MacRumors

As has happened in the past, it seems AT&T's activation servers are having problems with the large influx of activations with the iPhone 4S launch. A quick search of Twitter shows many having problems activating their AT&T iPhone 4Ss due to server issues. A discussion thread in our forum also mirrors the complaints.

With the iPhone 4S launched now across the entire U.S., we are at the peak of simultaneous AT&T iPhone 4S activations. AT&T has had similar issues in previous launches. Japanese carrier Softbank was reported to have similar issues during their launch this morning.

UK insurance firm Protect Your Bubble today conducted a survey of the iPhone 4S line at Apple's Regent Street retail store in London, finding a record line of 778 people just as the store opened for sales.

Analysis of the data, comparing against previous Regent St exit polls on the iPhone 4, iPad and iPad 2 launches, shows that the crowd of 778 people for the iPhone 4S comfortably beats the previous record holder of 668 for the original iPhone 4; 662 for the iPad 2; and 451 for the original iPad.

The company has also put together an infographic highlighting a number of pieces of data collected in surveys of the crowd. Among the most interesting results:

- 53% of those in line were there because they missed the pre-order window, while an additional 7% thought the iPhone 4S was only available in-store. A substantial fraction of the crowd was also there primarily for the experience, with 18% saying that simply wanted "to be there" and 11% noting that they were there because they were "die hard Apple fans".

- Nearly half of the crowd was upgrading from the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 4S, while 35% were lining up to purchase their first iPhone.

- The new 8-megapixel camera was cited most frequently (37%) as the "standout feature" of the iPhone 4S, with Siri (34%) registering in a strong second place. But 33% of the crowd viewed Siri as a gimmick rather than a truly useful feature.

As we noted on our iPhone launch article, international iPhone 4S users are noticing that Siri won't provide them with Map or local business search information. Those features were demoed by Apple during the keynote but are limited to the U.S. market only.

Apple's Siri FAQ (via @dujkan) reveals that international support for those features won't be available until 2012:

Maps and local search support will be available in additional countries in 2012.

Businessweek takes a look into the world of iPhone case manufacturers, a few of which had made gambles on what the "iPhone 5" was going to look like.

Since Apple doesn't share case designs until the final product is released, case makers rely on rumors and factory leaks to plan for their new cases. According to the CEO of Coveroo, "If you have a good sense that you have the right measurements and plans, then you can ramp up production." That said, he also warns that guessing wrong could risk losing millions in worthless inventory.

The article also interviews Tim Hickman of Hard Candy Cases, the same case manufacturer that we reported seemed confident in a tapered iPhone 5 design immediately before the iPhone 4S announcement. That company bet $50,000 that the new case designs would be dramatically different.

After three separate manufacturing partners in China sent him detailed 3D models of an iPhone with a widened, pill-shaped “home” button and a slightly tapered back, Hickman decided to roll the dice. He paid $50,000 to make steel moldings to mass-produce cases for the new design and, on the morning of Apple’s announcement, began taking orders on his website.

Factories in China provide the leaked specs to these case makers in an effort to get their business. According to Hickman using these leaks "pisses Apple off". But guessing correctly can be rewarded with an early ramp up in cases with availability soon after a new product launch. It's this possible financial reward that has tied the case industry so closely with Apple rumors.

Stores along the east coast of the U.S. have now started selling the iPhone 4S with the rest of the country to follow over the next few hours. The worldwide launch has seen large crowds at several locations, though some readers are finding it specific stores or areas with few crowds.

New York City's 5th Avenue Apple Store did draw a large crowd but according to AppleInsider the line was shorter at that location than the iPhone 4 launch.

The new iPhone 4S comes with a faster processor, improved camera and new voice technology called Siri.

One person has already posted a side-by-side video comparing the video recording of the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 4S:

Siri, of course, is the new feature that many are anxious to try out. Apple has done a great job including many humorous responses in Siri. ThisisMyNext highlighted many of these:

Some early users are finding that Siri is having trouble with specific accents. Map integration also seems limited to the U.S. We expect to see many more reviews and evaluations of the device as it more people start receiving the device. Many early adopters are posting in our iPhone forum with questions and impressions of their new devices.

Apple saw more 1 million in pre-orders for the iPhone 4S with analyst predictions for opening weekend ranging from 2 to 4 million.

U.S. Apple Stores are pulling overnight shifts to put up new displays and promo materials for the iPhone 4S launch. @ifostore is standing in line and shot the above photo where the staff is exchanging old iPhone 4 models with the new iPhone 4S.

Meanwhile, other parts of the world have already seen the iPhone 4S launch, and to massive crowds. Smh.com.au has a running update of the launch in Australia. Even 4 hours after the launch, the line to the Sydney store was described as "appalling" going half way down King Street.

The Japanese launch was hampered by registration slowdowns from Softbank, according to the Wall Street Journal:

The launch of the iPhone 4S in Japan was interrupted when Softbank – the main service provider for Apple products in the country—suffered a server glitch that temporarily suspended sales nationwide. A company spokesman said the servers were unable to process registration information.

Analysts are predicting weekend sales to top that of the iPhone 4 which sold 1.7 million units its opening weekend. Estimates range from 2 million to as high as 4 million.

In the U.S., Apple Stores will be opening at 8 a.m. local time to launch the iPhone 4S. Additionally, Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint stores will also be stocking the new device, but those retailers tend to get fewer units per store than Apple's stores. Gizmodo also notes that Radio Shack, Best Buy, Target and Sam's Club may have units, but your mileage may vary.

MacRumors forum members have been organizing meetups for the iPhone 4S launch in our dedicated forum.

Apple issued a press release today stating that it will announce its earnings for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2011 (third calendar quarter) and host a conference call regarding the release on Tuesday, October 18th.

The conference call at 5:00 PM Eastern / 2:00 PM Pacific will follow the earnings release itself which typically comes around 4:30 PM Eastern.

Apple last quarter announced record-breaking results in a number of areas, including $7.31 billion in profit on revenue of $28.57 billion. For the fourth fiscal quarter, Apple has issued guidance of $25 billion in revenue with profits of $5.50 per share.

Earlier this week, Macworld reported that the Sprint iPhone 4S would ship with an unlocked micro-SIM slot allowing users to avoid costly roaming fees when traveling internationally by simply inserting a micro-SIM card from a local GSM carrier. But Sprint later disputed that report, claiming that the iPhone 4S will not be sold unlocked for international use.

Sprint has now offered further clarification to Macworld, outlining how the carrier will ultimately unlock the micro-SIM slot for customers in good standing but still leaving a number of questions unanswered.

Indeed, the Sprint iPhone 4S will ship with its micro-SIM slot unlocked. However, Sprint now says that it will be locking that slot “shortly after launch” via an update pushed to those devices. After the slot has been locked, Sprint says that it will allow customers in good standing to unlock the SIM for international use in the future.

So far as I can tell, this means that after a short period of the phone shipping completely unlocked, Sprint will revert to a policy more or less in line with Verizon’s. If you are a good customer and pay your bills on time, you can call Sprint and ask the company to unlock your microSIM so you can slip in a foreign, pre-paid SIM.

Sprint and Verizon iPhone 4S models will ship with "roaming SIMs" from the respective carriers, allowing customers to access the networks of their international carrier partners but at the higher roaming prices. But customers who request that the micro-SIM slot be unlocked will be able to remove that card and insert lower-cost local cards when they travel.

Still, Sprint's explanation seems to lack some detail, including the reasons behind the apparently convoluted process of shipping the slots unlocked and then locking them, only to later unlock them upon request for customers in good standing. It is also unclear how Sprint plans to lock the micro-SIM slots and whether users will be able to avoid applying a carrier settings update or other update that would lock them.

All current MacBook Pro models are constrained according to 9to5Mac, with the site claiming new part numbers have appeared in Apple's inventory system for all three MacBook Pro sizes: 13", 15" and 17". It was reported last month that Apple could be planning to bump processor speeds across the MacBook Pro line.

Earlier this year, MacRumors reported that a full redesign of the MacBook Pro line was forthcoming, although that was not expected until the debut of Intel's Ivy Bridge next year. Conversely, Ticonderoga's Brian White wrote in a research note last week that he believes "a new MacBook Pro will be launched over the next few weeks that will be lighter and thinner than its predecessor with the benefit of dropping the [optical disk drive]."

However, it's seems unlikely that this is the major update that we and Ticonderoga heard about. 9to5Mac claims the "new internal code names for the updated MacBook Pro line are K90IA (13 inch), K91A (15 inch), and K92A (17 inch)." The A designation suggests a minor update rather than a full-scale redesign.

While a few committed individuals have been camping out for the iPhone 4S for some time now, others are now beginning to filter toward their local Apple retail stores in their attempts to secure one of the new models first thing tomorrow morning.

We've yet to hear much from Australia, where stores in the eastern part of the country will be the first to open for iPhone 4S sales just a few hours from now. But lines are already long in Japan, another early launch market for the device, with Guillaume Erard reporting that there were over 100 people in line at Apple's Shibuya retail store in Tokyo a full 11 hours before launch time.

Some of Apple's flagship stores in London are also beginning to see substantial lines forming, as evidenced by photos from Regent Street and Covent Garden stores.

Things still appear to be relatively quiet in the United States and Canada nearly 17 hours before the first launches, as we've been receiving scattered reports of lines beginning to form but with only a handful of people encamped at most of the stores from which we've received reports.

MacRumors forum members looking to organize meetups for the iPhone 4S launch are getting together in our dedicated forum.

Update: MacRecord noted earlier today that there were over 100 people (and now up to 150) in line at the Opéra retail store in Paris.

Update 2: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is reportedly the first and only person in line so far at the Los Gatos retail store in California.