Fans queuing for pricey iPhone
2007-06-26 20:04
New York - Apple Incorporated said on Tuesday its hotly anticipated iPhone could cost up to $3 000 (about R21 500) with a required two-year service contract, but that didn't stop a handful of admirers from wanting to buy the device.
A small clutch of gadget enthusiasts staked out spots in front of Apple's store on New York's trendy Fifth Avenue, days before the iPhone goes on sale on Friday evening.
Plenty of potential iPhone consumers have said they would wait for Apple's next versions of the device to buy it, hoping for a lower price and faster network connection.
But, industry analysts expect the first iPhone to sell quickly, at least in its initial months.
"I love everything Apple, and this is going to be something that goes down in the history books of cellphones," said Jessica Rodriguez.
Wants to buy several
She showed up on Tuesday, taking the fourth place in line as temperatures promised to hover near 30°C for the next few days.
She plans to switch to iPhone's exclusive carrier, AT&T,
just to use the device, and will give her Sprint Nextel phone to her mother.
"My dad thinks I'm crazy, but then he saw the commercial and said, 'I want it,'" Rodriguez said of her 76-year-old father.
David Clayman, a recent university graduate who starts a technology consultant job in July and was third in line, said he hoped to buy several devices, one for his father's 50th birthday and a second to auction off for his favourite charity.
Buyers of the music and video-playing iPhone must sign a two-year contract with wireless carrier AT&T to use the device when it begins to sell to the public on Friday.
Shares shooting up
The iPhone combines a wireless phone with music and video and web browsing. It will be sold exclusively through AT&T for at least two years.
The service plans include unlimited data, visual voicemail, 200 SMS text messages, roll-over minutes and unlimited cell-to-cell calling, said the companies.
Apple shares have gained nearly 35% since it unveiled the phone in January. On Tuesday, the shares fell 2.3% to $119.54, while AT&T gained 51c to $39.59.