Japanese line up to reserve iPhone 3GS
updated 04:00 pm EDT, Thu June 18, 2009
Japanese iPhone 3GS lineup
Japanese carrier Softbank today opened up reservations for the iPhone 3GS, allowing people to pre-order the device. As neither Apple nor Softbank have allowed online pre-orders in the country, lineups formed outside of Softbank retail stores, with as many as 200 people showing up at the flagship outlet by 1AM. Though crowds at the outlet disappeared towards the afternoon, they are said to have grown again in the evening.
The 3GS is due to launch in Japan on June 26th, with pre-orders being processed on a first-come-first-served basis. Lineups may indicate a continuance of strong support in country, though to what degree is uncertain. On the day of the iPhone 3G's launch in 2008, some 1,500 people queued up at the Softbank flagship store; it is unknown how many of these were pre-order customers.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2007
What strong support?
I thought at the very end of the iPhone 3G campaign, SoftBank was giving away iPhones. If that's what they call support in Japan, forget it. I keep hearing that the Sony handsets are all the rage and can do everything and have 1-Seg and that e-wallet stuff. The iPhone can't come close to that kind of versatility. And it probably isn't even worth Apple's time to install special chips for such a limited user base. s**** it. The iPhone 3G S won't be a better seller than the previous iPhone. If only those Japanese could get into the swing of downloading apps, especially game apps, then Apple's iPhone might have a little larger chance of being accepted over in the land of the rising sun.