Eddy Conlon browses his old iPhone while waiting to purchase an iPhone 6 at the AT&T dealership on Madison Boulevard. (Record Photo/Nick Sellers)

By Nick Sellers | Staff Writer

MADISON – Pound for pound, the release of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus was just as lionized as releases of previous iPhone generations.

With the surge of online pre-orders – Apple announced a record 4 million people ordered the new smartphones in 24 hours on Sept. 12 – many still opted to physically wait in line at Apple Stores and AT&T dealers.

Several were waiting outside at Madison’s AT&T store located on Madison Boulevard Friday morning, with some having bounced around different locations in the Madison area.

Eddy Conlon was one of them. Conlon, a Madison resident, woke up at 4:30 to try to grab an iPhone 6 Plus at Bridge Street’s Apple Store in Huntsville. When he got wind that location was out of Pluses, he headed to the AT&T on Highway 72 in Madison, which promptly informed him they, too, were out of the iPhone 6 Plus.

“The line there was long,” he said of Bridge Street. “It went across the pond to the [Westin] hotel.”

As he stood outside the Madison Boulevard location, Conlon said he would probably settle on the regular iPhone 6, which has a 4.7-inch screen as opposed to the Plus’ 5.5-inch screen. The speed and Wi-Fi availability are things he mentioned as draws.

“I’ve just been racing around all over,” he said.

The Madison Boulevard AT&T store allowed just three people at a time in the store, locking the remaining customers out until a representative was available.

Catherine Fisher was in line, picking up an iPhone 6 for her husband, whose birthday was the day before the physical release.

“Like I said, he’s paying for it, but I’m picking it up while he’s at work,” she said. Fisher waited more than an hour-and-a-half to be served.

The Sept. 19 worldwide release coincided with Apple’s announcement on Sept. 15 of the record-breaking online order period the week before and the iOS 8 operating system release Sept. 17.