(WSBT) It's an iPhone frenzy across the country. Gadget geeks started lining up Thursday night as months of anticipation turned into hours — and finally, into minutes.

Apple's iPhone officially went on sale in the Eastern Time Zone at 6 p.m.

But the latest technology doesn't come cheap. The phone/.mp3-player/camera combo will set you back between $500 and $600.

But the people WSBT News talked to say it’s worth it.

Ear buds and iPods and cell phones are making entertainment more mobile. Add to that Apple's design appeal.

“It's about the interface and it’s about usability,” explained Steve Smith.

Smith is sure the new iPhone will be a hit. He's waiting in line to buy one even though the only sneak peek he's getting is the marketing display going up inside the store before the iPhone goes on sale.

“There's this big screen with kind of the demo videos going on right in front of it,” said Smith.

And like Smith, the first in line — Rick Trevino — is willing to pay the higher price at first and accept whatever bugs could still come with the first round of iPhones.

“You'll always have to worry about it, because once they come out with a new product, they always say you're supposed to be a little lenient on it at first and wait for them to develop a little bit more,” Trevino said.

Michelle Bythrow is waiting in a lawn chair but says the cost is worth it. The phones cost $499 for the 4 GB smaller storage, or $599 for more storage.

“For me — I'm a Mac user anyway — so everything being synced together for me is gonna be great,” Bythrow said.