iPhone 5 fans queue all night in Churchill Square

8:30am Saturday 22nd September 2012 in News By Ben James

drian Foldesi, 41, and his son Ben Foldesi, 17, who both queued up since 10:30pm on Thursday night for Ben to get his phone - his dad didn't even get one Buy this photo » drian Foldesi, 41, and his son Ben Foldesi, 17, who both queued up since 10:30pm on Thursday night for Ben to get his phone - his dad didn't even get one

Brighton's main shopping centre was a mass of delirious, red-eyed, shivering youngsters as die-hard Apple fans queued overnight for the launch of the new iPhone 5.

Technology nuts, who came from as far as Kent and Surrey, started their vigil as early as 10.30pm on Thursday.

And despite temperatures slumping overnight, spirits were high, with Apple staff handing out coffee and Danish pastries.

Ben Foldesi, 17, and his dad Adrian made the journey from Angmering on Thursday evening, arriving at Churchill Square Shopping Centre shortly before 10.30pm.

Ben said: “It was great to be at the front of the queue. We didn’t get much sleep but it was definitely worth it.”

Stuart Chapman, 37, was still a long way back in the queue having arrived at 5am. He said: “I was here for the last launch and there are definitely more people this morning.”

Freezing customers kept themselves warm overnight with impromptu games of football on the plaza, complete with jumpers for goalposts.

Others chatted around a makeshift barbecue with some watching films and listening to music for the last time on their iPhone 4s.

A small group even decided to make a night of it, joining the queue after rolling out of a nearby nightclub in the early hours.

Pals Ibrahim Abusanina, 27, Daniyar Tashulat, 19, and Abdulrahman Algasn, 19, emerged from the Apple store at 8.45am, giddy with excitement and grins from ear to ear.

Mr Tashulat said: “It’s the best phone in the world. I’ve been waiting for this for a year-and-a-half so I can’t believe I’ve finally got my hands on it.”

Hanne Krogsgaard-Nielsen, who is originally from Denmark but now lives in Burgess Hill, was attending her first iPhone launch.

She said: “They haven’t released it in Denmark yet so I’m actually buying two phones to send home.”

Comments(15)

leobrighton says...
9:03am Sat 22 Sep 12

Thats strange when I went there at 7.30am I saw a queue of about a dozen people

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9 of us says...
9:05am Sat 22 Sep 12

Each to their own.

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john5001 says...
9:15am Sat 22 Sep 12

sad ?

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Maxwell's Ghost says...
9:23am Sat 22 Sep 12

When I was 17 I was out all night and it wasn't chasing telephones with my dad.

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Old Ladys Gin says...
10:51am Sat 22 Sep 12

Ditto

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KarenT says...
11:07am Sat 22 Sep 12

I wish someone... anyone... would explain this utterly bizarre bit of human behaviour for me? It's kinda like trying to explain why lemmings jump off of cliffs... no one knows. You can pre-order these new Apple products on-line, have them delivered to your front door, job done, without even having to get up off your arse. I mean THAT in itself is stupid anyway, cuz you're buying these things when they're at premium price! Give it 6 months, prices drop, and you probably won't even notice the difference from your existing model anyway. I still have the iPhone 2, cheap as chips O2 contract, and it does more than I will ever need from a smart phone. Also begs the question of why anyone even bothers BUYING these things - just get a subsidised contract from your network provider and then sell the phone at the end of the contract and get a free upgrade! But the camping out thing! WTF! Do these people have any idea what a bunch of mindless sheep they look like? Seems some sort of weird bonding experience for a bunch of no-lifers to me! :D

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Number Six says...
11:08am Sat 22 Sep 12

Jeez, thank God I'm too old for this rubbish. Queuing all night for a phone. Why? Haven't you already got a phone? Sad B'Stards

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Mutteroo says...
11:14am Sat 22 Sep 12

Ordered mine online. No queuing required.

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KarenT says...
11:26am Sat 22 Sep 12

I'm sure Apple loves their little sheep... oops... I meant 'loyal customer base' ... This is the best advertising they could ever hope for, and it's free! I think I've answered my own question (above...). The reason no one knows why lemmings jump off cliffs is because even the lemmings don't know why they do it! ;-)

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Maxwell's Ghost says...
11:35am Sat 22 Sep 12

KarenT, ok it's simple.
In psychological terms, there are leaders and followers.
Some people lead and become successful as Steve Jobs did, others are the required followers.
He must be spinning in his grave wondering why his followers are doing old fashioned queuing instead of online shopping while on the move.

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KarenT says...
11:48am Sat 22 Sep 12

Maxwell's Ghost wrote:
KarenT, ok it's simple.
In psychological terms, there are leaders and followers.
Some people lead and become successful as Steve Jobs did, others are the required followers.
He must be spinning in his grave wondering why his followers are doing old fashioned queuing instead of online shopping while on the move.
It's definitely about the bonding experience I think, "brothers in arms", waiting in the trenches for enemy fire to stop so that they can dash in and grab their new iPhones. Oops, I just likened these dafties to WW1 heroes, not cool...

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whereisthe...? says...
1:04pm Sat 22 Sep 12

Morons. Wonder if ANY one of these people would walk 5 paces to protest ANYTHING. So obsessed with latest gadgets instead. Pathetic.

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Maxwell's Ghost says...
1:33pm Sat 22 Sep 12

Sadly KarenT soldiers in Afghanistan are being blown up by improvised explosive devices which are often made from discarded mobile phones.
It also can't be very eco friendly to keep making plastic in China and then shipping it around the world but then who cares about the birds and the fish when you can have virtual ones on your shiny new phone.

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leobrighton says...
3:10pm Sat 22 Sep 12

God! Father and son are even wearing the same hoodie.

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geo4news says...
6:34pm Mon 24 Sep 12

leobrighton wrote:
Thats strange when I went there at 7.30am I saw a queue of about a dozen people
I was first in line waited from 7pm thursday to 8AM and at 3am I did a head count and there were 207 people :P

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