Apple's new iPhone gadget has finally been released in the US.
Thousands of avid shoppers queued outside Apple and AT&T stores as the device went on sale at 1800 local time on Friday.
Some had even queued for several days to guarantee they got their hands on one of the phones.
"I've gone through several phones, even the expensive ones," Albert Livingstone, who queued up in Chicago, told Reuters news agency.
"This is different. It's the newest toy. I'm 62 - I don't have much time left to buy toys," he added.
The multi-purpose phone, which costs either $499 or $599, was unveiled by Apple back in January.
It combines the features of an iPod music and video player with those of a mobile phone.
The device, which will be launched in Europe later this year and Asia in 2008, allows users to download music, TV shows, podcasts and videos from the popular iTunes store.
It also incorporates a large touch-screen rather than the conventional buttons used on most other mobiles.
"We are all born with the ultimate pointing device - our fingers - and iPhone uses them to create the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse," Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, told reporters back in early January.
"It works like magic... It's far more accurate than any touch display ever shipped. It ignores unintended touches. It's super-smart."
The device offers a full touch keyboard for text messaging, a built-in two megapixel camera and a 3.5-inch widescreen display.
It also includes a calendar application that allows calendars to be automatically synced with a PC or Mac.
The iPhone comes with either 4GB or 8GB of storage space and runs on Apple's OS X operating system.
California-based Apple hopes to sell around 10 million iPhones by 2008. This would give the firm a 1 per cent share of the global mobile phone market.
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