After all the hype, the handset is officially on sale in Australia with midnight launches at certain cities across the country. At 4pm Thursday evening, there were 3 people in line at the Telstra (T-Life) store on Bourke Street in Melbourne. By 7pm, the line grew to approximately 100 people.
The line at 7pm (Telstra)
The line at 7pm (Optus)
At around 10pm, both Telstra and Optus World across the street were bringing out speakers and DJs to entertain the crowd. As the hour grew closer, the line at Telstra stretched to Target, while the line at Optus was up to the Commonwealth Bank.
But by midnight, none of the people in line at both Telstra and Optus were moving forward nor getting their handsets. Joyous whoops were nowhere to be heard. As of 12.15am, there were no changes. We'll know by tomorrow if everything went off without a hitch.
Update: Those who waited in line for the midnight launch got their iPhones. But as of lunch time today, there was an hour long wait at the T-Life shop. Most major Telcos in Melbourne have either sold out or will be sold out on the handsets over the weekend. Optus is expecting more stock to arrive next week. Telstra spokesman Peter Symons said that customers are being placed on waiting lists but it remains unclear how long it would take Telstra to secure more stock. (@ The Age) Update 2: Optus has tweeted that there is a 4 week time frame for online and rain checked orders. (@
Optus)
Update 3: Apple has announced that there is an estimated 3 week delay for new orders. Although, those really impatient to wait and have cash to burn can get the iPhone 4 at ebay. Some of the phones listed there have a markup price of more than 50%. Expect to pay at least $1300. (@ The Age)
