The scenes in Singapore and San Francisco were not much different from the one in Georgetown on Friday morning, where would-be buyers bundled up against the early-morning chill to camp outside the Apple store for their shot at a new iPhone 5.
As the sun rose, a Metropolitan Police officer stood sipping coffee and watching over a line that snaked down Wisconsin Avenue.
"I just got off work at four in the morning [and] rode my bike all the way from College Park to do this," said Jamari Braddy.
The crowd cheered and employees clapped as the doors opened.
"To to actually have it on the day that it came out is breathtaking," said one buyer.
Two young men got entrepreneurial, selling spots in line. They said they'd made about $300 that morning selling spots. They'd get in line, wait awhile, and offer the spot to others further down in line. When the spot sold, they'd get at the back of the line and wait as they moved forward, then beginning the process again.
And if you're wondering if chivalry is dead -- no, it's not. Outside the Apple store around 6 a.m., NBC4's Tony Tull talked to Francis and Hannah, who had met only about half an hour earlier while waiting in line.
"We were standing in line together talking about how long it was going to take for us to actually get to the front, and if we were going to get a phone," Francis said. "So we had been here about 30 minutes, and these guys came by and said, 'Hey, we're selling a spot up front; do you want it?'"
The spot-sellers said they were glad they did it. "Everything was worth it, standing out here from two o'clock to now? Definitely worth it," said one.
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His partner said they plan to do it again. "Definitely [we] see something like this coming up in December," he said, referring to the rumored release of the next iPad. "Check us out."
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