New Phone Makes Fast Connection

All her life Eileen wanted a Dick Tracy watch, but she figures the new iPhone is as close she'll get. The San Rafael resident was excited as she called her husband on her new iPhone to say "I got it."

The Apple Store at The Village and the Verizon store at the Town Center were both packed with customers eager to pick up the new phone which was released Thursday. Verizon sold out of its preorder stock within hours last Thursday, but retailers made sure they had plenty more on hand when stores opened their doors.

"It's been a fun day," said Drew Henry, manager of the Verizon store at the Corte Madera Town Center. "There were two lines of customers all the way back to Rite-Aid this morning. When the doors opened, there were high-fives and everyone was smiling and cheering. There was a lot of high energy and you can see it still (during the afternoon)."

Heidi Flato, Verizon's media and employees communications manager for the Northern California and Nevada region, didn't have exact sales numbers Thursday, but said "the flow has been really positive. It seems like there was a pent-up demand from our customers."

Customers were willing to pay $200 or more for the new phone and Verizon's service, which reportedly offers faster and stronger connections than their competitors.

"Basically, I heard horror stories from friends about AT&T and dropped calls, issues with connections, stuff like that," said Fairfax's Greg Salomon as he looked over his new iPhone.

AT&T, which had been the sole service provider for the iPhone, reportedly has a more global coverage area, however.

Employees at the AT&T store in the Town Center were also looking forward to Verizon's iPhone launch, telling their own customers it could ease congestion and help solve some of the problems that have reportedly plagued AT&T.

Mill Valley's Rachel Dowson stopped into the Apple Store at The Village to pick up the iPhone she'd "been waiting for for the past four years."

"I've been waiting for this ever since AT&T got the iPhone," Dowson said. "All my friends got it first, but I really wanted the iPhone when it became more useful and there were more (applications) available. … I'm really looking forward to this phone."

For Sarah, from Novato, there will be an admitted learning curve as she adjusts to the iPhone. "I don't text, but I might have to learn how," she said.