Six months after Apple CEO Steve Jobs kicked off the hype machine, the company's three-in-one iPhone went on sale Friday evening.

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Apple stores and some AT&T stores closed Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. and reopened again at 6 p.m. in each time zone to start sales.

Where necessary, people were given wristbands based on position in line and let into stores in small groups. Apple has said there will be a limit of two phones per person.

Customers are also able to buy online at Apple's Web site starting at 6 p.m. PDT. Users can then choose a service plan from AT&T through iTunes on their home computer.

Hype Draws Lines

Some customers started lining up at the company's flagship Manhattan store Monday, but lines began to grow around the country Thursday and Friday.

Phoenix television station KPHO reported that at one mall, customers were standing outside waiting. Temperatures were expected to reach 110 degrees before doors opened.

In Philadelphia, a famous citizen captured a spot near the front of the line, television station WCAU reported.

Philadelphia Mayor John Street, in a white baseball hat and warmup suit -- complete with an iPod strapped to his arm -- sat patiently on a lawn chair on a sidewalk, hoping to get his hands on the device.

"I'm out here with the rest of the gang, and we're all waiting for the iPhone," said Street, a self-proclaimed technology advocate. "This is the latest, and I'm going to have it."

In Des Moines, people started lining up Thursday afternoon, television station KCCI reported.

"At 2:15 p.m., I just decided to come out and initiate the line," said iPhone fan Jack Mathews.

"With something this big, camping out just seems like the only way to guarantee that you'll get one the first day," Jake Skolnick said.

KCCI said there were lines near an Apple store and an AT&T store.

"This is crazy. It's just one of those exciting things. It's just very rare to see a product like this and it's very exciting," said Randy Tennison, general manager of the Apple store at Jordan Creek Town Center in Des Moines.

What Is iPhone?

The gadget, which triples as a cell phone, iPod media player and a wireless Web device, sells for $499 for a 4-gigabyte model and $599 for 8 gigs.

There's also a monthly service contract that starts at around $60. Customers have three options, all of which include unlimited data.

Jobs touted the device as a step up in mobile computing. It runs a version of Apple's current OS X, and a Web browser that shows complete web pages, though it does not support Flash and some other technologies.

The device has only one button; all other input is done through a large touch screen that can sense more than one finger at a time, allowing for intuitive enlarging and shrinking of items, among other functions.

Certain applications have an on-screen keyboard, and Apple has touted the software's ability to predict typing effectively, making it as fast as typing on other smartphones' physical keyboards after a few days of practice.

Early reviewers have complained that sometimes Web browsing can be slow, because it operates on AT&T's EDGE network, rather than faster 3G technology. However, it also connects to the Internet via WiFi and is much faster at wireless hot spots.

Sorry, North Dakota

If you want an iPhone and live in North Dakota, you're out of luck.

Apple's much-hyped new gadget isn't on sale in North Dakota. The phone uses AT&T wireless service, which isn't available in the state.

The closest place to buy the handheld combination cell phone, multimedia player and Internet browser is in the Minneapolis area.

Bill Scheffler is a Macintosh computer specialist at Minnesota State University, Moorhead. He said a lot of people want it, and they're not happy it's not available in their area.

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