I plan on standing in line this Friday night to buy an iPhone. Now, I have a professional reason for it, as I make money writing about computer technology. I was also in the market for a smartphone when Steve Jobs dropped the iBomb in January. My current phone, about four years old, knew that change was in the wind and promptly stopped working as well. It knows the end is near.

I'll be taking pictures at Seattle's University Village mall [1], which contains both a corporate-run AT&T Store and an Apple Store [2]. If you'd like to see the photos I take - which I hope to upload directly while on location through a free Wi-Fi network or cell data connection - you can visit this Flickr photo group [3]. You can also add your own iPhone photos to it. There's an RSS feed [4] option if you want to subscribe, as well.

I have no idea if the line of people waiting to purchase an iPhone will be 20 people long, or if it will stretch around the block. I expect that many people waiting at the Apple Store will merely want to play with one, while the AT&T Store's customers will more likely be purchasers. I may walk away empty-handed, forced to try again another day.

[1]: http://www.uvillage.com/
[2]: http://www.apple.com/retail/universityvillage/week/20070624.html
[3]: http://www.flickr.com/groups/tidbits_iphone_launch/
[4]: http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/groups_discuss.gne?id=410716@N21〈=en-us&format=rss_200

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