Hundreds race for iPhone 4 at Japanese debut

TOKYO (AFP) – Hundreds of people braved sweltering humidity and giant queues in an upscale Tokyo district Thursday to become the first Apple fans in the world to get their hands on the latest iPhone.
The iPhone 4 also hits Britain, France, Germany and the United States Thursday. Japan's eastern time zone put it first in line to sell the phone boasting video chat, high-definition video, and sharper screen resolution.
With more than 500 people queuing outside Apple's store in the Ginza district, Ryoichi Hoshino was the first to emerge triumphantly clutching the new device after Apple staff gave a loud countdown ahead of the release.
"I love this design, it's going to beat my expectations 110 percent," he enthused. "I'm going to use it to watch movies and use Twitter," he said of the micro-blogging site.
Those who missed out on pre-orders were forced to join a long snaking queue dotted with Apple disciples wearing iPhone costumes and exhausted office workers slumped on the pavement.
First in the Ginza line was high school student Akira Nakazawa, 18, who skipped studies and his job at a supermarket to camp out for two nights.
"I wanted to see the evolution of the iPhone. When I heard about the release, I immediately knew I had to come and be the first in line," he said.
Handling the new iPhone, technology writer Eiji Ishii, 42, said he was drawn by the experience of being the first to purchase a new Apple product.
"You walk into the store and you are greeted by high-fives. I was extremely delighted by that. An experience like that is so precious," he said, waving the phone in his hand.
The original iPhone brought smartphones to the masses. Apple has sold more than 50 million of the devices since they were launched in 2007.
But its latest iteration enters a crowded market full of rivals boasting bigger screens and running on Google's open-source Android operating system, which is more accessible to developers than Apple's tightly guarded system.
Taiwan-based HTC's EVO 4G, for example, offers a higher resolution camera while Motorola's big-screened Droid X phone, unveiled Wednesday in the United States, is expected to offer a strong challenge.
Apple's strict control of what software can be used on the iPhone 4, only available through its iTunes App Store, may encourage some consumers to choose similarly priced alternatives, analysts believe.
But for Japanese fans queuing outside the flagship Tokyo store of mobile phone carrier Softbank, Apple's exclusive partner in Japan, there was only one show in town as they fed constant reports to Twitter and sites such as Ustream.
Softbank president Masayoshi Son said he was "electrified" when he first got his hands on the iPhone 4. "It feels like a gemstone. It's delicate but robust. It shows beautiful pictures. This is a major evolution."
Softbank shares were 2.5 percent higher in Tokyo trade following the launch.
However, the launch of the latest iPhone has been beset by various problems culminating in the white model being delayed to the second half of July due to unspecified manufacturing difficulties.
"The availability of the more popular iPhone 4 black models is not affected," Apple said in a statement Wednesday.
AT&T, the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the United States, was forced to suspend a troubled early-ordering process because of the heavy demand. Apple said it had received a single-day record 600,000 orders for the new smartphone.
Softbank also faced a deluge of pre-orders for the device in Japan last week, with its online store crashing because of the demand.
The delivery delay for the white iPhone 4 comes two months after Apple was forced to put back the international release of its new touchscreen tablet computer, the iPad.
The new iPhone will be available in 18 other countries in July and 24 more in August.