Local Apple fans form long lines to buy iPhone 5

iPhone aficionados lined up Thursday to bunk down for a chilly overnight in Minneapolis so they could secure a spot in line for a chance to buy the new phone from Apple, KARE 11 reports. The latest version of the smartphone is being sold for the first time in the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany on Friday.

Apple fans jammed shops around the world, from Sydney to Paris, to pick up the new product, the Associated Press reported.

Lines in the Twin Cities began forming Thursday afternoon. Why would people do that? It's a social event for people with similar tastes, one phone fan told KSTP. Lorman Lundsten, professor of marketing at St. Thomas University, tried to explain it: "If you look at the irrational, benefits, some people will go quite a ways to make a statement about their personality."

WCCO talked to people in another long line Thursday night – people waiting for a chance to meet best-selling "Fifty Shades of Grey" author E.L. James. Again, why? Minneapolis psychologist Brenda Schaeffer told WCCO the herd mentality is to blame. When something is trendy, everybody wants in, she said. “The more important it is, the longer they’ll wait,” she said.

Here's more reporting from the front lines by WCCO and KSTP: