Just as expected, the release of Apple’s new 3G iPhone caused a general frenzy amongst gadget-enthusiasts, all looking to be part of the first wave of iPhone owners. AT&T’s stores, the iPhone’s official and sole carrier in the Unitd States, were all invaded by thousands of clients looking to purchase the smartphone, which lead to huge waiting lines.

Apple’s device, developed for the third-generation phone networks, was released two days ago all across the United States and also in 21 other countries. According to AT&T, most of its 2,000 stores reported a short on supplies just one day after the phone’s release.

55 of the stores reported a complete stock exhaustment, as all three versions of the phone were sold. Even though some wanted a particular version, they were too eager to get their hands on the device and when being told that the model was unavailable, they chose to buy one of the others. The sold-out AT&T stores are in Fresno, California; Cherry Hill in New Jersey; Madison from Wisconsin; Victor, New York and Knoxville, Tennessee. Also, several Apple stores located in Rhode Island, Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana and New Mexico were also with their iPhone stocks completely sold out.

Apple posted an announcement on its official Web site, guiding its clients to the Apple retail store, where the device is surely available.

The offer presented by Apple has several options available, with the prices ranging from $199 to $699, depending on a series of facilities. The 8 Giga Bytes version is sold for $199 and the 16 Giga Bytes for $299, but only for certain customers, who have to meet certain requirements. One of the sure things that could get you a cheap iPhone is if you are already under a contract with AT&T.

If a user wants to upgrade to 3G his 8 GB device purchased before July 11, he has to pay the $199 fee plus an additional $18 upgrade fee; owners of the 16 GB model have to pay $299 plus the $18 tax for their upgrade.

The second segment of prices starts at $399 for the 8 GB model and $499 for the 16 GB version. For these prices, both versions require a two-year contract with Apple’s carrier. For the ones interested only in buying the device, there is an offer which does not involve any paperwork, at the rather steep price of $599 for the 8 GB version and $699 for the 16 GB model.

Even though there have been several reports about a number of shortcomings involving the gadget, such as the Pandora Radio application, which sometimes leads to system crashes, some keys missing, the lack of Microsoft Office document editors, instant messaging options and GPS driving direction apps or the fact that users cannot run applications in the background, the phone turns out to be the prefered choice of thousands of customers as it provides an easy access to all of its features through its innovative platform.

Also, the thought of owning the device that started the whole smartphone revolution, significantly adds to its appeal.