New York: If Steven P. Jobs, the chief executive of Apple, had any concern that the early leak of information about the iPhone 4 would deter people from wanting to buy it, it looks as if he can relax now.
The fourth-generation iPhone, which features a higher-resolution display, longer battery life and a front-facing camera for video chat, appears to be in high demand. So high, in fact, that when Apple and its partners started taking pre-orders on Tuesday, many anxious customers were unable to reserve one. The phone will be released next Thursday.
"This pre-ordering process is an absolute joke. I've tried Apple.com, ATT.com and even calling the store... no luck. #FAIL," Andrew Dumont of Seattle wrote on Twitter.
Another Twitter user by the name of JoeKLee wrote: "Apple.com and Att.com, I just want to give you guys money. Please fix your websites."
Other users have said that Apple's new retail application, which the company introduced Tuesday morning to allow customers to pre-order the iPhone 4 on their existing iPhones, isn't working.
"The app doesn't work either for upgrading... it crashes mid-process," wrote a Bits commenter using the name ES.
Mark Siegel, a spokesman for AT&T, declined to comment. At the time of this posting, Apple had not responded to requests for comment.
According to the technology blog Gizmodo, some are so fed up with the online ordering process that they've headed to an AT&T or Apple store. Gizmodo is also reporting that some people have seen evidence of a security breach involving overlap between user accounts on AT&T's site.
Readers, weigh in. If you are trying to pre-order an iPhone 4, are you having problems online or offline?