Apple.com had pictures of the device long before they waited in line or clicked 'buy'.
It's really hard to get a good idea of how these phones look in pictures. You have to see them in person. But many (most?) of those 9 million didn't.
Most of my friends (including myself) were making fun of the gold one, but once we saw it in person, it soon became our top choice.
Apple.com had pictures of the device long before they waited in line or clicked 'buy'.