The iPhone 3G experience, Iowa style

11:56am, pull into shopping mall parking lot

11:58am, walk into Apple Store, greeted by friendly concierge who takes my name and gives me his business card

12:02pm, referred to friendly store checkout guy Jim who politely walks me through all the nuances of my new phone (in stock, no problem) and the changes to the AT&T plan.  I sign my name on his handheld twice.

12:16pm, walking out of shopping mall (with lunch in hand) speaking to wife on new 16GB black iPhone 3G, service already transferred. 

Received two calls on the new phone on the way home.

Score = 10/10

Got home to find out that the new phone has 1.5 bars in my office, where the 1st Gen iPhone had no service. The new phone also imported all my data from the old phone, including the apps I had already purchased at the app store.  Sadly, the new phone doesn't use the same dock as old phone so I need to work out a way to pair it with my Apple BlueTooth headset.

As was the case last year, I waited two or three days post-launch to let the bugs get worked out on others.  Jim the affable sales associate told me that by the time he got back from lunch Friday, the registration system had been up and solid for him. 

I actually had to wait about an hour to renew my drivers license two weeks ago, because the flooding had taken out the two largest Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) centers here and everyone had to use the same location. People were speechless that they had to wait longer than 5 minutes.  In California, I used to bring a book with me to Mountain View to do any DMV business, and a snack, as it was an all-day affair.

Sometimes, living in a fly-over state works out to your advantage.