Stores’ iPhone lines still busy

It was the day after the storm for businesses selling the new Apple iPhone — but for some, it wasn’t entirely calm.

On Friday at 6 p.m., Apple and AT&T; stores put the long-awaited device on their shelves for the first time, facing hordes of customers who had camped out all night to secure their spots in line.

The sun rose on Saturday with fewer folding chairs and coolers on the sidewalk, but as store managers found when they came to unlock the doors, interest in the iPhone hadn’t waned yet.

“To me, it seems like it’s still going,” said Rodney Ferguson, senior assistant manager at the Apple Store in South Coast Plaza, who encountered a line of customers when he opened on Saturday morning. “The interest is definitely there. People are definitely excited about the iPhone.”

While demand for the product hadn’t dimmed the day after the launch, supply, on the other hand, had fallen off noticeably.

The AT&T; store on Bristol Street in Newport Beach ran out of iPhones at 6:45 p.m. on Friday, while the store on 17th Street in Costa Mesa had exhausted its first shipment by Saturday afternoon.

The Apple Stores at South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island, though, still had enough to accommodate customers on day two — although the latter store had run out of the more advanced $599 model and had only the cheaper version in stock. While some people entered to purchase iPhones, others tested the product on display tables in front. Employees also gave free workshops throughout the day to demonstrate the phone’s many features.

Michael Sacapanio, the assistant manager at the South Coast Plaza store, said Apple sent new product shipments five days a week, but that he wasn’t sure how frequently they would send iPhones. A spokeswoman for Apple did not return calls seeking comment.

Steven Smith, a spokesman for AT&T;, said new shipments would come in soon to all locations. The turnout on the first day, he said, had left him optimistic.

“The excitement and customer interest in this device was just overwhelming,” he said.