receipt of their precious new Palm. Yep, that handset you see above is indeed the 800w, and if you care to ask some early adopters how things are going, feel free to hit the read link and surf on over to the forums.

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Source: Darren Murph

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digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_Dev_Team_officially_pwns_firmware_2_0_on_video’; You saw this coming right? With barely even 24 hours of 2.0 in our life, the Dev Team has once again cracked the case wide open. They’ve got a video of all the action — featuring the upcoming PwnageTool 2.0 — that just went live on their site, so hit the read link and check it out for yourself… you won’t be disappointed.

Update: It’s looking like the video isn’t functioning right now — we’re looking for a mirror and will let you know when we find it.

Update 2: Video is up after the break! Just do it.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Continue reading iPhone Dev Team officially Pwns firmware 2.0 on video

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Source: Joshua Topolsky

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Remember how we told you to expect some totally edge-of-your-seat, riveting price news in regard to Palm’s Centro? Yeah, how’s about $30 off? Presumably in conjunction with the iPhone 3G launch, AT&T has hacked the Palm Centro down to $70 after rebates (from $100) with a two-year agreement. There’s no telling if the new price will sashay on over to those CDMA carriers or not, but we’ve got our fingers crossed real tight.

[Via Electronista]

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Source: Darren Murph

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digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_activation_servers_back_online_world_s_stock_updates’; It’s only 4pm ET and the iPhone 3G has already had a pretty rough go of it, with most customers forced to wait for Apple’s activation servers to get back online and render their devices operational. AT&T just told us that the servers are back online, though, and that activations are occuring for 3G customers — we’re guessing that means first-gen upgraders are seeing things work as well. Lines are still killer right now, but now that the servers are back up, let’s hope the chaos subsides a bit. We’ll be filling in stock / line situations worldwide after the break as they come in, let us know what’s up by you in comments or email iphone AT engadget DAWT com!

Update: Most AT&T stores are out of stock — if you must have an iPhone today, it looks like an Apple store is the only way to go. Have fun in line!

Update 2: You guys are amazing — keep those updates coming in! Right now it looks like the best place to nab an iPhone is Brandon Mall, in Tampa, Florida: plenty of stock and only 20 people in line. Who’s up for a road trip? So much for that — see below.

Update 3: It looks like Apple is starting to cap lines so that stores can close by midnight or so. How crazy will it be if there are four hour lines for this thing again tomorrow? Keep those updates coming!

Final update for the night: Apple’s capping lines so that most stores can close by 11, or midnight at the latest. We’ll do this all again tomorrow, thanks for all your help!

NYC:
Cube, 4:12pm ET: Line is two to three hours, they don’t anticipate running out of stock.
Soho, 7:42pm ET (updated): Lines have been cut off so the store can close later tonight. [Thanks, Jeff]
14th Street, 4:34pm ET: 4 hour (!) line, “plenty of phones,” don’t think they’ll run out, surprised to see that the line hasn’t died down.

Chicago:
Apple store on Michigan, 7:34pm ET (updated 3): Line is GROWING (!), approaching 6 hours, Apple still says “we have enough supply to meet the demand.” Lines have been cut off for the night so the store can close at midnight. [Thanks, Dan and Neil]
AT&T on State: Sold out. We’re double checking. Yep, out of stock.

SF:
Downtown, 4:22pm ET: Two hour line, “Quite possible” it’ll run out of stock, in stock right now.Continue reading iPhone activation servers back online; stock updates from around the world

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Source: Nilay Patel

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