Buyers Swarm Apple Stores for iPhone 5

USAToday: Predictably, long lines of fans stretched outside Apple stores across the country Friday morning as customers were eager to get their hands on the new iPhone 5. In San Francisco and New York, the people at the front of the line said they had arrived on Wednesday. In Washington, D.C., college student Eric Breese stood in line 18 hours to be the first to get the new smartphone. “Being the first guy in the store is pretty exciting,” he said. “You have everyone looking at you, cheering you on. You feel like you’re really part of something that’s special.”

Other customers declined to stand in line themselves and instead hired someone to do it for them. Charlie Hufnagel, 24, said he was paid $1,500 to stand in line in San Francisco. He got the job through online job service Task Rabbit.