I admit I was sceptical people would really queue up at 6.00am to buy an iPhone. How wrong I was.
We can't remember which telco line this was ... oh, wait. Vodafone had plastered the area around its shop with massive banners and red spotlights.
Some random shopper buying an iPhone. Hang on, that's Lara Bingle!! Sweat like a nervous teenager; blush...
The first Vodafone customer to get an iPhone -- Dominic Tayco of Newtown. He signed up on the $169 plan not because he makes a lot of phone calls but because it allowed him to get the iPhone free of charge up front. (We got news for you Dominic... the pain is going to kick in about one month down the track.)
Did we mention Lara Bingle was there? She really is hot.. and also surprisingly short. Obviously skimpy bikinis make a person look a lot taller in photos.
The line outside Vodafone, with people being fed fresh cafe coffees and glazed bagels. Niiiice. Slurpees from 7-11 were extra, but then it was frickin' freezing so people weren't exactly slushing it up.
Last photo of Lara, I promise. Sigh... fawn...
The line outside Optus was scary but not surprising considering Optus has by far the best value iPhone plans.
It continued down the street quite a way.
People were actually queuing outside the Telstra shop, despite the fact that Telstra's iPhone plans include as little as 5MB data (five views of the Sydney Morning Herald homepage.) We're not casting any judgment on these people, we're just suggesting that they might have had special dispensation to arrive at work late next door (Telstra headquarters).
Telstra only had one crowd controller on duty, which said a lot.
Right this way, able bodied sucker! You too can have a Telstra iPhone for the price of just one arm and one leg ... and your first born child, to be sacrificed to Sol Trujillo in a blood ceremony.
Telstra did not provide free sushi or Darrell Lea to queuing customers unfortunately.
David Jones from Inverell (regional NSW) lined up from 9pm last night to be first in line to collect the new Telstra iPhone. Hope David has a well-paying job or is the son of a Telstra exec or something.
Poor old Three, denied the iPhone, spurned by Apple. Its shop was looking positively desolate.
Apple staff scurry round doing last minute touches to the iPhone displays at Apple Store Sydney.
The frankly massive queue outside Apple Store.
The queue went right round the front of the Apple Store...
... then down the sidestreet.
The black shrouds inside the Apple Store come down to reveal ... the Apple Store (again) and some very overexcited employees inside at the counter.
Giant-sized iPhones demonstrating the iPhone software in the windows of the Apple Store.
Pay-as-you-go police were on hand inside the Apple Store to tackle anyone who asked an inconvenient question to Apple PR, or was otherwise carrying a Nokia or Windows Mobile device.