News From Terre Haute, Indiana

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  • Tom Fischback looks at his watch as he awaits the 8 a.m. opening of a Verizon Wireless store in Terre Haute to be the first to buy a new iPhone 5 on Friday. Josh Dove, a junior at Indiana State University, wound up second in line, despite being the first at the store at 3:45 a.m. (Tribune-Star/Howard Greninger)

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September 22, 2012

Customers line up in the wee hours of Friday morning for release of iPhone 5

Online pre-orders sold out; only in-store stock offered Friday

Howard Greninger The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — Equipped with a backpack full of snacks and water, Tom Fischback stood next to his folding chair early Friday morning as the first in line to buy the new iPhone 5.

“I’ve never had a smartphone. This is my first one,” said Fischback, 49, an electronics technician for the Federal Aviation Administration at Terre Haute International Airport-Hulman Field.

“I didn’t want to wait until Oct. 12 to get the new iPhone by ordering online,” Fischback added.

Josh Dove, a junior at Indiana State University who is majoring in sports management and is a member of ISU’s baseball team, arrived at the corporate Verizon Wireless store on U.S. 41 South at 3:45 a.m. Friday, much earlier than Fischback who arrived at 5 a.m.

“I got here early, but left to go get food. I saw [Fischback] get out of his car, so I got in line behind him. It’s OK for him to be first,” said Dove, 20, a 2010 graduate of Terre Haute South Vigo High School. “I am an iPhone maniac. I have the iPhone 4S, but like all the new features [of the iPhone 5]  with a larger screen and it is slimmer and the A6 chip is a lot faster, plus it is 4G, which makes it better than previous iPhones.”

About a dozen people were in line by 7 a.m. and more than 30 people stood in line to get the new iPhone 5 when the store opened its doors at 8 a.m. Friday — the nationwide release of Apple’s latest phone.

“I’ve got to have it. I checked the weather before I came to make sure I wanted to stand in line,” said Maureen Murphy of West Terre Haute, who stood fifth in line.

“I had the iPhone 4, but took it back because it was like my iPad and I didn’t need both. I have 59 days left to work and then I am done, so I had to have a new toy before that,” she chuckled.

“I may have to take my lunch hour this morning, “ she added.

T. J. Holt, an E5 sailor in the U.S. Navy, had been waiting in his car with the heat on, to keep warm in the high 50-degree weather before he stood in line behind a dozen other people. “I have been in Cuba the last year and it was 105 degrees on my last day there,” Holt said.

“I came back from deployment and this is my first iPhone. I have the iPad, iPod and even an iMac, so I wanted to get the newest iPhone,” said Holt, 25, a 2005 graduate of Terre Haute North Vigo High School.

Tom Smith, 19, of Sullivan and a sophomore accounting major at ISU, said his mother was getting an upgrade on her phone this week “and she said if I wanted to get an upgrade I could. I have the iPhone 4 now and wasn’t really expecting to upgrade,” he said.

Smith said he had stayed up till 2:30 a.m. on “Thirsty Thursday” but got up at 6:30 a.m. to get in line Friday for the new iPhone 5. “I am wishing I went to bed a little earlier,” he chuckled, adding he had a morning class on Friday.

Dugger residents Shelley Marcotte, waiting in line with her daughter, Autumn Macotte, planned to trade in her iPhone 4S. The two left Dugger about 5:15 a.m. to get to the store before its 8 a.m. opening. “I want the best and upgrade once a year,” Marcotte said. “If they upgrade, I upgrade. I want the black phone and she wants the white phone,” she said of her daughter.

Rekha Sidda, 60, of Terre Haute waited to buy five iPhone 5s. She had been standing in line since 6:30 a.m. Friday. “The iPhone is the best. You can play games and talk at the same time. I am getting them for my husband, a radiologist at Union Hospital, my daughter, my son-in-law and me,” Sidda said.

Ryan Gwin, 20, of Greenwood, a junior majoring in Spanish at ISU, waited with his friend, Ben Ewick, 19, of Greenwood, a freshman music education major at ISU. “I can’t afford it now, but I will get an iPhone 5 eventually when I get an upgrade in May,” Gwin said.

Ewick said he wanted the iPhone 5 “because I hate my Android. It’s that simple. It breaks all the time and is inconsistent,” he said. “I know people who have the original iPhone that still works.”

Company-owned Verizon Wireless retail stores across Indiana opened at 8 a.m. Friday for customers seeking the iPhone 5. Online pre-orders for the device were sold out and only in-store stock was being offered Friday.

Pat Lewis, Verizon Wireless regional store director for Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky, said all employees worked the first shift Friday to handle people seeking the iPhone.

David Scott, manager of the Terre Haute Verizon Wireless store, said employees handled and reviewed the phone Thursday evening. Employees had three prior online training sessions to prepare for the phone’s release. “We just wanted to make sure we knew the product inside and out and be ready to go [Friday]. Customers are excited and we are excited,” he said.

“It is just faster and is on our 4G LTE will make the difference on this phone,” Scott said.

The store had “very few” iPhone 5 devices available by 4 p.m. Friday, Scott said, adding he was unsure when the store’s supply would be replenished.

Reporter Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.

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