Success!!!
After 5 hours in line, I finally have my new 16GB iPhone. 5 hours is a ridiculous time to wait. 2-3 is marginal, but after waiting 2-3 hours, I was absolutely determined to stay in line until I either got my phone, or heard they had sold out of the one I wanted.
Fortunately, by the time I got to the front of the line, not only did the Apple store still have black 16GB phones in stock-although they were starting to run low-the activation servers had come back online, at least temporarily. Since I was an existing AT&T customer with a previous generation iPhone, the transaction was quick and painless. 10 minutes after telling the employee which phone I wanted, I left with a working phone.
Now I just have to wait for 1500+ songs to finish syncin. :S But I’m so excited to finally be able to carry all the music I listen to, again. Which is not the same as carrying all my music!