The wait is finally over. After months of anticipation and a
week-long wait, Apple's (NASDAQ:
AAPL
) flagship phone is finally here. Analysts have predicted that the
iPhone 5 will be the biggest smartphone of all time, with an
estimated
10 million units
being sold in the first weekend alone. The demand has been so high
that the initial Apple.com shipment
sold out
in just 24 hours. Additional pre-orders pushed the total number of
new iPhones sold to
more than two million units
.
On Wednesday AT&T (NYSE:
T
) announced that the iPhone 5 pre-orders had
set a new record
for the firm, outpacing the pre-release sales of all other iPhone
models.
This morning, fans lined up
all over the world
, filling stores across America and
Asia
.
In Michigan, hundreds of eager consumers lined up at the various
Apple Stores throughout the Metro Detroit area. While there seemed
to be enough units for everyone, the size of the crowd -- and the
overall enthusiasm -- far surpassed that of the
third-generation iPad
.
At the Somerset Collection in Troy, MI, fans could not contain
their excitement.
"I'm an iPhone groupie!" said Tonya Garrette, an Apple devotee
who had been waiting in line since 3:30 a.m. She owns numerous "i"
devices and said that she is most interested in the iPhone 5 for
the upgraded camera.
"Because now it has panoramic [imaging]," she said. "Now I can
just scan and take a picture of the whole scene of stuff. Right now
my iPhone 4 is slow. iPhone 5 with LTE --awesome!"
Even without the upgrades, Garrette said that she would still be
in line. "I wouldn't give a s*** if it didn't have nothing," she
insisted. "I would be in line anyway. I just love iPhones. I would
never have any other phone but an iPhone for the rest of my life.
So when they have iPhone 83, I will be in line."
Garrette, who purchased the 32GB white model, said that she had
previously waited nine hours to get an iPhone 4.
David Gaddy, another Apple devotee, did the same.
"I've always had iPhones since the first one," said Gaddy. "I've
only missed one generation. My daughters had Android phones, and we
compare 'em all the time, and I just never [liked] Android."
This is roughly half the size of the line.
Image Credit: Louis Bedigian, © 2012 Benzinga
Gaddy, who was purchasing two 64GB black models, said that he
does not mind any of Apple's restrictive features.
"I just like that you can push a button and it works," he said.
"I don't want to guess if it's gonna work or not, or if it's
malware or not, or the phone is gonna lockup. I like the security
of it. It's just fine with me."
While most consumers had to skip work to get an iPhone 5 this
morning, Takotah Chavis skipped school.
"I don't plan on telling her," he said, referring to his
teacher. "I'll say I was at the doctor," he added with a laugh.
Chavis said that he is most excited about the upgrade to 4G LTE.
He uses AT&T but does not understand why the carrier is
attempting to
limit those who use FaceTime
over cellular.
"I usually jailbreak my phone, so when the jailbreak comes out,
I'll probably do it," he said.
Chavis currently has a 3GB data plan with AT&T, but would be
willing to switch carriers for a better offer. After learning that
the 16GB black model was sold out, an Apple employee offered him a
white one, saying that by the time he reached the front of the
line, it was possible that they would have a black one in stock.
"Someone may not have picked theirs up," the employee said. Chavis
decided to take a 32GB black model instead.
Thomas Kemennu, who was the second person in line, arrived at
the store at 11:00 p.m. Thursday night. "I need an upgrade," he
said. "It's pretty sick. I like the camera [and] I need more
memory."
Kemennu is upgrading from the 32GB iPhone 4 to a 64GB iPhone 5.
Aside from having more memory, he is most excited about the
upgraded display, but is a little concerned about the reduced
weight.
"I'm gonna have to get used to it because it weighs less," said
Kemennu, who previously waited in line for the iPhone 3G and the
iPhone 4.
Unlike other consumers in line, however, Kemennu is not obsessed
with every Apple product available.
"I had an iPad," he said. "I didn't like it. I have a MacBook so
I never used it. I carry a MacBook. I just put the iPad on eBay
(NASDAQ:
EBAY
) and got rid of it."
As far as selling his new iPhone 5 on eBay, he said that while
it would be "quick money," he is going to keep the two he planned
to purchase -- one for himself and one for his dad.
"I looked at it this morning, they were like $1,300 [on eBay]!"
he said. "Even after your fee, you're still making a good $700.
That'd pay for both my phones."
For Austin Gross, today's upgrade was all about the new
design.
"I've been waiting for this for a year and a half," he said
enthusiastically. "It's just new, it's refreshed. I kind of felt
like the iPhone 4 design was getting old. Bigger screen and 4G, for
sure. I'm really excited for 4G."
Despite his complaints for the iPhone 4's aging design, Gross
owned an iPhone 4S. "I upgrade every year," he said, adding that he
has "something worked out" so he can upgrade at the subsidized
price without breaking his contract with Verizon (NYSE:
VZ
).
Gross said that while there is nothing about the iPhone 5 that
disappoints him, he is a little annoyed with the new dock
connector.
"And it's kind of weird that the headphone jack is on the
bottom," he said. "It'll be a change but it's really not that big
of a deal."
Next up, Gross said that he would love to see a 13-inch MacBook
Pro or MacBook Air with Retina Display.
"TV is cool, but it's not for everyone," he said of Apple's
.
Follow me
@LouisBedigianBZ
(c) 2012 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice.
All rights reserved.