Official I – i Phone launch: Apple iPhone get underway June 29

apple launching its revolutionary phone the apple i phone today . People were in queue to get hold of the most awaited i phone on their hands. The i phoe combines both the power of phone and music player.It also features a 2 MP camera. an ideal comapnion for every gadget lover . And considering its features the price is low ,since apple is considered as one of the premium brands-even in the case of computers(mac) , Mp3 player (i-pod). Now Steve Jobs is here with new i phone.

Hundreds of people in the United States who lined up to be among the first to get their hands on the coveted iPhone from Apple Inc. are now the braggarts and guinea pigs for the latest must-have, cutting-edge piece of techno-wizardry. The release is scheduled for later points in time elsewhere in the world.The doors of Apple and AT&T stores opened at 6 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Friday (2-30 a.m. IST on Saturday) with cheers from employees and customers.

“I’m glad it’s over,” said Carlos Sanchez, 19, at Apple’s Fifth Avenue store in New York City, clutching shopping bags containing two iPhones.

Stores farther west followed suit as the clock struck 6 in each time zone. In San Francisco, customers sang the traditional New Year’s Eve song “Auld Lang Syne” following a countdown, as if heralding a new era in telecommunications.

Patrons at the Apple store in Palo Alto, California, were treated to a brief appearance by Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Techies, exhibitionists and luminaries — even the co-founder of Apple and the Mayor of Philadelphia — were among the inaugural group of iPhone customers.

Apple is banking that its new, do-everything phone with a touch-sensitive screen will become its third core business next to its moneymaking iPod music players and Macintosh computers. The gadget combines the functions of a cell phone, iPod media player and wireless Web browser. The company has set a target of selling 10 million units worldwide by 2008, gaining roughly a 1 percent share of the cell phone market. It is expected to go on sale in Europe later this year and in Asia in 2008.

Apple has not disclosed how many iPhones were available at launch. But analysts expect it will sell out by early next week.

The handset’s U.S. price tag is $499 (about Rs. 20,000) for a 4-gigabyte model and $599 for an 8-gigabyte version, on top of a minimum $59.99 -a-month two-year service plan with AT&T, the phone’s exclusive carrier. Because Apple designed a new way for customers to activate the cell phone service from AT&T, by logging onto Apple’s iTunes software from their computers, many buyers headed straight home to christen the device. In Newton, Massachusetts, Khu Duong, 30, said he was excited but “afraid to open it. You want to sit down and relax.”

In Seattle, Paul Clark, a videographer, had his iPhone up and running in short order right outside the Apple store. He installed the required new version of iTunes, hooked up the cell phone to his Macbook, synchronized his phone contacts and calendar, and was soon off taking calls from clients, putting them on hold, checking his calendar, phoning his wife and responding to e-mails.