Software Problems Bug Apple's Launch Of New iPhone

NEW YORK (AP) - Some of the people buying Apple's new iPhone
today -- its first day on sale -- are having a problem: they can't
get it to work right away.

A spokesman for the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the U.S.
-- AT&T -- says a global problem with iTunes servers is keeping the
phones from being fully activated in-store. Instead, employees are
telling buyers to go home and perform the last step by connecting
their phones to their own computers.

At Apple's flagship store on New York City's Fifth Avenue,
customers were waiting at the counter for at least 20 minutes to
get their new phones activated.

It isn't just the new iPhones that are affected. A software
update released for older models required that phone to be
reactivated through iTunes. One man who updated his
first-generation iPhone only to find it unusable calls it "a
mess."

The new gadgets went on sale today in 21 countries. They'll be
sold in France starting next week.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)