Excited gadget junkies waited for the much hyped release of Apple's next-generation iPhone Friday as months of hype about the new cell-phone grew to a climax, according to dpa. "It's been an iPhone party all night long," said Stephen Easley, a 49-year-old investment banker sitting outside an Apple store in Arlington, Virginia. Easley and about a dozen others had camped out in lawn chairs in front of the store since Thursday night. Their numbers had swelled to about 40 by early Friday afternoon. The phone was to be made available Friday evening at thousands of stores of the AT&T network and at Apple's retail stores, where extra staff have been added and specially trained to deal with the onslaught of phone-freaks. "I'm just taking vitamins, doing push-ups and trying to get adequate rest," said Katy Johnson, who works in an AT&T store in Capitola, California. "It's going to be a long day." The device functions as a cell-phone, internet browser and iPod media player all encased in a slick black tablet that features an innovative multi-touch screen that Apple contends is far superior to the myriad of tiny buttons that have been used to operate so called smart-phones in the past. The phone, which costs 500 or 600 dollars depending on memory size, has so far won largely positive backing from reviewers, who say that despite a few shortcomings it is an impressive device. Apple has set a target of selling 10 million units worldwide by 2008, gaining roughly a 1-per-cent share of the cell phone market. It's expected to go on sale in Europe later this year and in Asia in 2008. The companies have not released figures on how many devices will be initially available. "We are expecting and preparing for significant demand," said Ted Carr, spokesman for AT&T. "We will have enough for everyone that wants a device over time. Stocks will be replenished weekly." Industry analysts expect the first iPhone to sell quickly, with predictions Apple and AT&T could shift as much as three million handsets within the first weeks. But it's unlikely to dominate the cellphone market in the same way that the iPod changed the world of music listening. The iPhone has many entrenched competitors who are already ramping up their products to match some of the iPhone's innovations. That hasn't stopped Apple fans from gushing about the new tech gadget.
