Albany resident and local photographer Neo Serafimidis kindly agreed to head out to the Fourth Street Apple store in Berkeley on Friday morning to check out the anticipated line and see why folks had decided to wait it out.
Some fans said they had been in line since 11 p.m. Thursday and, as of around 8 a.m. Friday, were "just waiting in anticipation" to get their hands on the iPhone 5.
One couple said they arrived at 1 a.m., and had to hang tough through a "really cold" night to pick up the phones for an employer. "They're not even for us.... We're not getting anything out of it," they said ruefully.
One Los Angeles resident, in town for a month for work, said he arrived a little bit after 6 a.m. and that the line was actually much shorter than he expected.
"I promised myself I'd get this one. I do it every two years," said Jameson Pabes. "I'm a big, big, big fan of Apple."
He said he uses the phone a lot for work, as a location scout and photographer. The iPhone is useful for him, he said, because of its speed, photo capabilities and navigation tools.
Pabes said staff at the Mac store had been really friendly, "cheering and passing out food" on a cart to people waiting in line.
He said he was expecting to wait much longer, and that his friends in Los Angeles were reporting more of an ordeal.
"I was expecting a lot worse," said Pabes, around 8 a.m. "My friends (in Los Angeles) are in line now; they're like five blocks back. I'll get it before they will."
- The first iphone 5 reviews are out.
- Here are some tips on how to set up your new iPhone.
Did you wait in line? Let us know what it was like. If you took photos in line, please share them in the gallery above.
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