Got Any Riot Gear in "iPod White"?

Ron Johnson, Apple’s retail chief, says purchasing an iPhone 3G tomorrow should take only a few minutes–not including time spent sleeping on the sidewalk. But according to at least one analyst, those 12 to 15 minutes may be 12 to 15 minutes spent in hell. Why? Because the traditional in-store activation process that Apple (AAPL) and AT&T (T) have adopted for this launch is a disaster waiting to happen. “AT&T has chosen what we believe is the most ridiculous, inconvenient and ineffective process to activate the new phones,” ThinkPanmure analyst Eric Kainer wrote in a research note to clients today. “With long queues likely for the expected 8 a.m. launch, we expect prospective subscribers becoming unruly … we believe there will be trouble in AT&T stores and chaos in the Apple stores.”

Of course, activation of the original iPhone was no walk in the park, either–but for a different reason.