Long lines and activation delays marred Friday’s debut of Apple’s iPhone 3G. Carrier AT&T blamed Apple.

AT&T said in-store iPhone 3G activations stopped at about 9:30 a.m. Eastern moment, thanks to issues with the iTunes 7.7 software needed to configure the device. AT&T is recommending that customers activate the smartphones at home. Some analysts are convinced the problem is getting blown out of proportion.

“Today’s iPhone launch differs a little bit from last year considering that is a global launch. that started in New Zealand and will continue on to California,” said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at JupiterResearch. “You literally have hundreds of thousands of public buying and activating iPhones. I am not surprised that we are seeing some issues with the activation process with some humans in some locations. Frankly, that’s probably to be expected.”

Some Shortages Reported

Gartenberg visited both an AT&T store and an Apple store in New York City on Friday. He reported lines

were moving along smoothly. However, an AT&T store in midtown ran out of the 16GB iPhone 3G as early as 9 a.m.

Whether consumers wound up disappointed with iPhone shortages after waiting in line, perhaps all night, might depend on where they were standing in line and the luck of the draw.

“At the Apple store I visited, they said they had plenty of iPhones on hand and they were not anticipating shortages. Of course, they didn’t know what the demand would be like the rest of the day,” Gartenberg said. “They’ve been selling the new iPhone since 8 a.m. The line was going around the block.”

The Good, the poor and the Ugly

The lines of folks around the block would seem to indicate Apple has scored another big hit. But reports of glitches could be a bit of an ugly memory for some consumers.

“Any date…

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