Jessica Rodriguez, 24, a student at Boricua College in New York City, nabbed the fourth place in line outside the Apple store on Fifth Avenue by 10 a.m. Tuesday. Rodriguez seemed more interested in the event than the actual phone. She said she planned to buy the phone for her sister as a birthday gift, but will buy one for herself, too, if she is allowed to buy two.

Ann Switzer, an artist who lives in Larkspur, Calif., just north of San Francisco, stood outside the Apple store in nearby Corte Madera, mesmerized by the big-screen video loop.

Switzer said she knew she should wait a few months, "just to make sure it's going to be everything Apple says it's going to be." No sooner had she said this, however, than she found emotion trumping practicality. "But ... I'd love to have one of these."

For those who cannot or will not wait in line, there are dozens of listings on CraigsList from people around the country offering their services as "line-waiters." They say they'll get in line a day ahead of time for around $250.

Within hours of posting his offer to sit in line at the Apple store in San Francisco for $300, Daniel Roberts, 27, a Web engineer, said he got three takers.

And what will happen on Friday evening? "It's going to be like world's biggest bra sale at Macy's, with screaming, shoving and yelling," said a former advertising executive who used to work on the Apple account. "Then everyone who gets one will be like post-injection heroin addicts, sitting there placidly with their iPhones."