I wrote about how I ended up ordering an iPhone 3G S via Apple and AT&T. The former had to be reserved at an Apple store (couldn’t get it delivered I think because I’m on a family plan, so they need in-person activation), the latter was to be delivered.

Keep in mind that neither company guaranteed I’d get the phone on Friday, June 19. They used wording that certainly implied it, but they were pretty careful to cover themselves in case they couldn’t make it. Fair enough.

So, it’s been a few days since then, and tomorrow is the big day. How are they doing?

Apple

Despite concerns I had before, they seem on top of it. I received an email Thursday morning:

It looks like I’m all set for Friday. I’m also thinking my concern about their ability to handle my AT&T Family Plan account may be less well-founded, though of course I have no way of knowing unless I show up.

Still, Apple’s ready for me, which is a nice thing to know.

AT&T

As of noon PT Thursday, the status was identical to what it’s been since I ordered a week ago. The entire order was “In Progess.”

There are only four possible statuses (stati?), but one of them is “Canceled” and another is “Partially Shipped” (impossible since I only ordered one thing), so I’m looking for “Shipped.” Bummer.

However, checking back much later in the day (17:30 PT), I see a change.

Status is “Shipped!” I have a ship date of today, and a carrier of FedEx. No tracking number, still it looks a lot better. I assume AT&T is not shipping from China, as Apple does, but rather from one of their own stores more or less locally. Therefore an overnight FedEx shipment today could easily arrive by tomorrow.

I’d sure like to see a tracking number, and I’ll keep checking tonight, but we might just have a horse race here, folks.

To be continued…