Apple's iPhone to hit stores, hundreds line up
49840
SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK  - Hundreds of gadget fans, or their paid stand-ins, lined up on Friday to be the first buyers of Apple Inc.'s iPhone, a music and video playing phone that seeks to reshape the mobile industry.
145962
(InfoWorld) - New Yorkers have a reputation for being a hearty lot, and those who want to be among the first to buy an iPhone Friday seem to be made of a particularly tough constitution. Despite temperatures that soared above 90 degrees Fahrenheit Tuesday, several were already lined up outside the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The leader of the pack was Greg Packer, a 43-year-old retired highway maintenance worker from Huntington, New York, on Long Island. Packer lugged his supplies, which included water and clothes, and set up a camping chair on the street outside the store on Fifth Avenue at 5 a.m. EDT Monday morning so thatÂ he could be the first in line for Apple's latest gadget. Though he's committed himself to spending nearly five days living on the street for the iPhone, Packer said he's not "computer literate" and doesn't own an iPod. "I'm not really a technology person, but I'm doing the best I can to keep up with technology," he said. However, two of his favorite things are music and the phone, so Packer -- who said he has camped out early for concert tickets and sporting events in the past -- wanted to be first in line to get the product that combines the two and provides Internet access at his fingertips. "I want to see what it's like," he said. "I want to give my review of it." Packer isn't the only one consumed with iPhone fever. At 2 p.m. Tuesday, there were three people with chairs in line behind him, and a fifth person said he was joining the queue while Packer was being interviewed. (That move seemed unlikely, however, since the man was dressed in casual business attire and had no supplies or other equipment that one might have for a four-day camping excursion on a New York City street.) Jessica Rodriguez, a Bronx resident on summer break from New York's Boricua College, said when she stopped by the Apple Store on Monday, she had no intention of camping out. But after talking with Packer and the others lined up outside the store, "it motivated me to want to come." The iPhone release is a "groundbreaking moment for cell phones," said Rodriguez, who wants to be a part of "something that's going to go down in history." The Bronx resident hopes she can buy at least one iPhone for her sister, who has a birthday coming up, but would like to buy two so that she can have one. The staff of the Apple Store is being "secretive" about how many phones customers will be able to purchase when they go on sale, she said. Apple store representatives asked Tuesday how many iPhones users would be permitted to buy Friday had different answers. One said there will be a limit, but the store had not been informed of how many could be sold to each user, while another said she "hadn't heard anything" about a limit on the number of iPhones users could buy. Rodriguez seemed unfazed by the 90-degree-plus temperature on Tuesday, though she had just arrived that morning and had not yet spent a full day and night on the street. "If you go to the beach, it's this hot," she said. The Apple Store on Fifth Avenue is open 24 hours, and both Packer and Rodriguez said they are taking breaks and using the store's restroom when needed. They're also getting help on their mission from friendly New Yorkers, who are bringing them food, water, and other items they might need for their long wait. Mia Bleyman, who works in the same building as the Apple Store, stopped by Tuesday and presented Packer with a mini electric fan to help keep him cool. She works for the Estee Lauder cosmetic company and said she can see the iPhone queue from her window. "Everyone's so excited," said Bleyman, who had also brought Packer Doritos, chicken soup, and other food and beverages since he'd set up camp. Bleyman acknowledged that she thinks it's "a little bit" crazy to be lining up for days in the summer swelter just for a new gadget. But in defense of Packer and the others she said, "I don't think he thought it would be this hot." The iPhone goes on sale at 6 p.m. local time across the United States Friday. Like other Apple stores, the New York stores on Fifth Avenue and on Prince Street in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood will close at 2 p.m. and reopen at 6 p.m. for iPhone sales.
764194
SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK  - Hundreds of gadget fans,  or their paid stand-ins, lined up on Friday to be the first  buyers of Apple Inc.'s  iPhone, a music and video  playing phone that seeks to reshape the mobile industry.
601651
Apple Inc. began selling its iPhone Friday, ending six months of waiting by consumers and rival smartphone vendors.
268369
Tech-heads camped overnight outside Apple electronics stores in US cities aiming to be the first to own an iPhone, marketed as the coolest gadget on the planet, when they go on sale Friday.
292765
Apple Inc. will start selling its iPhone on June 29, a debut that will test whether the company's design success with Mac computers and iPod media players can carry over into mobile handsets.
536061
Germany's biggest Apple   retailer is getting 1,000 enquiries every day about buying the  new iPhone, which is expected to go on sale towards the end of  the year, the retailer's head told a newspaper.
102169
Like hundreds of iPhone buyers yesterday, Computerworld's Seth Weintraub was among those who stood outside an Apple Store waiting to buy an iPhone. His conclusion: "It is hard not to justify buying out your current phone contract and making a beeline to the nearest Apple Store" to get one.
172069
No true fans of the coveted  iPhone could be found standing in line outside Apple's flagship  store here a full day before the gadgets go on sale. There were  just exploiters, exploited and a few clowns.
216036
The hooplah. The stories. The comment Apple's iPhone goes on sale in the US this evening. The queues have formed, and limits placed on how many of the handsets punters can take away with them. What is all the fuss about? Find out by reading Register Hardware's most popular iPhone stories...â¦
112423
SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK  - Hundreds of gadget fans, or their paid stand-ins, lined up on Friday to be among the first buyers of Apple Inc.'s iPhone, a music and video playing phone that seeks to reshape the mobile industry.
764712
Apple is expected to sell iPhone through O2 in the UK, Orange in France, and Deutsche Telekom in much of Europe.
209716
Apple Inc.&#39;s  highly  anticipated iPhone, with service provided by AT&T Inc. ,  will go on sale June 29, the company said on its Web site on  Sunday.
321155
SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK  - Thousands of U.S. gadget  fans made an orderly pilgrimage to stores on Friday to be among  the first buyers of Apple's iPhone, a music- and video-playing  device expected to reshape the mobile industry.
654685
By Brier Dudley, Seattle Times  Jun. 25--I don't know if they realize it, but those people lining up to buy Apple iPhones on Friday are guinea pigs.   They may be after a nice phone or the newest version of the iPod.
76446
InfoWorld - After standing in line for hours on Friday to buy the new Apple iPhone, some users were forced to wait even longer to&#160;activate the phones&#160;while others found the store shelves empty and will have to wait another week for their phones to arrive in the mail.On Monday, staff at an AT&amp;T store in Boston said they had run out of iPhones on Friday night while a line of customers still snaked out the door.
369051
SAN FRANCISCO - The professional critics have offered their iPhone opinions, giving Apple&#39;s new cellphone mostly a thumbs up. Now it&#39;s time for thousands of consumers to weigh in after they bought iPhones this weekend. The gadget went on sale starting Friday night at nearly 2,000 Apple and AT&amp;T stores after six months of anticipation. USA TODAY heard from more than 350 people who said they bought an iPhone. Based on their first weekend&#39;s experience, virtually all of them said they&#39;d do it again.