No service.

For a dedicated MacHead like me, those two words cut to the bone. After all, I had stood outside the AT&T; store on Wynadotte Avenue for a couple of hours with about 25 or so of my Apple brothers and sisters waiting for the newest creation from the Wizards of Cupertino.

The second generation of the iPhone, the faster, cheaper 3G model, promised more speed, better apps and could be had for under $200 bucks.

Adam Cocke, of Wilburton, had waited since 2:30 a.m. Friday for his chance to hold one of the new phones in his hand. Others had arrived between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. The mood in the line was jovial, with a delicious sense of anticipation. Some of the MacHeads were already iPhone users, some, like me, were here for our first taste of Apple CEO Steve Job’s latest bit of technocandy.

This newspaper was footing the bill for my iPhone — we like to pay our own way when we review a product — and so the sting of the sticker price ($199 for an 8 gigabyte model, $299 for a 16 gigabyte model), plus the mandatory $30 Apple data fee on top of AT&T;’s calling plan wasn’t a concern to me. (My boss, Publisher Amy Johns, might think otherwise, but she’s a good sport and I’ve only very nice things to say about her and she plays a pivotal roll in this saga — stay tuned). For others in the line, the cost and the mandatory two-year contract were a concern, but maybe not such a big one because they all were there, very early in the morning.

At about 7:50 a.m., an AT&T; store employee came out and said they only had five iPhones. Being number six in line, my heart skipped a beat. The MacHeads fell into an stunned silence. “Just kidding,” the employee said.

She told us the rules: Three people at a time, no reserved phones and when they’re gone, they’re gone. Months of planning were on the line — AT&T;’s goal was to get customers in, keep them no longer than 15 minutes and send them out of the store with a working iPhone.

On the button, at 8 a.m., the first group of three were allowed into the store (really, four people went in — three singles and a couple).

After about 20 minutes, we saw some worried looks inside the store. AT&T; employees were on the phone and the first group wasn’t moving toward the door, working iPhone in hand.

According to the Associated Press, AT&T; said the Apple ITunes store was to blame — servers were overloaded and the final step of activating the phones couldn’t be accomplished. The new phones were just bricks — no faster e-mail and Web surfing, no movies, no tunes, no fun.

Those of us in the line on Wyandotte Avenue had no clue about that. All we knew was that some horrible demon glitch was afoot.

Finally, the first group began to file out after being told to try and finish the activation problem on their home computer. Cocke, the man from Wilburton who had been in line since 2:30 a.m., was the first out. He came through the door smiling, holding a blue and white AT&T; bag up high, beaming with pride of ownership of the newest iPhone. Of course, it wasn’t a working iPhone, but no matter. It was his.

It was my turn but I gave cuts to a mother and son — it was his birthday present and mom needed to get to work.

My turn did come and I sat down with AT&T; customer service representative Tami Luevano who had, in her hand, a sleek black box containing my (OK, the News-Capital’s) iPhone 3G.

Leuvano adroitly went through the process of entering all the pertinent information — Apple required credit check, an activation fee of $36 (billed to the customer account), a two-year contract, a government issued ID and a social security number. Also, payment in full for the phone.

“Excuse me,” I said as my heart sank and the weight of a cruel and indifferent Universe fell upon me. “We have a corporate account, we just put this sort of thing on our bill, right?

“No,” she said.

In a panic which only my techno-nut brothers and sisters can fully understand, I picked up my now very-yesterday Motorola Razr and called the boss. “Chief,” I said in desperation, “I need a local check for $217 or a credit card and my credit card has like fifteen cents available credit.”

In a calm voice, Johns said she’d be right over with the check.

I was asked to step away from the sales pod and sit in a lonely chair while we waited for the check to arrive.

Johns, true to her word, arrived within about 20 minutes. “They stopped me at the door,” she said, and asked what she wanted. “Is Matt in there? I have a check for him. “Yes,” the watcher of the door said as she snagged the check and ducked inside.

The transaction was completed, Luevano bagged up my new gadget and sent me on my way.

As soon as I got to my office, I connected my (yes, I mean the newspaper’s) iPhone to my Apple G5, logged onto my ITunes account, plugged in the iPhone to the USB port and, within seconds, had an error message telling me the activation could not be completed due to “a network error.”

Great Caesar’s Ghost! How much can one MacHead endure in a day. I was at the point of desperation. Technological nirvana was in my hand, yet I couldn’t have it.

I couldn’t leave work for a couple of hours — we had a paper to finish and duty comes first — so my iPhone sat on my desk, a cold screen telling me to connect to ITunes glowing on it’s sleek screen, mocking me, tormenting me and filling me with doubt, fear and loathing.

When I did make it back to the AT&T; store, the employees looked at me and store manager Lauren Wilson asked if I was there to tell them how happy I was with my new gadget. She did it with a smile and I accepted it with a half-hearted chuckle. She then got on the phone, calling some sort of iPhone war room, explaining my problem — NO SERVICE. I wasn’t alone.

According to the Associate Press, thousands of iPhone buyers in 21 countries were getting NO SERVICE from the new phone. Not the best news for Apple, which has its share of troubles launching new products.

Wilson tried, but the problem persisted and I left the store, still unable to try out the new phone. At about 2 p.m., Luevano called me (not on my cell phone) and said if I came back to the store, the phone could be fixed. I did and it was.

So, do I like it? Is the iPhone 3G all it’s cracked up to be? Yes, it is. The only problem is — and this is no small thing — the faster 3G cellular service the phone takes advantage of isn’t available in McAlester and no one is sure when it might be.

The iPhone sends and receives e-mail, allows true Web page viewing, has great sound quality, ITunes on board, a 2 megapixal camera, a large screen and cool design.

I like my new phone (that is, the newspaper likes it’s new phone) but, in the future, you have to wonder if Apple Inc. can get it together and have a roll out that doesn’t end up with frustrated customers and cool gadgets that don’t work.

Matt Lane is the editor of the News-Capital. Contact him at editor@mcalesternews.com.