Apple faithful at the 5th Avenue flagship store are already anxiously lining up to wrap their hairy man-hands around the newest iPhone 4S when the device goes on sale starting at 8 A.M. on Friday, October 14th. The absence of a new iPhone 5 form factor appears to have had little effect on consumer enthusiasm.
Apple announced on Monday that iPhone 4S pre-orders drove well past one million in a single day, busting through the previous single day pre-order record of 600,000 held by the original iPhone 4 which launched on Thursday, June 24, 2010.
“We are blown away with the incredible customer response to iPhone 4S,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s SVP of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The first day pre-orders for iPhone 4S have been the most for any new product that Apple has ever launched and we are thrilled that customers love iPhone 4S as much as we do.”
New Yorker Keenen Thompson and sidekick Jessica Mellow, have settled in at the 5th street Apple store as the first bodies bundled up in sleeping bags ready for the iPhone 4S launch. Thompson is a social media geek and former Apple store employee while Mellow, is a NYC transplant from Pennsylvania who describes herself as a face and body painter as well as a body paint model. This dynamic duo have been parked outside the Apple store since September 26th. (video below)
Typical wait times at Apple store locations on Friday could run roughly 4 hours or beyond depending upon store size and turnout in your area. You should plan on arriving at around 2 A.M. for the 8 A.M. start time. iPhone 4S will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis at all 245 Apple retail stores. iPhone 4S units will begin arriving to AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint stores this Thursday and sales begin at 7:00 a.m. local time on Friday.
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster is predicting big lines; "Get ready for big lines when Apple starts selling it," Munster said about iPhone 4S. "We expected iPhone 4S to be the strongest iPhone launch ever, which Apple has now confirmed," Munster wrote.
Grab the iPhone 4S in either black or white in the US for $199 for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB model and $399 for the first ever 64GB model. You'll need to have a few key items with you and should back-up data on your existing phone.
What to Bring with You to the Apple store:
- Your old mobile phone, if you’re replacing it
- Social Security number of the account holder
- Valid government-issued photo ID
- Carrier account password, if you have one
- Your Apple ID and password
If you end up in line at the 5th street Apple store be sure to give Keenen and Jessica a proper fist pound from your friendly neighborhood iPhone Savior. Then send me photos of it. I would appreciate that.
Photo by Howard Lau
Standing in line to buy an iPhone is the Apple kool-aid acid test.
Posted by: Rodney McKay | October 14, 2011 at 06:14 AM