Apple iPhone lines smaller this time around

Fewer people are reported to have waited in line here in Birmingham, and in many places around the USA and world. as the new iPhone went on sale.
Folks tell us that perhaps a dozen or so people were in line at the AT&T store in Homewood, as the new iPhone 3G S went on sale at 7:00am CT.
In New York, a few hundred people were in line just before the 7:00 am opening of Apple Inc.‘s flagship store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, a fraction of the people who lined up around the block for last year’s launch.
This year, Apple and AT&T Inc., the phone’s U.S. carrier, defused the drama by taking pre-orders for the new phone online.
That means fewer prospective buyers had a reason to stand in line, and it sped up the activation process.
The new model is called the 3G S.
AT&T said it had taken pre-orders for “hundreds of thousands” of the phones.
Apple sold one million units of the older model, the 3G, in the first three days last year.
For new customers signing a two-year contract with AT&T, the 3G S costs $199 or $299 depending on the memory capacity.
Compared to the 3G, it has a faster processor and an upgraded camera.