The iPhone, a combination widescreen iPod, cellphone and pocket Internet device, went on sale at Apple's 164 stores and nearly 1,800 AT&T stores, yesterday.

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters):

Thousands of gadget fans, or their paid stand-ins, lined up yesterday to be the first buyers of Apple Inc.'s iPhone, a music and video-playing phone that seeks to reshape the mobile industry.

Apple stores became a magnet for technology enthusiasts to wait for the phones go on sale at 6:00 p.m. local time in each United States time zone.

More than 200 people had lined up in front of Apple's Fifth Avenue store by midday yesterday. Another 100 stood outside its San Francisco branch for a device that has whipped technology lovers into a frenzy usually reserved for rock stars.

"It's a gift for my wife," said Eric Brandon, 42, in New York. "It's a little expensive, but it's worth it because there is no other phone that's like it."

Some aimed to make a personal profit from the iPhone, which costs up to US$600, by selling it or getting paid to wait. Others had been sent by family members or bosses keen on the bragging rights of being among its first owners.

Paying for spots

"Someone is paying me a few hundred bucks to hold the spot," said Roy Fuller, 26, an administrative assistant who took the day off work to spend in line. "Right now, it's US$500, US$600 ... I don't know if I want to shell that out right now for a phone."

The svelte iPhone is a gamble by Apple co-founder and Chief Executive Steve Jobs to build upon the success of the best-selling iPod music player and expand the market for the company's software and media services.

The iPhone melds a phone, web browser and media player. It received rave reviews from U.S. technology gurus who praised the gadget as a breakthrough device that combines functionality with beauty.