What in the world are those people doing ? The action was on South Main Street, where a cheerfully subdued throng of 300 or so enthusiasts gathered outside the Apple Store. There you would have found hip-hop tech mavens, tattooed housewives, retired hipsters, a uniformed Riverside County firefighter, and untold numbers of college students of every ethnicity and hue, all waiting patiently under the cool morning haze for their turn to buy .

"Where's the party?" I heard one twentysomething ask of nobody in particular. The music didn't start until 7:00 a.m., when the dulcet tones of Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin and Ella Fitzgerald began pumping through the mall's PA system. Until then, the guests had to be content with the low buzz of under-caffeinated conversation punctuated by the occasional shouts from the Apple Store manager, making sure everyone was in the proper line.

For customers who had pre-ordered their new phones online or at the store weeks in advance, 3G S Day arrived about 90 minutes before the official opening time of 7:00 a.m. The store began letting in customers--many of whom no doubt had long commutes ahead from the Inland Empire to Orange or L.A. counties--as early as 5:30 a.m.

Most discovered that pre-registration only guaranteed a phone, not expedited service. Like so many other Apple Store locations around the country, the line for customers who had pre-ordered was longer than the one for customers who took their chances at simply showing up. One gentleman, who arrived at 7:45 a.m. and left before I could ask him his name, was flabbergasted at the size of the line.

"Did you make a reservation?" I asked.