iPhone Arrives

November in Germany rarely offers the kind of nights which inspire people to stand around outside for hours on end. Last night, however was different. From the early hours of the evening, iPhone fans took their places outside a T-Mobile shop in Cologne, and began the business of waiting.

T-Mobile, which has the exclusive contract to sell the new iPhone in Germany, supplied the waiting crowds with hot drinks, pretzels and blankets. But there was no real need, as the state-of-the-art phone was all the enticement the shoppers needed to stick it out in the cold.

"We are Apple fans and I think the phone is the best in the world," one man told the Reuters news agency.

But Philipp Humm, managing director of T-Mobile and Telekom Sales Director, who also put in an appearance at the Cologne store, said he was expecting the new iPhone to be a hit right across the board. "It is a cult cell phone," he said "not only for Apple fans, but for everyone." He said the sales of over one million phones in the US since its launch earlier this year suggested that it would be big business in Germany too.

High price not too high?

The phone, which comes with a price tag of 399 euros ($585), and which binds its users into a two-year contract at a monthly cost of between 49 and 89 euros, was no deterrent for the Cologne crowd. One man described it as a revolution. Another said he simply had to have one.

On the stroke of midnight, the waiting was over, and the Mac fans were allowed into the warmth to sign their contracts and claim the object of their hearts' desire. "I'm so relieved," one of the first new owners told Reuters. "It was love at first sight."

The phone has now gone on sale across the rest of Germany, as has a competitor model also launched on Friday by Vodafone. The Samsung Qbowl costs the same amount and also comes with a touch-sensitive screen and pull-out keypad.