Fans queue in Asia 2 days before new iPhone launch

By Sachi Izumi and Gyles Beckford

TOKYO/WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Seeking to be one of the first to grab the new-generation iPhone, fanatical Apple fans around Asia are queuing up two days ahead of its July 11 launch while inquiries and early orders are swamping related Websites.

Four New Zealanders with deck chairs, sleeping bags and a small tent started queueing on a chilly Tuesday night outside the Auckland shop of Vodafone, which will launch the much-hyped and keenly sought 3G iPhone at 12:01 a.m. Friday (1201 GMT Thursday), the first in the world.

"I'm really just doing it to be able to say that I'm the first one in the world with one of these phones," 22-year-old student Jonny Gladwell told the New Zealand Herald.

He said he was in the queue because his friends had bet him he could not last the distance. If he lasts, they will buy him the phone. In the meantime they are bringing him meals and holding his place in the queue when he needs a toilet break.

The long-anticipated 3G iPhone that has faster Web links than the predecessor and supports third-party applications like games and email will debut in 22 countries on Friday, and Apple shares gained 2.5 percent on Tuesday on anticipation of launch.

The device is expected to go on sale in 70 countries by the end of the year.

Targeting a far bigger market with its new iPhone, Apple slashed the handset price and is allowing carriers to subsidise the phone this time around, making it easier for users to bring home the device.

Vodafone, New Zealand's biggest mobile-phone operator, is selling the phone for as little as NZ$199 ($150) in the country if consumers sign up for a two-year contract. Demand for pricing details was so heavy it crashed Vodafone's New Zealand Website on Tuesday.