Good Morning!

Welcome to iPhone UK Launch Day - 9th November 2007.

I am Steve, your Online Editor for the last 4 months of news hugging information which we have streamed your way. We are outside the Apple Store in Glasgow this morning and am bring you updates throughout the day including photographs and stories from the lines. We want to hear from you if you are queuing outside any Apple Stores, Carphone Warehouse Stores or O2 Stores.

Send your photographs and your stories to launchday@iphoneuklaunch.com and we will try to include as many as possible. BIG SHOUT out to those who are braving the weather today and congratulations - iPhone UK Launch Day is here…
Steve

First off - the 1.1.2 update has been released in the US. The highlights are:
- Modem firmware: 04.02.13_G
- TIFF Exploit patched (per Engadget) so JailBreakMe no longer works
- Devices in iTunes, battery icon shows up to indicate it charges.
- Slide for emergency call changes languages
- International keyboard available
- No horizontal text messaging (per villanova329)
- iToner works.- Screenshots of 1.1.2 from MacNN
- Custom Ringtones section

7.02am - The queue outside the Glasgow store started at 7.02am with yours truly starting the queue. Weather in Glasgow - Cold but dry.
8am - The queue has now expanded to 2 people
9.25am - The barriers are out in Buchanan Street and the crowd is now sitting at 4 people. The iPhone arrived yesterday at the store and the staff are in a jovial mood today.

9.46am - Press are already starting to take photos!

11.09am - Well Buchanan Street is getting busy. The store is open. We are living off StarBucks - you need them in the cold weather of Scotland. The Apple Store video crew have arrived! The press are swarming about at a distance. Just under 7 hours to go!

Sorry about the formatting today - Wordpress is playing up! Typical!

11.32am - The rain has started very lightly here in Glasgow. Isn’t it funny how Apple have started selling their iPhone to the Scots before anyone else! (See the picture above! - and No its not Davids US version which we reviewed earlier ) Only joking Phil - no need to send the Apple Helicopter to Glasgow!!!!)

11.40am - Our queue is now at 8 people. We have been bullpened into the barrier system that was set up this morning.

12.20pm -Less than 6 hours to go and the weather here is hit and miss. More people are starting to queue - we are now in double figures. Thanks to Johnny Evans at MacWorld.co.uk for the plug.

1.00pm - Congratulations to Glasgow for winning the 2014 Commonwealth Games. That’s a double celebration in Glasgow today. iPhones & 2014 Games!!!! Just finished our pizza after being interviewed by the Apple Video Crew. Plugs for the site!!!! Will that mean I get an email from Apple Legal to cease with the site cause I am using the iPhone Name?

The Apple store have come out with Apple iUmbrellas to keep us dry - Thanks guys!!!

Here in Glasgow, we are up to 16 people - its getting longer, sorry 17 people now (another one joined, 18 - and another….this could go on!)

2.10pm - The doors are now shut at Glasgow’s Apple Store. The Times are taking photographs here. The line is growing and there must be about 35-40 people in the line here and it is growing every few minutes. Notice the yellow post-it note on the door! It says “We are currently updating your Apple Store!”

3.30pm - They have replaced the window posters on the Apple window with “iPhone Premiere, Tonight at 6.02pm” The best thing is that O2 staff have been trying to poach us down to the local O2 store for free coffee and muffins - when where right at the front of the Apple Store Queue. Less than 2.5 hours to go. Free coffee from Starbucks whilst we stood in a brief rain shower. Thanks to all those that have emailed with support for us - not long to go my friends!

4.10pm - I was in the middle of doing my 4pm blog when the Scottish Herald wanted to take photos! Oh whats its like to live the celebrity lifestyle of being the first in line for an iPhone!!!! Its amazing how when anyone asks who was first - the rest of the guys here point to me within 0.000001 of a second!!!! But hey, there a good bunch of guys (I guess! ).

Apple staff have just given us bottles of O2 water!!! Get the plug? And the best question so far now is why 6.02pm? Just under 2 hours to go…..

4.55pm - It’s Friday, its 5 to 5, its iPhone UK Launch Day!!!! (For those old enough to remember that reference! ) Well its little over an hour to go. Its getting dark here in Glasgow. The guys from the Apple Store came out and told us what will happen when the doors open. They have got a route round the store for us to walk, passing and picking our accessories before we get to the till point to buy our iPhones. The video guys turn up at lunchtime today, so we will be having a YouTube video on Monday. We will give you the address when we get it. We will also post all our photos over the course of the weekend. There is a space near the front of the queue reserved, for what we think is the press pen. We will be making 1 more post at around 5.30pm before we get ready. Then the next one will be later tonight after we all have our iPhones.

5.25pm - Okay so here is my final post without an iPhone. Just want to say HI to the guy in the Apple Store Glasgow who are sitting in the lounge watching this blog - whilst we are up here and its just starting to rain. Give us a big cheer! - Thanks for the umbrellas - roll on 6.02pm

Until later - Happy iPhone UK Launch Day!!!!

8.40pm - Well I am finally home. We got a great receiption from the ENTIRE Apple Store staff - so first off - thanks to all at the Apple Store for making the 6.02pm welcome into the store something really special. We clapped them back all the way round the store. Its kinda hard to take it all in as we had the press taking photos all the way round, including when I purchased the first iPhone at the Apple Store in Scotland. That took 2 minutes and then spent the next 25 minutes getting my photograph taken. So check out tomorrow - The Times, The Herald, Daily Record, etc.

Thanks also to all the guys who kept me company at the front of the queue, and to the rest of you in the queue, Ihoped you enjoyed your day. Special mention to David & Jon for their support and I think they where glad they weren’t first as the amount of interviews and photographs I had to give and stand for was massive. Although to note, David’s US iPhone must be the most photographed iPhone in Scotland!

So BIG shout out to all those that attended today in Glasgow and a BIG SHOUT OUT to all you out there who left comments and sent emails of support to us throughout the day. We had a laugh at the queue information from around the country!

So I finally got home and plugged in my iPhone, connected with O2 (who I have been with since..forever!) activation took only 4 minutes and made my first call from my iPhone. Just syncing my music, TV and movies to the iPhone and am as happy as a kid on Christmas Day.

Sorry to read the comments from some of you on your experience with your iPhones. It would have been a story to end with if the first iPhone sold at the only Scottish Apple Store turned out to not sync or activate.

It’s been a journey over the recent months and a BIG THANK YOU for everyone out there that has supported the site with your comments, questions and answers. To quote part of a saying from one of my favorite films (The Empire Strikes Back), “This has been a day long remembered…” we all have our iPhones, some happy, some not, but thank you all for the journey.

Enjoy your new toys and enjoy what’s left of iPhone UK Launch Day!

Steve
Online Editor

PS - We will be posting some of our pictures of the coming days and watch out for our YouTube video of the day in the line at the Glasgow Apple Store waiting for the iPhone!