Moses Palomera (forground), Phong Vu (grey sweater-right) of Elk Grove, and Fabian Torres (white t-shirt), of Natomas, all arrived at Arden Fair at 4 a.m. to wait in line near the Apple store to purchase an iPhone 4 Thursday morning.
Die-hard Apple iPhone fans were not going to be disappointed today as hundreds crowded the corridors of Arden Fair Mall hoping to get their hands on the long-awaited fourth model of the technological phenomenon.
Scores of people arrived before midnight to stake a spot in what would become a frenzied line of iPhone toting Apple customers. More than 1,000 people stood in two separate lines this morning.
One line was for those who pre-ordered and another line for those who were unable to reserve a phone on opening day.
Sean Perkey, a teleservice representative for Kaiser Permanente, would not be denied. Perkey's 3GS iPhone was stolen two weeks ago and he had been relying on a more traditional cellphone.
"I just felt so disconnected without my iPhone," said Perkey, who is from Elk Grove. He did not pre-order and took his chances by standing in line.
Delores Canales of Placerville also took her chances, driving from her home to the mall on a whim, hoping to snag a phone for her teenage son.
"It is not going to kill me to wait four hours," Canales said.
The Apple store opened at 7 a.m., three hours earlier than its usual opening. By then, there were as many as 500 people already waiting -- nearly all of them clutching their old model iPhone.
While they waited, they tapped on the glass screens of their old model smartphones to update Facebook accounts and tweet about their excitement and ordeal.
Arden Fair security guards monitored the line but there did not appear to be any sign of trouble. Expecting long lines and a long wait, some arrived with lawn chairs for what could be for many a long day of waiting.
There appeared to be some confusion as to whether the new phone would be available today for those who could not pre-order. AT&T, Best Buy, Radio Shack and other non-Apple retailers said they would only have phones available for pickup by those who had pre-ordered.
For those who did not, their chance would have to come no earlier than Tuesday at the non-Apple outlets.
Ordering systems set up by Apple and AT&T were strained. Many who had tried to pre-order had not been able to reserve a phone for opening day pickup.
The frenzy around the newest version of the iPhone was increased when a prototype was found at a Bay area bar earlier this year.
Andrew Hintz, 29, of Sacramento, was envious Wednesday as friends and colleagues began receiving the new version of the phone by special delivery. He arrived at 6 a.m. today to pick up his pre-ordered phone.
With his pre-ordered iPhone in hand Hintz rushed out of the mall with excitement, clearly unable to keep his eyes off the shiny new screen.
"It looks great," he said.
KCRA: iPhone Fan: 'You have to do it'
Demetri Smith, manager of Dos Coyotes restaurant, carries some of the 1,300 burritos purchased by Apple and given to customers waiting in line to purchase an iPhone 4 at the Apple store at Arden Fair Thursday morning.
People wait in line at Arden Fair this morning in Sacramento to buy the iPhone 4 Thursday morning.
About Bobby Caina Calvan
