Choosing to stay outside in the icy cold is something I would not choose to do. In fact, this time of year, nothing is more decadent than staying tucked-in, under my heavy quilt, all toasty warm in bed.

Yet there are some people who are dedicated to the cause. This morning I met one such man: David Jones from Inverell (www.whereis.com) NSW. You see, I was a little eager, hey call me a bit crazy, when this morning I decided to brave the ridiculously cold and windy Sydney morning and head down to the Telstra T[life]™ store at 400 George Street at a modest 5.30 am.

Today is, after all, 11 July or perhaps ‘iDay’, the day across the world where Apple releases its iPhone 3G. So I decided to trot on down to our icon store to see how many dedicated Telstra fans wanted to be the first in Sydney to own an iPhone 3G.

I am proud to admit I was more than a bit surprised to see the long queue snaking from the front of the shop in George Street and around the corner into King Street. It was pleasing to see everyone was a little more prepared for the weather than my poor self, with eager customers all rugged up, some even with blankets.

My colleagues in Melbourne also assured me the fans were just as eager, with the new Melbourne T[life]™ store also throwing open its doors, earlier than normal, to cater for the demand for this phone.

So here I was, crazy enough to venture out in the icy cold winds to experience the hype of the iPhone 3G. Why do it you ask? Well, I thought I would put my hip generation Y skills to good use and film a video just for nowwearetalking.

What better way to inform you all about the buzz around the launch of this phone than to have yours truly giving you an on-the-ground report.

Now, the first man in line was our man from Inverell. David, a big Apple fan, was in Sydney yesterday and decided he would pop along to the new Apple Store to buy a new iPhone 3G the following morning. However, there were already many eager people waiting in line.

As I stood there at the front of the queue, shivering, David continued to tell me he decided instead to pop across to the T[life]™ store and wait first in line. You see, living in Inverell, David is a fan of Telstra’s Next G™ network and, he tells me, he really wanted the iPhone 3G because he knew it would work where he lives in far North NSW.

Now that is an extreme iPhone 3G fan! Here's me thinking the queue was filled with fanatics who had travelled from across the suburbs to line up in the cold just to be the first in Sydney to have an iPhone working on the Next G™ network but, as chance would have it, it was a man from the country who was Sydney's first Telstra customer to grab this hot new phone.

Once the doors opened and the crowd started to flow in, I was able to get my hands on the new phone and have a play. To be honest, I am not the biggest Apple fan around. Sure I have an iPod, but it docks into my Windows-run laptop. That said, the phone is pretty impressive to play with. The screen is fun to fiddle with. I opened the internet browser and decided to give it a test run, loading some sites using both WiFi and the Next G™ network and I have to say, it was quicker than I was expecting.

It is slim in design, has a sleek feel and is actually quite light-weight. I must admit, I can understand now why so many people decided to brave this extremely cold and outrageously windy morning just to be the first few to grab this new phone.