Business & Tech

Mission Viejo Crowd Lines Up for iPhone 5

Some tried to wait overnight--before mall security told them to go home.

About 50 people waited outside the Mission Viejo Apple Store Friday afternoon to buy a new iPhone 5.

The new iPhone, released today, is Apple's first without Steve Jobs running the company. It's about the same size as the iPhone 4, but the screen is slightly larger and it's noticably lighter.

Police were called at 4:14 a.m. when 8-10 overeager customers became "unruly" with mall security. They were asked to leave.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Customers started lining up yesterday, said one Apple employee anonymously.

"The mall kept kicking them out but they kept coming back," he said. "They were troopers."

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

The big question is whether the $200 to $400 iPhone 5 is worth the price.

Mission Viejo teacher Tomy Lee wasn't sure. He stopped into the Apple Store just to try out the new phone.

Lee said he uses his iPhone mostly for listening to music, reading books, surfing the Internet and watching movies.

The phone displayed websites smoothly he said. But Apple's recent lawsuit against Samsung made him unsure of the company's future.

"It shows me that (Apple) feels threatened," he said. "It constrains creativity."

He said tech companies should use patents defensively rather than offensively. 

Lee is not ready to buy an iPhone 5 today, but said he might consider a purchase if the price drops, making it more competitive with similar Samsung smartphones.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here