iPhone Makes Modest Splash in D.C. Area

About 100 people were lined up outside the Apple Store in Clarendon at 2:45 p.m. today in advance of the 6 p.m. release of the wildly anticipated new iPhone. The first people in line arrived at 8:15 p.m. last night to stake out their ground, though at the halfway point, about 50 people in, one man said he had only been there since noon. Several people in line indicated they were waiting in shifts for friends or strangers they had connected with on craigslist. As it started to drizzle, most line-waiters simply opened umbrellas as they relaxed in folding chairs.

Still, the presence of news cameras seemed slightly overblown -- considering the size of the lines forming to get one of the slick gadgets in other cities, Washington's reaction to the iPhone's release feels somewhat more subdued.

A few more photos after the jump.