As I wait for my new iPhone 4 to sync up for the first time, transferring apps and music and other data, I hereby reclaim my Apple fanboy status.  My brother Alex arrived at the Valley Fair mall in San Jose just after 12pm today to claim our spot in line.  I finally was able to join up with him around 12:45pm.

Your reservation will be held until close of business on June 24.

I’ve gone through 4 previous Apple Store launches like this — 3 previous iPhone generations plus the iPad.  This was the first one where I took advantage of the reservation system.  I’m glad I did, since it gave me peace of mind that I would be leaving with an iPhone 4 today.  While Apple’s email fine print was squishy on whether or not it was guaranteed — I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t play one on TV — I felt comfortable that I’d have a new iPhone in my grubby hands.

The specific language in the fine print, by the way:

Pre-authorization does not guarantee iPhone availability at an Apple Retail Store. iPhone is sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
Your reservation is valid for pickup only at the Apple Retail Store that you selected.
If you do not collect your selected item(s) by the designated date and time, your reservation will be canceled.

Fairly clear to me at first, but some of my co-workers were stressing over it, which introduced a doubt in the back of my head.  Apple Store employees were assuring people in the reservation line that they’d be taken care of, that there was a unit in the store that wouldn’t leave unless it was with us.

Alex had to split to head to work around 2:45pm, so I was holding down the fort for a while.  My co-worker Nate showed up a bit later to hang with me, and then my old bud Bill arrived around 5:30pm.  I’d left Nate in our place in line to use the restroom, and as I was walking back, I did a headcount from the front of the line — I was right around 100 people from the front of the line, and that felt like a manageable wait at that point.  Of course, as I’m visibly counting people, they’re thinking that I must be someone important and the line would suddenly, miraculously move faster.

Finally got into the store around 6:00pm, and walked out 15 minutes later with two iPhones in hand (one for me, one for Alex).  I made it home just a little while ago, and I’m patiently waiting for the new hotness to sync my apps, music, and data over from my computer.

Feel free to FaceTime me tomorrow!