New Zealanders were the first in the world to get the chance to buy the much hyped iPhone 3G Friday when three stores opened just after midnight.
Shoppers keen to be among the first to get the new Apple smart phone queued in the main cities of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in cold winter temperatures ahead of the special midnight (1200 GMT Thursday) opening of three stores.
Just before the stores opened around 300 people were reportedly queuing outside an Auckland branch of Vodafone -- the sole mobile communications company so far licensed to sell the iPhone in New Zealand -- with smaller numbers outside Wellington and Christchurch shops.
Auckland student Jonny Gladwell, 22, had been first in line outside the Auckland store since Tuesday after being dared by friends who promised to pay for his phone if he lasted the distance in the queue.
"I'm going to go home, put this on charge, have a play with it and have a nice big sleep," a weary Gladwell told Television New Zealand after securing one of the first iPhones sold in the world.
Enthusiasm for the new iPhone in New Zealand was tempered by the expensive calling contracts linked to the discounted price for the phone.
The cheapest price for the new model iPhone is 199 dollars (150 US) but that price is tied to a two-year calling contract costing 250 dollars a month.
Many potential customers expressed outrage when they heard the pricing, although commentators said it reflected the high cost of mobile communications in New Zealand.
The iPhone was to go on sale in other parts of New Zealand and in around 20 other countries later Friday.
