Controversy fronts UK iPhone 4 queue

Ben Paton - first with an iPhone 4
Ben Paton - first with an iPhone 4

Controversy hit the front of the London iPhone 4 queue, with the person who stood at the front of the line for two days threatening to complain to Steve Jobs after Apple 'rearranged' things.

Ben Paton of Stoke on Trent was the first man out, but expressed sympathy for Alex Lee, who had queued for DOUBLE the time, but was curiously moved back by Apple.

Lee told TechRadar that he would be emailing Jobs in the hope of an explanation, expressing his anger that he missed out on being first.

A little cross

When asked by TechRadar if he was 'a little cross' he replied: "Absolutely.

"I've been approached by media asking me why I'm not the first person in today and I don't have an answer, because I've been queuing for a lot longer than anyone else.

"My only thing is that I can't do anything about it now, but if you don't like what you've seen then emailing Steve Jobs is a good way of getting hold of someone that matters."

Alex lee - number 2

Alex Lee: A hollow second place

Paton delight

Lee's frustration was a rare sour note in an otherwise enormous but friendly queue, with 23-year-old Paton enjoying his 15 minutes of fame as first through the doors.

"It's been an incredible experience," he told TechRadar. "I did ask if [Lee] could be moved into the front of the queue.

"Alex Lee had been there since a couple of days ago."

"Apple was moving people around to get people with contracts and things – people that had pre-reserved were moved forward and people that hadn't reserved were sent back."

So to the list of famous second places like Buzz Aldrin and Ultravox's Vienna add Alex Lee – 32 hours to come a distant runner-up.

Patrick Goss

Patrick Goss is the ex-Editor in Chief of TechRadar. Patrick was a passionate and experienced journalist, and he has been lucky enough to work on some of the finest online properties on the planet, building audiences everywhere and establishing himself at the forefront of digital content.  After a long stint as the boss at TechRadar, Patrick has now moved on to a role with Apple, where he is the Managing Editor for the App Store in the UK.