Virtual Entrepreneur

iPhone Launch Draws Geeks, Entrepreneurs

Herald Sun:
Older gadget geeks fueled an Apple iPhone launch frenzy yesterday by taking a prominent place on growing lines across the US - or paying 20-somethings to do it for them.

Standing outside the Apple store in Chicago, James Budd, a 50-year-old business consultant, was waiting to buy an iPhone not just for himself but also for his 95-year-old grandmother because he believes it will be “simple enough” for her to use.

Budd, who joined the queue at 6am, described waiting to be among the first people to get their hands on the sleek new phone as fun.

But he added: “I have a lot of geek friends who are waiting for version two.”

High-flying professionals who couldn’t escape work paid others to do it for them.

Lauren Smith, 21, was No. 144 in line outside Apple Inc.’s store on New York’s Fifth Avenue and said her boss was paying her $15 an hour to wait.

“If it rains, I’m going to call him and try to knock that up,” said Smith, who works for media company Worldwide Biggies and joined the queue yesterday morning.

“The iPhone is not something I’m dying to get.” More.