Singapore still hungry for iPhone, but buzz lacking

While there was no midnight launch this time for the Apple iPhone 5 as with previous handsets, some customers still queued up half a day before the device was made available at 8 a.m.

By Liau Yun Qing, Journalist on Sept. 20, 2012

1 of 7 Liau Yun Qing/ZDNet

SINGAPORE--Apple's iPhone 5 went on sale here from 8 a.m. Friday, at selected outlets at all three mobile operators and some Apple resellers.

However, fans of the devices started queuing up to 12 hours before the official launch, such as at Apple reseller EpiCentre's outlet in the main shopping belt at Orchard Road.

2 of 7 Liau Yun Qing/ZDNet

Just around 8 a.m., the queue at EpiCentre snaked across three shopfronts in double rows, with most customers being students and teenagers.

3 of 7 Liau Yun Qing/ZDNet

Customers entered in batches to collect their iPhone 5 at EpiCentre's 313@Somerset branch, amid an atmosphere that somewhat lacked buzz.

The reseller said stocks were sold out across its chain within two hours.

4 of 7 Liau Yun Qing/ZDNet

At its Orchard Road Paragon branch, mobile operator M1 split its queue into different sections. Customers were given orange bags to put their new iPhone 5.

There was also a lion dance at 8 a.m. to celebrate the launch of the new Apple device.

5 of 7 Liau Yun Qing/ZDNet

All telcos, such as StarHub, allowed customers to pre-order and book appointment slots to collect the iPhone 5 so the queue was subdued.

6 of 7 Liau Yun Qing/ZDNet

Although Apple reseller iStudio only opened its doors at 11 a.m., some customers were already queuing outside at 8 a.m.