No iPhone Reservation? Don't Bother Even Trying at Apple Soho

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This morning at 7am, Apple unleashed its newest phone, the iPhone 4, upon the city and the world. We've covered the Meatpacking District, the Upper West Side, and Fifth Avenue, so now let's take a look at Soho.

The Soho Apple Store might win the award for best-dressed Apple fans; we especially liked the natty Genius who had layered a white collared shirt under his regulation blue tee. It also has the classiest freebies: Aroma, the café on Greene and W. Houston, is giving out coffee and croissants to everyone in line. But alas, if you didn't preregister or get up at 5:30 this morning, you're not going to be able to join the beautiful people in waiting next to giant piles of garbage on Mercer and Greene. By the time we arrived around 7:30am, the walk-in line had closed and Apple employees were advising the reservationless to come back later in the day.

Based on the size of the crowd, though, even an afternoon check-in might be optimistic. A two-pronged line—one side for the pre-registered and one side for the early walk-ins—began in front of the store at Greene and Prince, went all the way up Green, and traveled down W. Houston Street. There, the walk-in side petered out, but the pre-registration queue continued all the way down Mercer, where it doubled back on the other side of the street much like the 59th Street line outside the Cube.

If you're looking for ongoing coverage, check out the Twitter of Freemans owner William Tigertt, who's started an impromptu lineblog. Last we heard he was reporting on the free pastry situation, but since he arrived only about two hours ago, he should have plenty of time to keep us all updated.
· Apple Fifth Avenue Had the Longest Line We've Ever Seen [Racked NY]
· Surprisingly Long but Subdued Line at the UWS Apple [Racked NY]
· The Line for iPhones in MePa Stretches Almost to the River [Racked]