Who bought the world's first iPhone 3G?

At ten to midnight, Jonny Gladwell folded his chair and put away the things that had kept him busy over the last two and a half days.

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People started yelling his name and, for a few moments, the AUT physiotherapy student at the head of the 200-strong queue was a star.

After two and a half days queuing up in front of the store, the 22-year-old Devonport student's long hours of waiting were close to being over.

After midnight, a loud countdown began.

At exactly one minute past midnight, Gladwell walked into the Vodafone store on Queen Street in Auckland and bought the world’s first iPhone 3G.

Gladwell said he decided to queue for the new iPhone because his friends dared him to.

"They told me that if I stayed here for two days and three nights they would pay for the phone and so here I am," he said.

And, indeed, there he was, since 5:30pm on Tuesday.

The world’s first 3G iPhone owner is not even a great Apple fan and admits that if his mates weren’t paying for it, he probably wouldn’t buy one. "I just want to be the first in the world to have one."

Walking out of the store, he was visibly exhausted after over 50 hours on the street.

"I just want to go home, play a bit with the phone and have a good sleep. I’ve only had about six and a half hours of sleep in the last three days," he said, adding that he felt "excited" and "proud" after buying the first of one of the world’s most famous gadgets.

The iPhone fans that queued in front of the Vodafone store in Auckland had security guards making sure they were safe at night, sleeping outside with their personal belongings, which included expensive laptops.

‘It was a good idea that we had the security guards but I don’t think we needed them. There was one incident but it was nothing serious. I never feared for my life although there might have been times when I had to stand up for myself’, commented Evert Bruyns, the second person in line.

The 24-year old from Auckland arrived there at 7:30pm on Tuesday to make sure he would be "the first person in the world to give away an iPhone".

Evert bought two phones but neither were for him. He gave away the first one right after he left the store to a complete stranger that was standing in the queue. The second iPhone will be given away through Evert’s website, www.wishcollector.com, an online wishing well that he and his brother started months ago.

"I just want to make someone feel good," he said.

The first person to enjoy Evert’s generosity was Harrison Gulliver, a 15-year old boy that went to the Vodafone store on Thursday with his pocket money determined to get the latest Apple gadget. Thanks to Evert’s kindness, Harrison can keep his pocket money and took home a free iPhone offered by someone he had never seen before.

"Basically I just asked my brother to find someone in the queue that really wanted the phone and choose the person we should give it to," Evert explained.

The second lucky person will have to wait two weeks and will be one of the people that went to their website and wished for an iPhone, explaining why their wish should be granted.

New Zealand was the first country to sell the 3G iPhone with three Vodafone stores in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch opening at one minute past midnight.

Cheerleaders, a DJ from George FM broadcasting live, free chocolates and ice cream were on hand in Auckland to make people forget about the cold temperatures.

Web developer Lucinda McCullough waited on a Christchurch footpath for 16 hours to get her hands on a new iPhone and early today she had no doubt it was worth the effort.

McCulloch, 23, who was among the first in the world to own the new generation device, started the queue for the iPhone outside Vodafone's Colombo Street store at 8am yesterday.

By midnight, she had about 50 prospective iPhone buyers behind her.

"It was definitely worth the wait. I got special treatment inside the shop as well that was pretty sweet," she said.

McCullough and the others in line braved the chill wind and the stares of curious passers-by as they waited for its release at midnight.

After she had secured her phone, she said she was looking forward to getting back to a warm bed.

"I go back to work tomorrow (today), so I can't go in looking like a zombie."

Hours earlier, a lone figure outside the shop, she said: "I've had a few people ask me if I was waiting for the iPhone but some people have asked me if I was protesting or something."

She had been planning to buy one of the phones since the new-generation model was announced by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs about a month ago.

"It's a really good device. I've got an iPod Touch so I know the interface and I know what it's going to have. Steve Jobs knows what people want. And I need a new phone."

McCullough denied that her No.1 spot in the line made her the No.1 geek in Christchurch.

"I'm up there but I'm not the biggest geek, I don't think."

The new iPhone was similar to the first-generation phone with its famed touch-screen interface but it had a few improved features.

Stuff.co.nz technology editor Reuben Schwarz said the phone had the same look as the first one but had a plastic back for better reception.

The 3G mobile connection provided maximum download speeds of 3.6Mbps (megabits per second) for internet and email.

The other big addition was the global positioning system (GPS), which was integrated with Google Maps and a camera, so photos could be tagged with the location they were taken. iPhone users would be able to download music from the iTunes store.

Schwarz said some things had not changed from the first iPhone.

There was still no zoom or video on the 2MP (megapixel) camera, and the phone could not send pxts or video by SMS (short message service). 

A spokesperson for Vodafone said that they were unable to provide specific numbers of how many phones were made available for the first night but added that the stocks were "strictly limited".

As soon as Vodafone revealed the data plans, last Tuesday, Kiwis protested loudly against what they called a ‘rip off’, with data plans ranging from $80 to $250 monthly payments. In spite of the controversy, Vodafone says the price won’t go down in short term.

- With The Press

 

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