The iPhone 4 was the last iPhone that was available for in-store pickup for pre-order. You can not preorder for in store pickup anymore. Everyone waiting in line will have the same shot. No two lines anymore. If you pre-ordered, your ONLY option was shipping.
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Interesting, and good to note.
Last year was my first iPhone (Sprint customer for years) so paranoia propelled me to get in line at about 3am the morning of.
I was approximately the 3rd person in line at that point but interestingly enough, the line only grew to about 20 by the time the store opened. In fact, I called my girlfriend who'd had a late night prior at about 7am to tell her the line wasn't long if she wanted to come down and just pick one up. Sure enough, she shows up about 7:30am and walked out of the store maybe 30 minutes later with her first iPhone.
The few of us who arrived extremely early were pretty confused by the seeming lack of interest or frenzy surrounding the release of the first iPhone on the Sprint Network...in retrospect, it was likely that the VAST majority of iPhone buyers just elected to skip the line and preorder. It's good to know that the stock on hand in the store is "first come, first serve" so my early spot in the line will almost surely guarantee my phone on Friday morning! Thanks for the info!
Oh, and BTW, the story refers to the main Sprint store in Eugene, OR if anyone reading is in the area and was curious as to the possible demand around here!