System Requirement for iPhone 2.0: Patience
Many upgraders are complaining that their phones have been "bricked," with little explanation from Apple during the upgrade walk-through process that a cranky and swamped iTunes store needed to be accessed before the upgrade could finish.
It was a maddening process for which Apple should have done a better job preparing customers. To make matters worse, reports are indicating that Apple Stores throughout the country had the same problem connecting to iTunes, couldn't quickly activate customers' new 3G iPhones, and caused equally maddening delays for those trying to upgrade their experience in person.
But there is good news: Once the upgrade is complete, your first generation iPhone is really a new device, with Exchange integration, an improved contacts folder and email management and, of course, the App Store that is the true transformative piece of the puzzle.
The upgrade succeeded here, after three hours of downloading, restoring, backing up and activation.
(Right after the upgrade finished here, we downloaded the free AOL Radio feature from the App Store and music quickly streamed from the AOL service, live, into the iPhone.)
Bottom line: if you think your iPhone is bricked, just give it time and, once you connect to the iTunes Store, you should be back on your way.
Next up: Taking a look at MobileMe and the Exchange integration itself. Both look intriguing but now we know that patience will be not just a virtue but a requirement.