In W-B, Customers Line Up For IPhone 4

WILKES-BARRE TWP. - About 30 people lined up in the cold before 7a.m. at the Verizon Wireless store on Schechter Drive to purchasethe new iPhone 4 that debuted Thursday.

"There were a lot of excited people," said Chris Blasi, managerof advanced technologies for Verizon Wireless. "At least twogentlemen slept in their car. They were super excited."

Larksville resident Michele Stiner, 30, who was the first inline, said she waited in the freezing temperatures since midnight.She had an AT&T phone, but she wanted to switch to Verizon, shesaid. Despite the cold, she said it was worth the wait.

"It's amazing with the apps and all the stuff you can do withit," Stiner said. "You can play games on it. You can basically doanything on it. You can talk and text. It's like a little hand-heldcomputer."

The Verizon Wireless store in Wilkes-Barre Township doubled itsstaff Thursday to about 20 people to serve an increase in customers.It was one of more than 2,000 Verizon Wireless stores nationwidethat opened at 7 a.m. and began selling the iPhone 4.

"We're hoping to give as many people who come in today a phonetoday," Blasi said. "For the people we can't get a phone today,we're going to get it to them as fast as we can because we knowthey're excited and we're exited to give it to them."

The iPhone 4 allows people to take the Internet, their e-mail anda navigation system with them wherever they go. Its price starts at$199.99 for the 16GB model.

"It's a revolutionary device," Blasi said. "Our customers havebeen asking for it for years."

Kasey Jones, 22, of Wyoming, purchased the iPhone 4, saying it is"cleaner, more stylish and faster" than her BlackBerry.

"I'm going to use it for the Internet, Facebook and shopping,"Jones said.

Ryan Davis, 28, of Wilkes-Barre, bought it because he saw hisfriends using it and thought it was "cool."

"They're always playing with it," Davis said.

Wapwallopen resident Brittney Nagle, 22, a student at King'sCollege, said she purchased the iPhone 4 because she likeseverything it can do.

"I'm excited it is finally here. I've been waiting for this areally long time," Nagle said. "I will use it for everything: e-mail, the Internet, iTunes and everything it has to offer. The factthat there's an iPod on there too is a win-win."

dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com.