That represents a bit of a victory for Dallas-based AT&T Inc., which struggled to manage the preorder process last week and saw its activation system crash two years ago when the iPhone 3G went on sale.
After many Dallas shoppers spent hours -- even days -- in line waiting for the iPhone 4, their patience was rewarded.
At 6:30 a.m. Thursday, two lines stretched from the doors of the Knox Street Apple Store as more than 300 weary but dedicated iPhone fans -- some hanging onto pillows or cups of coffee -- were finally able to put their hands on the new phone.
Many of them had camped out since early Wednesday, waiting to buy the iPhone 4 when the store opened at 7 a.m.
They passed the time swapping life stories, watching movies on iPads and making frequent coffee runs.
"It's like a lifestyle," said David Mars, a 21-year-old Dallas native who spent the night sleeping on a small pillow on the sidewalk.
Mars' friend Lance Seabourn, 22, described the new iPhone like car aficionados would a flashy sports car: "It's gorgeous. It's very, very fast. The new screen is stunning."
One Waxahachie customer was willing to pay a steep price for a good spot in line. He paid an unemployed woman who attends his church $500 to hold a spot at the front of the nonreserved line.
She claimed the spot at 6 a.m. Monday and stayed until the man arrived to take her place shortly before the doors opened Thursday.
Justin Wagoner, who became an Internet sensation for his campout that started last week, could barely keep his eyes open as he talked about his weeklong stay in a tent on Knox.
Even as he left the store with his new iPhone, he couldn't stifle a yawn.
"I'm still alive," he said. "Tired and barely alive."
While buyers were able to activate their phones without a hitch, many commenters online complained about a host of minor physical flaws.
Some people reported losing signal if they covered the steel exterior on the phone's bottom left edge. The metal band is also the antenna.
Other buyers noted minor yellow blotches on the high-resolution screen.
The handful of issues, though, seemed like a small percentage of the hundreds of thousands of units that were delivered or picked up over the last few days.
Apple said it took 600,000 preorders June 15.
Some retailers were also selling unreserved phones to walk-in buyers Thursday, but AT&T stores won't have iPhones for walk-in sales until Tuesday.
Neither Apple nor AT&T had announced actual launch-day sales by Thursday evening.
Wagoner wasn't the only buyer who made a big commitment to get the new iPhone as soon as possible.
Robert Turner drove more than four hours from Arkansas to get his iPhone 4 at the Apple Store on Knox. The server was down when he tried to reserve a phone, so he stood in the longer line of people without reservations.
"Some people do cars. I do iPhones," he said.
One fan, Jim Sadler, a 54-year-old Highland Park resident, faced a life-and-death situation waiting for his iPhone.
Early Thursday, a passerby threatened him with a knife. The customer in front of him waved down a police officer, and the two called 911. They said police took the man away.
Despite the incident, Sadler was in good spirits and joked about being one of the older people in line.
"This just proves that there are cool people over 30," he said.
Drate Berry, a 20-year-old University of North Texas student, wore evidence of his long night outside the Apple Store. His white undershirt was covered with coffee stains.
He brought his girlfriend, Robin Anderson, along for the wait.
"Starbucks opening at 5 a.m. was a lifesaver," said Berry, who got his place in line at 5 p.m. Wednesday. "We started counting that down at 3 or 4."
