Lines Form as iPhone 5 Goes on Sale
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Joanna Stern/ABC News(NEW YORK) — Some decided to stay at home and patiently wait for the UPS and FedEx truck to pull up. Others stood in line for hours. For what? The iPhone 5, of course.
In typical Apple product launch fashion, fans eager to get their hands on the latest iPhone camped out in front of Apple stores across the country all night.
All Apple stores open at 8 a.m. local time on Friday to start selling the iPhone 5. The phone, which was announced last week but rumored for months, has a larger 4-inch screen, LTE, a faster processor, a new design and the new iOS 6 software.
At Apple’s flagship New York City store on 5th Avenue, it was estimated that over 200 people waited overnight for Apple to snatch up the phone. Of course, not all of them were planning to even buy the phone. A few at the front of the line were being paid to hold the spot for others.
At the Apple Store on the Upper West Side in New York, close to 70 eager fans lined up. Queues also formed around the world in France, Germany, Japan and the U.K.
Apple sold two million phones online within the first 24 hours of being on sale. Those who ordered the phone within hours of it going on sale should receive it by Friday, but for others the ship time has slipped to three or four weeks.
The phone, which starts at $199 with a two-year contract, will also be available through AT&T, Verizon and Sprint stores starting on Friday.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio