The wait for Apple crazed fans is finally over as Apple stores across America opened their doors for the launch of Apple's iPhone.

With US gadget sites and media going crazy over what was dubbed "iDay", Apple launched the phone to huge crowds who had been waiting since Monday to get the company's latest gadget.



Apple enthusiasts finally get hold of the iPhone


The phone, which promises touch sensitive controls, a built in iPod for a music player, fully functional web browser and Wi-Fi connectivity has finally gone on sale after being announced to great fanfare in January By Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

It is available in two versions sporting either four or eight gigabytes of memory and also feature's a digital camera.

Praised by newspaper tech journalists already, gadgets fans had their own chance to finally get their hands on the new mobile phone, which some commentators have said will have a profound change and effect on the mobile phone handset industry.

Eyewitness reports said over 600 people queued at the New York Apple store on Fifth Avenue.

Apple, who has promised an iPhone for all its staff, hopes the new product will become one of the company's key products, alongside the iPod, its computers, and its Apple TV product, launched earlier in the year.

In preparation for the launch Apple also released an update for its iTunes music software package. The 30MB file includes a number of new features for the phone and is necessary to activate the phone via iTunes.

Apple said it hoped to sell 10 million iPhones by 2008 and grab itself a 1% share of the mobile phone market, a considerably small number compared to music phones sold by Sony Ericsson and Nokia.

However as Americans queued ready to sign up to a two year contract on the AT&T network in the US, Europeans were bracing themselves for a rumoured announcement on Monday from Vodafone that it would be launching a 3G version of the phone in the UK later in the year.