New York City isn’t the only town with people lined up early waiting to get their hands on Apple’s combination iPod and smartphone. iPhone hopefuls began camping out Thursday night outside Apple’s 29th Street store in Boulder, Colorado with plans of being among the first to get an iPhone of their own Friday evening.

Local Mac consultant Mike McDaniel grabbed the third and fourth places in line with a friend Thursday evening. "We got here around 10:40. The first two guys in line showed up at 10:00," he said.

By 6 a.m., the line had grown to about 30 people.

Shoppers lined up early for a chance to buy an iPhone.

Like many Apple Store locations, 29th Street is part of an outdoor mall, so the soon-to-be iPhone owners came prepared with camp chairs, sleeping bags, and coolers. Sleep, however, wasn’t part of their schedule.

"We’ve been awake all night," Mr. McDaniel said. "The mall speakers have been blaring hip-hop music all night."

The Apple retail stores are opening at their regular times this morning, which means everyone in the iPhone queues will spend a good part of the day watching other shoppers stroll in and out of the stores. From 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., however, the stores will be closed while final iPhone launch preparations are made - and that’s when the iPhone camper’s patience will pay off.

Until then, the campers will have to make due with the over-size iPhone display in the Apple Store window, and a little hip-hop music from the mall speakers.

[Thanks to Mike McDaniel for the photo.]