Yesterday I decided to buy the 3G. Here were my primary reasons:
1.) supposed to have a much better phone
2.) 3G
3.) not sure how long the AT&T subsidized upgrade for first gen iPhone's will last. If I wait a couple of months, would AT&T still give me the phone for $199 or will I be looking at $399?
I got to the Santa Rosa Plaza mall around 8:00AM and was first in line. The next person didn't show up until around 9:20AM so I could have probably just shown up at 9:00AM and STILL have been first to go in when the Apple Store opened at 10:00AM. The checkout/activation process was quick and easy - I was out by 10:10AM.
The 3G does indeed seem to be a better phone. Now I'm at least able to stay inside my house and make calls that don't drop (like my first gen iPhone!) and the people I've called say the calls sound better too - yay! The 3G speed (though not available yet at my home) is a great improvement over the dial-up days of the Edge (would have been great if AT&T had offered it without the $10/month bump, but whatever). Also, I was able to pick up 3G briefly in downtown Sebastopol by Whole Foods even though technically it's not supposed to reach that far. 3G has definitely not made it to the outskirts of Sebastopol however. Hopefully soon.
All in all, I like it! 🙂