Hundreds Wait in Line as iPhone 4 Goes on Sale in Japan

From PC World: The iPhone 4 went on sale in Japan on Thursday morning, as Japanese customers who waited in long lines became among the first to purchase the latest smartphone from Apple.

Hundreds of people waited in lines outside a Tokyo store owned by operator Softbank Mobile and Apple's Ginza outlet, including some people who'd camped out overnight in anticipation of buying the new phone, the Nikkei Keizai Shinbun newspaper reported on its English Web site. The iPhone 4 went on sale at 8 a.m., Tokyo time.

Starting today, the iPhone 4 will initially be available in the U.S., France, Germany, the U.K. and Japan, followed by other countries. By the end of September, the handset will be available in 88 countries.

The atmosphere was subdued at three French mobile phone stores in the La Défense business district to the west of Paris on Thursday morning. The Phone House was deserted. It still stocks the iPhone 3G and 3GS, but not yet the iPhone 4.

Three customers stood around an iPhone 4 on display in the store of mobile operator Orange. After prodding distractedly at the phone for a minute, one of the customers turned to the sales assistant and said: "OK, but what I really wanted was a protective slip-case for my iPhone 3G."

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