Rain doesn't thwart Boston iPhone 3G S fans

Computerworld - BOSTON -- Despite on and off rain, more than 120 people hoping to buy the new iPhone 3G S lined up outside the downtown Apple Store here before its 7 a.m. opening.

That number was well below the more than 1,000 who waited in hot, humid conditions at the same store last July when the second-generation iPhone 3G debuted.

It wasn't clear whether the rain kept bigger crowds away, but after the store opened, dozens of additional shoppers continued to arrive, with many standing in heavy rain on the sidewalk an hour after the opening, protecting themselves from the elements with black umbrellas adorned with the iconic white Apple Inc. logo that were handed out by the store staff.

"I'm in line because it's an Apple phone and it looks good," said Andrea Soares of Boston. She said she wanted the new model because of its video capture feature. She said that she's eager to have AT&T Inc., the exclusive iPhone carrier in the U.S., turn on MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) later this summer so she can send and receive video clips.

Soares, who was born in Brazil and has worked in Germany, said she plans to review the video capture function for German readers of Camcorderinfo.com, where she is a managing editor. But mainly the device will be for her personal use, she said.

Two men in their early 20s, Patrick Morton and Alex Newbury, both of Boston, were the first in line at the Boylston Street store after waiting since 9:30 p.m. Thursday and enduring a cold, rainy night to get their new iPhone 3G Ss. By 8 a.m., an hour after opening, they had ported nearly all of their wireless phone numbers from Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel to AT&T with help from the store staff.

"The wait's been OK, and everybody has been nice, even though it was cold last night," said Newbury, who admitted that Apple customers are "a little intense as a group." He said he expects to use his iPhone for a range of functions, including medical applications, since he is a graduate student at Harvard University studying neuroscience.

Morton and Newbury, who were roommates as undergraduates at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., each bought a 32GB device for $299, plus a two-year service plan with voice, data and texting service at a cost of $90 a month. That adds up to a two-year commitment of $2,160 each, not including taxes and fees. Morton said he was willing to shell out the monthly cost even though his company is planning to give him a BlackBerry smartphone at no charge. "It's worth it," he said.