Australian Telcos Shun Midnight iPhone 5 Launches


An iPhone launch brings with it a special kind of madness. People queue (or pay others to) for days on end to be one of the first to get their hands on a new device, and to celebrate this descent into shameless consumerism (which we’re all for), Australian telcos like to hold midnight launch parties. This year, though, will be one of the first that a flagship iDevice launch goes without a midnight launch.

We’ve been asking around, and found that Apple fans wanting to get their drink on before the device hits shelves will be left out in 2012.

Vodafone has confirmed that it’ll be doing no such event this year, with focus instead put on shipping out preorders from 8am AEST on Friday. The same is true of Optus, and Telstra.

Stores will be opening early at 8am to get pre-orders out of the way as quickly and efficiently as possible, though, so if you’re queueing, you’ll be waiting an extra eight hours for your iPhone 5.

What’s a few hours compared to a week of waiting, though?

Have you ever attended a midnight launch for anything? The only midnight launch I’ve ever been do is the launch of World Of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade expansion. I was a different person then…


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