iPhone 4 Stampede Brings Apple and AT&T Servers Down

Apple and AT&T's e-commerce support systems have buckled under the strain of iPhone 4 pre-orders the companies have received.

So many requests were received after pre-registration began that support web sites at both companies were brought down temporarily.

Pre-orders began this week after the iPhone 4 was unveiled in a keynote speech by Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the company's World Wide Developer Conference last Monday.

Many customers were unable to place an order, even after calling a number of times, and were repeatedly greeted with the message: “There was a problem with your request.”

The message on Apple's site read: “We're sorry, but we are experiencing a system error that prevents us from completing your request.”

Finding themselves unable to register their pre-orders through the websites, many customers resorted to queueing outside Apple stores in order to place their orders in person - but apparently even stores couldn't cope with the demand, instead telling frustrated customers to go home and wait for the website to be fixed.