Thousands wait in long lines for latest iPhone
The iPhone 4 has arrived, but for some people the wait continues as Apple sprints to keep up with fierce demand for its latest gadget.
From Tokyo to St. Louis, some stores started selling out of Apple Inc.’s newest iPhone just hours after it went on sale Thursday. Some anticipated the demand and made sure they were in line early to get one.
Malinda Hagenhoff, of Jefferson City, stayed in her car in a parking lot overnight Wednesday to be among the first in line at West County Center in Des Peres on Thursday morning.
"I’m kind of a techy person who loves techy stuff," said Hagenhoff, who already owns an iPhone but wanted the newest model.
She was No. 30 in line when mall opened at 6 a.m., but that put her ahead of 120 others to await the Apple Store’s 7 a.m. opening.
As the line stretched farther and farther into the mall, other fanatics sought different sources.
Tyler Woods, 20, of south St. Louis, traveled with two friends to a Walmart store in Arnold.
"This has to be some kind of miracle," Woods said when he arrived in line at the Walmart store at 8:45 a.m. and was told he would get one of the 24 iPhones the store had in stock.
Similar stories were told around the globe. Thousands lined up outside stores in Tokyo, Berlin, New York and elsewhere. Some said they waited 11 hours to get through the lines.
Going into Thursday, concern was raised about limited supplies after more than 600,000 people rushed to pre-order iPhones on the first day they were available, prompting Apple and its U.S. carrier, AT&T Inc., to halt orders for shipment by Thursday’s launch. On Apple’s website, new orders weren’t promised for delivery until July 14.
Apple spokeswoman Natalie Harrison said demand was "off the charts," and that the company was working hard to get phones into customers’ hands as quickly as possible.
Some stores sold out within hours. Brian Marshall, an analyst for Gleacher & Co., said certain Apple stores likely had enough iPhones to last into today before selling out. A new shipment could be in stores as early as Saturday, he said, but more likely won’t arrive until early next week.
Apple is having a hard time getting enough of the new custom parts for the iPhone 4, such as its new higher-resolution screen, Marshall said.
Apple has said the white iPhone it plans to produce has been more challenging than expected and won’t be available until late July. Only black models went on sale Thursday.
The Associated Press and Robert Cohen, Kim Bell and Matthew Franck of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.