iLounge

The Verizon iPhone 4 officially went on sale this morning at Apple, Verizon Wireless, Best Buy, and select Walmart retail stores across the U.S. Based on early reports, it seems that Apple’s and Verizon’s strategy of tiered pre-orders—existing customers on February 3, all others on February 9—seems to have kept launch day lines at retail outlets manageable. The International Business Times reports that only eight people were in line outside a Bryant Park, New York store an hour prior to opening, while the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tells of roughly two dozen customers who lined up in the cold outside a Verizon store in northwest Atlanta to be part of the launch. The Orlando Sentinel reports that roughly 30 people were lined up outside a Verizon store in Orlando prior to opening, despite that fact that a nearby store in Winter Garden store had one woman arrive for the iPhone at 4:00 p.m. yesterday. Additional reasons behind the modest lines may be the fact that Apple is expected to launch its fifth-generation iPhone in just a few months, the fact that the launch is taking place early in the morning on a weekday, when many potential customers likely have to work, and the fact that it is February, which means many areas of the United States are still prohibitively cold. For more information on the Verizon iPhone 4, see our full review.

[Photo courtesy of Jason Hiner]