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Melanie Dillon and her boyfriend Matt Halverson, both of Las Vegas, snuggle while waiting in line for the new iPhone 4 outside the Apple store in Town Square in Las Vegas Wednesday, June 23, 2010. The store opened at 7 a.m. Thursday, June 24.
Published Thursday, June 24, 2010 | 9:27 a.m.
Updated Thursday, June 24, 2010 | 6 p.m.
iPhone 4 Launches as Hundreds Wait
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The much anticipated iPhone 4 went on sale in Apple Stores nationwide Thursday morning at 7 a.m. A Las Vegas Sun reporter camped out at the Apple Store in Town Square - the only Apple Store in Las Vegas to allow customers to line up Wednesday night. Getting there at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday made her fifth in line and gave her the perfect vantage point to document the next 12 hours of more than 600 fiercely loyal Apple fans wrapped in an endless line around the mall, nerd-aimed insults from passersby, families sleeping on mattresses in the bed of their pickups, and the jubilant moment when Apple's doors opened and the first customer showed off his iPhone 4's higher-resolution display, high-definition video recording and editing, multitasking capability, camera flash, and front-facing camera for video calls and easy self-portraits.
Map of Town Square
Town Square
6605 S. Las Vegas Boulevard , Las Vegas
It's midnight at the Town Square shopping district south of the Strip and a line of 132 people is standing in front of more than a dozen storefronts.
They're leaning on walls and reclining in lounge chairs. One family sleeps on an air mattress in the bed of their pickup truck. And almost everyone is keeping busy, of course, on their iPhones, MacBooks or any other Apple product you can name.
They're in line for the company's latest big gadget: the iPhone 4. This newest model of Apple's best-selling smartphone went on sale in Apple Stores nationwide this morning.
This scene is hardly new to Apple, as long lines have surrounded these stores for the launches of each of the previous three models. At Town Square, James Cognitore has taken it upon himself to be the unofficial line-keeper. Following a method he started when the iPhone 3G came out in 2008, Cognitore writes down names to make sure people will get their same spot back if mall security disbands the line and people have to come back later.
"Make friends around you. Those friends are your friends, everyone is friends now," Cognitore said. "I love Mac, and I want everybody else to be happy about the situation."
He says this is the longest list of names he's ever kept. Not surprising, considering the thousands lined up across the country on a first-come, first-serve basis, waiting for their local store to open at 7 a.m. Whether it's Apple's slogan for the new phone — "This changes everything. Again." ̵ the bundle of new features — a higher-resolution display, high-definition video recording and editing, multitasking capability, a camera flash, and a front-facing camera for video calls and easy self-portraits — or both, there's no shortage of people looking forward to buying the new device on Day One.
More than 600,000 people pre-ordered an iPhone 4 last week, prompting Apple and AT&T to stop taking orders for shipment by Thursday's launch. On Apple's website, new orders aren't promised for delivery until July 14. Locals who did get a pre-order in — nearly 100 of them — waited in a separate line at the Apple Store in Town Square.
There was a concern among those waiting about how many iPhones the store would have available for those who didn't pre-order. Brett Reese, 22, who got to Town Square at 8 p.m. Wednesday and was the first in the pre-order line, said he was worried Apple might start selling reserved iPhones to fulfill the demand.
"Even though I'm supposed to be eligible for one, I still wouldn't want to be in the other line," he said. "And if I came here tomorrow, I'd most likely be out of a phone because I think those guys want it more."
The line still wrapped around the corner and past numerous stores as of 2 p.m. Thursday, though Apple Store employees told those waiting that they would be notified if the store sold out so that they didn't keep standing around in the 103-degree heat for nothing.
As of 6 p.m. Thursday, the Apple Stores at Town Square and the Forum Shops had sold out of the new iPhones and didn't know when a new shipment would arrive, which is the same story for many Apple Stores across the country. Fashion Show Mall's store could not be reached for comment.
Jake Bridges plays a game on his first-generation iPhone while waiting in line for the new iPhone 4 on Wednesday outside the Apple Store at Town Square. Bridges arrived at the store at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday and was the first person in line. The store opened at 7 a.m. Thursday.
Earlier in the night, curious shoppers walked by and asked what was going on, or what time people had arrived to secure their spot in line. Jake Bridges was first in the purchase line, arriving at 6:45 p.m.
"I just got lucky," he said.
The other two Apple Stores in Las Vegas — at Fashion Show Mall and the Forum Shops at Caesars — weren't allowing anyone to line up until about 5 a.m. Town Square security originally said it wasn't allowing anyone to loiter outside the Apple Store in Town Square before 4 a.m., but then changed it to 10 p.m. Wednesday. However, by 7:30 p.m., they weren't asking any of the four people in line to leave. Robin Jones, one of the first few in the queue, snapped a photo on her soon-to-be-outdated iPhone and posted it to Facebook.
"For proof we're the first ones here," she said.
Others were not so lucky. Quinn Myers, 16, had been at Town Square since 9 a.m. Wednesday. Mall security told him he had to leave and couldn't line up until 10 p.m., so he hung around the mall and kept checking back in. When he came back at 8 p.m., the line already was 20 people long.
"It's all right. We should still get a phone. It's better than being 200th in line," Myers said. "We were afraid if we didn't get one now, we wouldn't get one for months."
A line of people waits for the new iPhone 4 on Wednesday outside the Apple Store at Town Square. The store opened at 7 a.m. Thursday.
While the mood at the front of the line was subdued, people at the back seemed nervous about their chances of scoring a phone because Apple hadn't released the number of devices it would have available for purchase at each store. One man explains his wife and daughter are coming at 2 a.m., and the man behind him scoffs in obvious annoyance.
Cognitore, the unofficial line keeper, said he has heard numbers between 500 and 1,200, but one woman insisted each store will only be getting five iPhones. That number might sound ridiculous, but there are reports of stores with very few phones for customers waiting in lines. According to CNNMoney.com, many non-Apple stores have very short supplies of unreserved phones, and Wal-Mart spokesperson Ashley Hardle said only 1,500 of the company's 3,600 stores would have phones available Thursday.
"Inventory remains constrained, and it is expected that many of the iPhones that Best Buy receives will go first to customers who reserved one during presale," Best Buy warned Wednesday in a statement.
Black curtains hid the Apple Store's interior from public view while employees prepared it for the tidal wave of customers at 7 a.m., three hours earlier than the store usually opens. Apple employees occasionally emerged to hand out water to those in line.
Meanwhile, Apple fans strategized. At about 10 p.m., Jones was relieved of line-waiting duty by two 16-year-old girls. She paid them $120 to wait in line for her overnight. Then they will pass the torch off to her boyfriend in the morning, and he'll buy the couple's two iPhones. Jones and her boyfriend are on the same account, which will allow him to buy an iPhone for himself and one for her.
Kristi DeVita, left, and her friend Katie Ritchie, both of Boulder City, share ear buds and listen to music while waiting in line for the new iPhone 4 outside the Apple store in Town Square in Las Vegas Wednesday, June 23, 2010. The store opened at 7 a.m. Thursday, June 24.
Occasionally, cars pass the line and yell nerd-aimed insults out their windows. "Get it next week!" comes from one gray sedan. One passerby shouts, "You guys seriously just need to get a life."
Kristi DeVita and Katie Ritchie from Boulder City say they'd normally be on their side. They made an exception because Thursday is DeVita's 20th birthday and this seemed a fitting way to celebrate. At 4 a.m., they were among 287 people lined-up -- and counting.
"We would never do something like this," Ritchie said. " I was brought up in a home where my parents made fun of people like this and they were called crazy people. And now, I'm one of them."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
I upgraded my iPhone to the Google Nexus One a week ago. It makes the iPhone look like my mothers phone. Much better in every respect, except music organization. That will be taken care of in the upcoming release of Android Froyo.
Or... you could just order it online like I did, and receive it a day early without wasting your time in a stupid line.
Just another sign of the times...
nerds
Comment removed by moderator. Name calling.
@WestVegas I won't get into a silly this phone is better than this one et al battle with you because if someone's a fanboy of a product, there's no common ground. To remark that the iPhone is like your mom's phone is comical. These platforms all have pros/cons. Every smart phone that's come out recently is in answer to the iPhone. There's no denying that. Competition is good among manufacturers for consumers.
Honestly, who would wait in that line? Instead of waiting 10-plus hours outdoors to "potentially" get the phone - here's what I did: From the comfort of my house on the first day you could pre-order, for about 3 hours I tried to get it non-stop. Guess what? I got it. Three hours trying at my house or 10 hours in line? hmmm What would you do? Oh yeah, I got it yesterday....
#Axiom. I use and love Apple products. I actually dislike Google as a company, based on their horrible privacy standards (another topic). Definitely not a fanboy for Apple or Google.
But the fact remains, my opinion of iPhone after running Android is that it feels old and limited. Yes, I have used iOS4. If anything, a lot of people blindly accepting that iPhone is the best without looking around.
Apple has the market and the marketing, but they are no longer producing the best phone. Furthermore, the speed at which Android is pulling further ahead is quite rapid. But Apple has the numbers, for now.
Why are these people nerds? People have been known to line up at stores selling clothing, concerts etc. I wouldn't stand in line all night but why the name calling? I love Apple products and hope the new phone sells well.
Good for my stock!
I'm not sure I'll ever "get" why people stand in line when you can virtually order anything online 24/7. It's nice to see people spending money, I just wish Apple would make the stuff in this country and help put people back to work. I guess that would be contrary to stockholders wishes.
@bape702. You're not going to get that low a bill. Try 100 and change per month. I have a AT&T iPhone contract for my daughter, I know. 450 talk minutes, data and unlimited texting.
I waited 9 hrs in line at the Fashion Show years ago for the first iPhone. That was enough for me. Back then online pre-order wasn't an option, so that was the only option to get one in the first few weeks.
Now I just wake up at 4AM the day pre-orders open. Worked just fine this year, my iPhone 4 has been working well - AT&T did something to their network here in Vegas in the past few weeks too. A week or two ago I was getting 400kbps down and 150kbps up. With the new iPhone I get 1500-2500 down and 1500 up.
Why is a phone that used to make PHONE calls not good enough anymore - anything beyond the ability to make or receive a phone call is a headache LOL.... it's hell to be old huh.
i must say the cell phone craze is a wonder. people young and older walking around head down in a texting stupor. 90% of info being texted or chatted could wait till home or later. now for the folks in line with tooth pick arms or chubby bodies having a toy to show makes up for their lack of anyhing else to flaunt. they could have been at the gym or going to work early.
There's nothing in this world that would make me want to wait in line for hours, but I kinda "get" this. It's an event to these people. A big part of the waiting is the camaraderie and being amongst other people that have that one thing in common. So if that's what floats their boat, more power to them. I personally have more important things to do. Like playing Bejeweled on my now obsolete iPhone 3GS ;)
dumb.
But can you make a phone call with it?
A beautiful example of Cognitive Dissonance, where buyer's remorse will soon set in. As the original Star Trek's Spock said in the episode 'Amok Time', "You may find that having is not so nearly pleasing a thing as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true."
Q: "I'm not sure I'll ever "get" why people stand in line when you can virtually order anything online 24/7."
A: Because online activity strips humanity of its social component. Simple as that. The question could have been, "I'm not sure I'll ever 'get' why people go to see live music when you can listen to it performed better in the comfort of your own living room," and perhaps the answer becomes more clear.
iSheep
Apparently, if your man who can't score chicks, the next best thing is to stand in line and score the new iPhone.
Once again, the peanut gallery chimes in with insightful and helpful commentary.
"Know how you can tell if someone has a bottom feeding customer service job? They don't have a corporate-issued Blackberry. "
Actually, most of my pals own their own businesses ... And only one of them carries a BlackBerry. The rest carry, well, you know.
stupid people. why would you wait for anything like this? isheep
@Westvegas
"I use and love Apple products. I actually dislike Google as a company, based on their horrible privacy standards (another topic)."
FWIW: "...administration officials and intelligence veterans indicate that the NSA cast its net far more widely. AT&T technician Mark Klein inadvertently discovered that the whole flow of Internet traffic in several AT&T operations centers was being regularly diverted to the NSA, a charge indirectly substantiated by John Yoo, the Justice Department lawyer who wrote the official legal memos legitimizing the president's warrantless wiretapping program."
Ref: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/...
: {
It's just a phone, will be outdated in a matter of months.
I have a phone many of you would consider outdated. Know what, It works great for making and receiving calls. It cost very little, and the rebate made it free. Who wants this high priced device with a monthly cost that is 3 times the cost of my phone.
If I want to use the internet, I'll use this computer. If I want to listen to music, I own several radios and CD players, including one in each car, Or I'll go see a live show. If I want to play games, I'll head to my favorite casino.
I'll keep my trusty, inexpensive telephone that works just fine. And I didn't have to camp out in front of a store to get it.
Reminds me of when people use to wait until 11:30 on 15 April to drop their tax returns off at the local Post Office. Ah yes, the good old days of people being passionate about something other than the latest American Idol reject or starlet partying sans panties. Remnants of a simpler time when camping out for concert tickets, movie premieres, or game releases was a right of passage for the young and faithful.