Until June 29, only Apple employees had the phones, but now they are in the hands of ordinary Americans with a lot of patience and at least $500 to spare.

In one of those rare cases where fame may not be an advantage, a few celebrities were spotted in line as well — Whoopi Goldberg in NYC, Kevin Smith in Los Angeles. The Mayor of Philadelphia was confronted by a former city employee while waiting. And at the last minute, Spike Lee stepped in at the front of the line at the Apple Soho store in New York to help raise money for Keep A Child Alive, who plan to sell their iPhone on eBay to raise money for African children with AIDS. Others have also gone online to sell their newly-acquired phones, many probably for less altruistic reasons; bids were above $1,000 on eBay. The early purchasers seemed pleased with their new gadget. Gadget Lab’s Mark McClusky found himself grinning with “gadget love” at regular intervals, and Boing Boing’s Xeni Jardin said the “Jesusphone” felt like “just about the coolest device I’ve ever owned.” She marveled at the interface and largely dismissed the speed issues with AT&T’s Edge network that some critics pointed to. (As for that other major critic — no downloadable third-party apps — there are already web-based apps available.) But another Gadget Lab blogger, Scott Gilbertson, said his first impression of the iPhone was that it’s not worth the money at the current price.

Proud new owners are uploading photos, many showing close-up views of the phone’s hardware and interface. Over at Think Secret, they were busy breaking the hearts of the empty-handed by taking an iPhone apart, the logical conclusion of what Wired called “unboxing porn”.

If you didn’t wait in line, and still want an iPhone, all is not lost. Craigslist and eBay aside, Gizmodo reported (and commenters confirmed) that last night, several Apple stores — including in New York and San Francisco — still had phones available, leading to discussion about whether that was because demand was lower than expected or because Steve Jobs is a supply-chain genius. Apple’s own iPhone store is now open, though supplies there are limited and you’ll likely wait a few weeks for delivery. If it’s the long AT&T contract that really puts you off, there’s always a way out of that too — bad credit.

Did you buy an iPhone on opening day? Do you plan to purchase one soon? Comment below.