The iPhone 5 frenzy has begun. The next generation phone hits stores on Friday, but people are already lining up to get their hands on Apple's latest gadget.
Salvador Zendejas, the first person in line at the Apple store in Pasadena, has been there since Tuesday, sleeping on the pavement.
He and others think this could be the biggest debut yet for an Apple product, and they say the uncomfortable accommodations are well worth it.
"Sleeping out here ain't no joke," Zendejas said. "I'm an Apple freak."
Armed with a chair, a cozy blanket and an obsessive drive, Zendejas is in it for the long haul.
Camped out at this Pasadena Apple store since Tuesday evening, Zendejas may be the first in line for the iPhone 5.
But he’s not alone. Martin Gijzemijter came all the way from the Netherlands to join in on the frenzy.
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"Look around you. It's LA. It's pretty," Gijzemijter said. "I'm in line with nice people and in the end I get a phone."
Still, amid all the hype, there's criticism, too.
Some tech junkies are up in arms over the iPhone's new mapping system that replaces Google maps. They’re also upset about the new so-called lightning connector that could render previous chargers and docking systems useless without an adapter.
Apple's arch-rival Samsung, which is promoting its Galaxy S3, is also taking shots in a new commercial that mocks those who would stand in line for the iPhone 5.
But the Apple diehards in front of the Pasadena store remain unfazed.
"I thought it was hilarious," Bryan Chun said of the commercial jabs.
By Friday morning, the line outside the Pasadena store is expected to wrap around the block. The doors at that store open at 8 am.
