The Voice

Issue date: 7/2/07 Section: Science & Technology

Media Credit: Sarah Espinoza Eager customers waiting in line at the AT&T store on Washtenaw Avenue to purchase iPhones.

After months of ridiculously high expectations, Apple's fabled iPhone was finally released to eager customers.

On Friday, June 29, AT&T and Apple stores across the nation opened their doors at 6 p.m.

Earlier that day, a long line formed outside the local AT&T corporate store located on Washtenaw Ave., which caught the attention of passersby. Most customers in line looked tired as the hours slowly ticked on. Some sat on chairs, some stood, some sweated from the summer heat, still others brought an umbrella for shade.

Greg Sizemore, an iPhone customer, had been waiting in line for six hours. Tired, but excited, he said that he wanted an iPhone because "It's an excellent top of the line good quality phone, I have the money, and AT&T is a good company."

Sizemore planned on purchasing the 4 GB model for $499 and a the minimum monthly plan of 450 minutes at $59.99."The price is decent, but it should come down in a few years." he said.

Married couple and committed iPhone customers Jose and Laurel Mojica arrived at the Washtenaw Ave. AT&T store at 5:30am. They spotted another customer sleeping in his car and pulled him in line so his spot was secure.

"I recently switched to Apple. The iPhone is great and Laurel and I love Apple and its products," said Jose, a former author of PC programming books.

The Mojicas are purchasing the 8 GB model for $599 and the minimum monthly plan of 450 minutes at $59.99. "Upping the gigs from 4 to 8 is a good deal because it's only a hundred dollars more." Laurel reasoned.

The couple decided to buy an iPhone instead of one of its competitors because "the usage is better and being able to upload Internet pages is good."

"I've been in the business for fourteen years and have never seen anything like this. Holidays are sometimes really busy, but this was amazing!" said Ken Gaffga, manager from the AT&T store located in Shelbyville Township.

Ken cannot disclose the number of cell phones sold that Friday, but "everything we had was sold in ninety minutes," he said. "There were some customers who ordered through priority mail and got their phones before other customers."

Continued...

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