Some line up for the experience. Some do it because they’re fanboys (& ‘girls). Some just have to have the latest iPhone. Are they smart or nuts? You decide.
Steve Jobs was a master at building anticipation, and Apple still benefits from his methods. Nowhere is that more evident than the way that Apple fans line up outside Apple Stores to be among the first to get the latest iPhone or iPad. At 8:00AM, Friday September 20th, the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C go on sale in Apple Stores all over the world.
The very first to get the latest iPhones will be those down under, in Australia. Here’s a look at the 5S/5C line outside the Apple Store in Sydney.
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A nearby store in Bondi, a suburb of Sydney,
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Working our way westward, Tokyo has plenty of diehard fans out in force.
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China is a market that Apple is trying hard to break into with its new phones, and at the moment, the line at one of the largest Apple Stores in China look pretty darn big.
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Europe still boasts an enormous number of Apple fans, if these photos are any indication.
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The Brits are representin’ big time.
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Here in the U.S., where we’re pretty much the last people in the world to get the latest devices (no, of course we’re not bitter), many lines are well underway. Some fans have been camped out in front of the flagship glass cube Apple Store on 5th Avenue in New York since the keynote event last week. And the line has grown every day since.
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See that guy in the blue t-shirt in the photo above? That’s Greg Packer, the guy that bought the very first iPhone. Packer seeks fame by trying to be the first in line to buy new gadgets (which he has no interest in using).
For most of the week, there was just one lonely guy camped out at the Boylston Street store in Boston, but he’s finally been joined by others today.
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In Arlington, Virginia, this dude appears to be all by his lonesome. Hopefully someone will jump in behind him before the new iPhones go on sale.
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And finally, our around-the-world tour ends in the home of Apple itself: California.
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So what do you think? Word’s been circulating today that initial numbers of iPhone 5S units will be extremely small, so chances are, the people in these lines will be among the few to get their hands on a device of their own on opening day.
Are these true believers clever enough to get there early enough to ensure they get one? Or are they just crazy?
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