Spot Check: iPhone Campers Still Out in Midtown, Soho and MePa Desolate

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The iPhone 3G goes on sale this Friday, which means you have less than five days to park yourself in line. To help you strategize, we'll be monitoring the chaos outside all three Manhattan Apple stores all week long.

Apple Fifth Avenue
Time: 1 PM
Head Count: Four chairs are set up, but only two people were visible during our drop by. Water run? Toilet break?
Color: Environmental group TheWhoFarm is still hanging out on the sidewalk outside the store, hoping to get more press for their cause (they want to turn the White House lawn into an organic farm). It appears as if they've erected some sort of solar panel and it also looks like they have a big container of wormy compost among their supplies.

Apple MePa
Time: 2:30pm
Head Count: Zero
Color: When asked if people were lining up yet, the response we got from a laughing Apple staffer was "No!" Also: "If people were lining up now I'd call off on Friday."

Apple Soho
Time: 2:45pm
Head Count: Zero
Color: From the sad, beaten-down sounding salesperson we spoke with: "No one's here yet. They could come at any time, though."