Dozens sacrifice sleep and comfort to get to the front of the line at AT&T in Waco. They want to be the first to take a bite out of apple's latest gadget: the iPhone 5.
"I haven't slept. I tried to sleep but it was hard in the lawn chair. I think I maybe got five or 10 minutes but that's about it," said Chris Salazar.
Morgan Lansdown broke her last iPhone and has been waiting to get her hands on another.
"I have this really cool go phone right now," she says with a laugh, "it only makes calls and text messages."
But some don't want the iPhone at all. For a price John Schwarck holds the very first spot for someone he met on Craigslist.
"We got in contact with each other, agreed upon an amount and I came up here at 4:30 yesterday afternoon," he said.
When the clock strikes 8 a.m., it's show time an hour earlier than the store usually opens.
The new iPhone is lighter, faster and has a bigger screen than the old model. But more than any of those individual characteristics, people say they waited in line because it's the best.
"With technology nowadays it's not just a phone, it's you know so much more than that. It's like a mobile computer," Salazar said.
It takes just about 20 minutes for customer service reps to get people connected. But with a limited supply some will have to go home empty handed.
"If there's maybe no equipment at the store today there's a direct fulfillment process so everyone will be able to put in an order for a phone," assures Christine Turpin with AT&T.
As the line stretches long, the early birds leave satisfied customers.
"Feeling great, it feels so good. Definitely worth the wait!" Salazar said.
"I feel like I'm more connected to the world now rather than just having that dinky little go phone!" said Lansdown.
