Crowds are waiting, including celebrities
NEW YORK— Ring, ring, ring! The launching of the new iPhone 3G on Friday July 11 has attracted a crowd of hundreds of customers, eager to wait in line for hours to get their hands on the highly anticipated phone. High profile celebrities were not spared from the frenzy.
The highly anticipated phone, an upgrade from last year, has been the talk of the town for the past month since it debuted at the World Developer’s Conference on June 9. Customers eager to obtain the iPhone on the first day waited for hours outside the Apple Store before it opened on Friday morning in a line that stretched for blocks.
Included in the rush was celebrity TV judge Jay Manuel from CW’s hit show America’s Next Top Model. Manuel was spotted waiting in a line of almost 200 customers eager to lay hands on the iPhone 3G.
When Epoch Times reporters caught up with Manuel, he had already been waiting in line for 30 minutes.
“Today was my day off and I thought ‘Hey I’ll go out and support [the iPhone]’,” said Manuel. “I love Apple so I’ll just go wait in line myself. So I just came with a friend and thought it was fun.”
Last year, Manuel had enlisted help to obtain the first generation iPhone. This year he hopped in line with a friend for a more personal experience. Manuel wanted the new 3G for its new interface and faster speed. He says he plans on using it to download multiple applications.
“I think I’m going to have a lot of fun with [the new iPhone],” says Manuel. “When Apple comes up with their next best, it’s usually just such a huge improvement and I’m looking forward to it.”
John Suh had waited for over three hours outside the store and was one of the lucky few who received a limited number of iPhones Apple puts out everyday. The purchase makes it Suh’s first experience with an iPhone.
“My telephone was dying, so I was just thinking ‘Just get a good [phone]’,” said Suh. “I think it [the iPhone] does what I want.”
To Michael Kalendarev who was barely half way through the line winding outside the Apple store, the iPhone 3G was a much anticipated upgrade from the original.
“I think Apple did a good job with the adition of the 3G,” says Kalendarev. “They [Apple] got a lot of people to buy it so I think they did a good job, as an up grade from the first [phone].”
For Kalendarev, the hefty price label was not an issue.
“It’s cheap,” said Kalendarev. “To me, I think it’s a cheap price. A fair price.”
