Fans line up to buy Apple iPhone 4S

The line for Apple's new iPhone 4S stretched down the concourse at Roosevelt Field mall in Garden City on Friday, and the first to end his wait was John Winkler.

"Now I have it, I'm ecstatic, getting ready to play with it," said Winkler, camped out at the Apple store there since 4 p.m. Thursday.

The fifth version of the iPhone went on sale in stores Friday to much enthusiasm nationwide, but the crowds were smaller for several reasons. The iPhone 4S was not a dramatic makeover from its predecessor; its looks remained the same, but some features were improved, such as the camera and voice assistance. Also, it was more widely available, sold at some Target, Walmart and Best Buy stores, and Apple took preorders on its website.

Plus AT&T has to share the market now with other carriers, Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Wireless.

In Farmingdale, AT&T retailer Sar Communications opened two hours early at 8 a.m., said saleswoman Nisha Ghany. The business had ordered only 25 of the new phones, far from the 150 in iPhone 4's debut more than a year ago, she said. They were gone by noon.

In Manhattan, about 200 people were at Apple's Fifth Avenue store at 8 a.m.