• by June 29, 2007

As the mobile industry braces for the impact of this evening's launch of Apple iPhone sales, the customer lines are growing longer, along with the list of announcements by companies hoping to piggyback on what they hope is another iPod phenomenon.

Thursday brought third-party news of airplane adapters, email continuity support, a protective "iSkin," specially "optimized" movies and video downloads, among many others. Playboy.com, for example, said it was launching iPlayboy, a collection of free multimedia features "specifically designed" for the iPhone. They include a Cyber Girl video, 12 non-nude Playmate wallpapers, and a separate photo album with 12 additional features.

Competition-wise, Verizon Wireless touted that most of its stores and kiosks are open until 9 p.m. local time tonight, allowing consumers to "test drive" and hopefully purchase from among its selection of 18 phones that allow access to the V Cast Music library containing more than 2 million songs.

The Apple iPhone goes on sale at 6 p.m. tonight local time at all 164 Apple stores in the U.S., and online at 9 p.m. EST. The stores will remain open until midnight.