Let’s see if I can get this straight. Release the long-awaited iPhones 2.0 software, new iTunes software, launch the MobileMe service, and have a bunch of new (and old) iPhone customers signing up for service… all on the same day… all at the same time.

To put it nicely, it was a nightmare.

Welcome To The (NOT) Working Week

I woke up at 5:00 am, feeling refreshed. I usually don’t get up until 7:00 am, so this was early. Maybe it was because I was anticipating the long awaited iPhone 2.0 firmware and the MobileMe launch. I already updated my iTunes and MobileMe software, so all I was waiting for was iPhone 2.0. From about 7:00 am until 8:00 am, I was in the Apple Discussion forums, talking with all the anxious users. It was almost like a sporting event. I had the TV on in the background and they were broadcasting live from the Apple store in New York City. I was getting more excited by the minute. ETA for 2.0 was 8:00 am. It was one minute to go.

The time has come! I clicked the button to upgrade my firmware. A message popped up stating that I already had the latest software. OK… click it again. Same thing. Me, along with hundreds of thousands of people were sitting there clicking that button, getting the same response. I knew it probably wouldn’t come on right at 8:00 am. But still, when the time comes and you can’t get the software, it’s like a slow death.

Newtons Law

After about 15 minutes I was able to start my download. It went smoothly. iTunes backed up my phone, installed the new firmware, then copied all my data back onto it. Then it got crazy. Really crazy. For some reason, connecting the iPhone to iTunes caused no sync, and no recognition of the phone, other than listing it in the source list. I couldn’t see the summary, could browse through the tabs, it just said “Connecting to iTunes Store.” Why? So for about 90 minutes I had to sit through this, trying everything to get it to work. Back in the Apple forums, everyone was having the same problem. We were all going through this together.

At this time, I had my phone, but I couldn’t sync the new apps that I got from the iTunes Store. So really, I had a phone, but couldn’t do the one thing I wanted to– use my iPhone as a remote for my Apple TV. For some reason, it just wouldn’t sync with my iTunes library. I was considering erasing the iPhone (which would take another hour) and start over, but luckily I read a post in the Apple forum from a guy who just right-click the iPhone in the source list and chose “sync.” How simple. It worked. I was able to get my apps installed, but the phone still wouldn’t sync. At this point, I was just happy to use my remote.

About an hour later, the iPhone finally synced automatically with iTunes, and everything worked fine. But wait, it wasn’t over.

Don’t Forget About Me!

Remember MobileMe? It launched today. Well, almost. As of 4:34 pm EST, there are still problems. For some people who didn’t get the updates earlier in the week, they can’t even use the new service. The system is slow and there are error messages abound. I was lucky to download all the software beforehand, so I can get things working relatively close to correctly, but there are still issues. MobileMe web services are slooooooooow. Reading mail, choosing folders, doing any clicking takes forever. The old .mac service was spry. This new service can put you to sleep. Hopefully this is just first day blues. If it’s this slow in a week, I would think something must be up.

Launch days are rocky rides. You take the good with the bad. I’m just glad I wasn’t in an Apple store activating a phone. I read numerous reports of Apple sending people home to complete the activation. Why on Earth AT&T made people do in-store activations is beyond me.

For all intents, I have a new iPhone today, and I love it!