B.R. residents line up before dawn for Verizon iPhone

After months of speculation and waiting, Verizon Wireless started selling the iPhone today, ending the monopoly AT&T had on the hot device. At 6:30 a.m., a half hour before the store opened, about 20 people were lined up in front of the Verizon store on Siegen Lane to buy the iPhone. Those in line sat in folding chairs, bundled up in blankets and sweatshirts to stave off the freezing temperatures. A young couple, who did not want to give their last names, were the first in line; they arrived at 4 a.m. Dustin Gomez, manager of the Siegen store, says the store was staffed at “100% capacity” to handle the first-day crowds. “We’re very excited about it,” says Gomez. Verizon has been selling the iPad since October; Gomez says this helped Apple fans become familiar with the wireless company. While the Verizon iPhone is identical on the outside to the iPhone 4 that has been in stores for several months, it ties into the nation’s largest and most reliable 3G network and can also double as a mobile Wi-Fi hot spot, allowing up to five laptops, iPads or other wireless devices to connect to it. Analysts expect Verizon to sell anywhere from 5 million to 13 million iPhones this year. —Timothy Boone