By By Lydia Grimes – features reporter
Crowds gathered at the local Brewton office of AT&T Wireless on Friday to purchase the latest “cool” cell phone to hit the market.
Apple's iPhone 3G went on sale at 8 a.m. all over the country, and some of Brewton's savviest phone users were ready to trade up to the latest phones.
Despite their early arrival, there was a glitch in getting the phones. According to a spokesman with AT&T, the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the U.S., there was a global problem with Apple Inc.'s iTunes software that prevented the phones from being fully activated in-store, as had been planned.
The iPhone can be used as a cellular telephone, but includes other features that allow it to be used to surf the Internet and send and receive e-mail.
If you are lost, you can quickly find your way with the phone, which offers mapping services. You can get the weather, see what time it is, take a photograph and take notes, and Apple has promised that the phone works faster than ever.
Tracie Samuel, manager of Family Dollar Store, was among the first in line to get the new phone in Brewton. She was upgrading to the iPhone 3G.
Jessie Richardson, manager of the local AT&T store, said people who lined up must have been checking out the new features as they all showed up to buy.
Sue Sperry, the Alabama spokesperson for AT&T, said the phone was popular everywhere.