How to Activate Your iPhone

Your iPhone will be activated in the Apple or AT&T Wireless store where you bought it, just like any ordinary cell phone. At the activation time, you can also choose your desired monthly bucket of voice minutes and SMS or text messages.

If you’re already an AT&T subscriber, the salesperson will give you the option of keeping your current phone number.

Otherwise, this time around, the same two prerequisites for enjoying the iPhone are in place as with the original release — at least for U.S. customers. First, there’s the aforementioned business of becoming an AT&T (formerly Cingular) subscriber, unless you’re already in the fold. You need to ink their new two-year term. If you’re in the middle of a contract with a rival carrier, you’ll need to terminate that contract.

Second, make sure you download the latest version of iTunes software onto your PC or Mac. Apple doesn’t supply the software in the box, so head to the Apple iTunes page if you need to fetch a copy, or launch your current version of iTunes and then choose Check for Updates. You can find it under the Help menu on a Windows machine and on the iTunes menu on a Mac.

For the uninitiated, iTunes is the nifty Apple jukebox software that iPod owners and many other people use to manage music, videos, and more. iTunes is at the core of the iPhone as well, because an iPod is built into the iPhone. You’ll employ iTunes to synchronize a bunch of stuff on your computer and iPhone: contacts, calendars, e-mail accounts, bookmarks, photos, videos, and (of course) music.