Swiss queue for new iPhone

If anyone doubted Apple’s latest smartphone would be a success in Switzerland, long lineups at the company’s stores in Geneva and Zurich strongly challenge the notion.

People began queuing on Thursday night for the right to own the iPhone 4, the much anticipated mobile device from the California computer giant.

The phone went on sale in Swiss stores on Friday, a month after its introduction in the US.

People lined up in the rain early in the morning for a chance to buy the phone, with a listed retail price of 769 francs for the 16-gigabyte version without a mobile phone subscription and 899 for the 32-gigabyte version.

The new phone was launched in more than a dozen other countries the same day.

In New Zealand, many potential buyers were out of luck with Vodaphone, the mobile phone operator, tweeting that it was out of stock within hours.