Apple's new 3G iPhones go on sale Friday, which means that after months of little to no revenue from phone sales, Apple will finally be milking the iPhone cash cow once again. We could be seeing a billion-dollar weekend for the company. Still, while Apple is primed for a massive launch day -- 22 countries will participate -- I expect a bit of chaos will reign, at least in the U.S.
The problem is that iPhone buyers will have to buy and activate their phones in either an Apple or an AT&T retail store (AT&T is the iPhone's exclusive carrier partner in the U.S.). That's a strategy intended to prevent people from unlocking the phones and reselling them. If you've activated a cell phone in a store recently, you know it can be a huge pain. It takes 10 minutes at least to get through the paperwork, the credit check and the back-and-forth yadda yadda before you walk out the door. Even if AT&T makes the iPhone activations as pain-free as possible, I foresee lines of disgruntled shoppers who are tired of waiting.
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