Apple’s iPhone 5s And 5c Launch Draws Big Crowds, Including Biggest Ever Line At NYC Flagship Store

Apple’s iPhone 5s and 5c are now on sale at retail and online stores around much of the world, and the general impression from consumers is one of high anticipation. In North America, lines are being reported at Apple retail locations everywhere, including what analyst and Apple watcher Gene Munster (via Mashable) calls Apple’s longest ever lineup for an iPhone device.

The line at Apple’s 5th Avenue NYC flagship store was 1,417 people long at 8 a.m. ET, according to Munster, which is 83 percent longer than the iPhone 5 line at the same time. Munster’s been keeping tallies on iPhone queue length since 2008 with the iPhone 3G, and that line was 549 people long. The next-longest after the iPhone 5s/5c was the iPhone 4, which attracted 1,300 to the flagship New York location.

Of course, Apple didn’t allow pre-orders for the iPhone 4, which is bound to drive more people to retail since they weren’t able to order early and just wait for the FedEx person to drop off their new devices. One good theory about why Apple didn’t offer pre-orders for iPhone 5s is because of supply constraints, owing to the technical challenge of building the new A7 64-bit system-on-a-chip, and the sophisticated new fingerprint scanner built into the 5s Home button.

Images and video have been coming in on social media channels from around the world showing long lines at various Apple retail locations, including the following shot from TUAW depicting an army of Apple employees preparing for the deluge:

Canadian queues also appear to be much longer than last time around, indicating there’s a strong appetite for the iPhone 5s in that market, too:

Just under an hour and a half remains before the store doors open in San Francisco, but there’s plenty of anticipation there, too:

All reports also seem to be echoing a common refrain of the new gold iPhone finish being the rarest and hardest to get your hands on, which is likely to do with a combination of that model being in relatively short supply to begin with, and it being attractive to buyers because it’s so different and unique from previous iPhone color options.

Apple hasn’t yet reported any numbers regarding its early iPhone pre-order amounts, but it’s almost guaranteed they’ll offer up some kind of figure of cumulative iPhone 5s/5c pre-orders after this initial launch weekend.

Via: Tech Crunch

Ducati Challenge Confirmed For iPhone 5C

A new version of a popular racing game is on the way for iPhone owners. However, it’s not just a new version, it’s an iPhone 5C version of Ducati Challenge.

Digital Tales made it known that Ducati Challenge’s latest update will make it compatible for the not-yet-released iPhone 5C. The biggest change was adjusting the game’s view-screen to better support the iPhone 5′s larger screen. They also cleaned up the code and managed to shrink the game down from 522mb to 192mb. So less is more in this case.

The game is primed and ready for Apple’s new iPhone 5C, so the real question is if you’re ready to experience Ducati Challenge on the new iPhone 5C? If you can’t wait and already have an iPhone 5 you can pick up a digital copy of the game right now for free from the iTunes app store.

Source: The iPhone Informer

Walmart Selling iPhone 5C For $79, iPhone 5S For $189

If you want to get the best deal of Apple’s next generation smartphones, you’ll probably need to check out the deals that Walmart is offering for the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S.

According to the Huffington Post Walmart is offering up to $300 for some trade-ins and an average of $50 on most smartphone trades. Not only that but this giant chain is dropping the price of the iPhone 5C down to $79.99 instead of the typical $99.99 price tag offered by everyone else, including Apple. If that’s not a huge slap in the face to the Cupertino, California company, maybe the fact that they also dropped the price of the iPhone 5S to $189.99 will count as one.

If you’ve already pre-ordered the iPhone 5S or the iPhone 5C from any of the major carriers then you’re fresh out of luck. However, if you’ve been patient so far, it might be best to wait and get the cheaper version of the phones from Walmart.

Via: iPhone Informer

iPhone 5S And 5C Release: Apple Launches iPhone Trade-In Program At Retail Locations Across The Country

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has rolled out its rumored iPhone trade-in program, enabling a consumer to receive a credit that would go toward buying either the new iPhone 5S or the new iPhone 5C, which are expected to be officially announced at a special media event on Sept. 10.

“[I]Phones hold great value. So, Apple Retail Stores are launching a new program to assist customers who wish to bring in their previous-generation iPhone for reuse or recycling,” Apple representative Amy Bessette said in a statement. “In addition to helping support the environment, customers will be able to receive a credit for their returned phone that they can use toward the purchase of a new iPhone.”

As previously reported, the trade-in program, dubbed the iPhone Reuse and Recycling Program, is part of company CEO Timothy D. Cook’s effort to improve iPhone sales at physical retail locations.

“I see channels doing it, and I like the environmental aspect of it, and so that part of it really is encouraging to me,” Cook said during Apple’s June earnings call. “The reason that is so attractive around an iPhone is that the residual value of an iPhone stays so high. That makes the trade-in programs a win-win from many points of view.”

According to Auto World News, Apple will accept only devices that work properly and are not water-damaged under the trade-in program. As the Wall Street Journal noted, employees at Apple retail locations will input information about iPhones being offered as trade-ins into a computerized system before telling consumers how much they’ll be getting. If a given iPhone a consumer wants costs less than the trade-in credit, he or she will receive a gift card with the remaining balance.

9to5Mac.com reported that a new iPhone must be purchased during the trade-in process.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based tech company is offering as much as $280 for an iPhone 5, the Wall Street Journal reported. And Auto World News said consumers can get $200 for an iPhone 4S and $140 for an iPhone 4.

Meanwhile, TechCrunch reported that this trade-in program exclusively applies to the iPhone, as opposed to any other Apple device.

Apple is expected to announce on Sept. 10 the release dates for the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C, with the rumored release dates being Sept. 20.

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