Apple iPhone Shipments Begin Arriving in U.S.

With only a few days before the big day, the first volume shipments of iPhones have arrived. While the devices may not be in stores yet, they have safely arrived in the United States during the weekend, quietly touching down at a handful of locations.
According to an AppleInsider report, the early arrival of the cargo was to ensure that any unexpected delays at customs could be cleared in time. Also, the report mentions that Apple is taking the security of the transport very seriously.

The cargo was carried by a Hong Kong-based air courier, which services Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. The report indicates that armed personnel was waiting at each location, hired by Apple through its courier's ground handling agent and then cleared by the Transportation Security Administration. While armed guards are usually reserved shipments containing valuables such as gold and diamonds and are highly unusual for freight coming out of the Asian sector, Apple seems to be taking no chances whatsoever.

AppleInsider reports that the iPhone shipments were broken down under the supervision of the armed guards, who then supervised the loading onto ground vehicles and finally became party to its transportation outbound.
Exactly where the little gadgets will be spending the week is uncertain, but it is quite possible that they will be appearing in the stockrooms of Apple and AT&T retail stores.
This would tie in with the reports of Apple informing retail personnel that, starting Monday, no cameras of any kind will be allowed into the back store rooms of its retail outlets. This ban covers all cell phones, regardless of whether or not they have built in cameras and all personally owned portables.

It looks like announcing a product half a year before it launches has done little to tone down Apple’s secrecy and security.

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