AfterTek

There has been so much hype surrounding the new iPhone, but many were still afraid that it might not be as successful as Apple is wanting it to be. Friday, June 29th, the iPhone was unleashed to consumers and even though there were a few snags along the way, Apple stated that it was a successful weekend. ”The response to iPhone has been incredible. We are thrilled there is so much excitement,” said Apple (AAPL) spokeswoman Natalie Kerris. As of late Sunday, no sales figures were released by Apple.

There was a party atmosphere at New York’s Fifth Avenue Apple Store, where Greg Packer waited a week outside to claim the No. 1 spot. “Beautiful,” he said after buying two iPhones. Orders placed on Apple’s website Sunday afternoon indicated that it would take two to four weeks for iPhones to ship. At the same time, Apple Stores in Chicago, Cincinnati and Albuquerque still had units in stock.

For its part, AT&T expects to fulfill new orders in three to five business days. AT&T (T) spokesman Tim Klein reported that its nearly 1,800 stores were “virtually sold out.” The iPhone, combination iPod, cellphone and pocket Internet device, went on sale at 6 p.m. Friday for $499 and $599, depending on storage. It didn’t take long for sales to hit eBay (EBAY). As of 4:45 p.m. ET on Sunday, more than 2,600 iPhones sold for an average price of $775.03. The highest selling price: $12,500, for a Saturday sale through eBay’s “Buy It Now” feature, which offers items at a fixed sum.

“From Apple’s perspective, this is exactly the kind of supply-and-demand situation you want,” says JupiterResearch analyst Michael Gartenberg, who bought one. “A little scarcity isn’t a particularly bad thing, but you don’t want people getting frustrated.” In Atlanta, Thom Volarath was still waiting on Sunday for his iPhone to be activated. “It’s been 43 hours-plus since I’ve had phone service,” he said in an e-mail. “I’ve been using my sister’s (cellphone) to call AT&T.”

Jackson, Miss., nursing student Jenny Springfield also encountered delays. She didn’t get her $599 iPhone activated until 11 a.m. Saturday after starting the process at 7 the night before, a wait made more frustrating because AT&T deactivated her old phone. “We have had a small percentage of customers who have had activation issues,” AT&T’s Klein said Sunday. “We’re working on resolving those as quickly as possible.”

Gartenberg thinks the hiccups are to be expected given the iPhone’s complexity. “It’s not a surprise that there’s going to be a couple of glitches,” he says. “This is a once-in-a-decade, if not once-in-a-lifetime-type event. And Apple played it perfectly from January to now.”