Hundreds queue as Perth Apple store opens

More than 500 people braved the coldest night of the year to be among the first to walk through the doors of the new Perth Apple Store this morning.

As the temperature plunged to a freezing -0.6C in the city about 7.30am, Apple enthusiasts sat excitedly outside the Hay Street store waiting to check out new offerings, including the iPad, and the sleek interior of the store.

By noon, more than 800 had visited the store.

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Yagan Kiely, 21, was the first to queue at 8 o'clock last night and said despite the cold it was definitely worth the wait.

"It was just one of those things you have to be at," he said.

His mother, Marian Kiely, joined the queue at 5.10am but said she would not be buying anything today. "I have it all," she said.

About 80 Apple staff cheered and chanted with the crowd for about 10 minutes leading up to the official opening, hyping up the crowd before they flooded the store.

The first people through the door received high-fives and backslaps from staff.

The queue of waiting customers stretched along Hay Street and into King Street and, at 10am, customers were still waiting to get a glimpse of Apple gadgets on offer.

The long queue in Hay Street.

The Apple Store lets users browse the web, read and send email, view and share photos, watch videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and more.

Customers experienced Apple's entire product line hands-on including the updated Mac mini, MacBook and MacBook Pro with the new NVIDIA processor and the popular iPod touch and iPhone 3GS with access to more than 225,000 apps offered on the App Store.

Inside the new Apple store before the doors open. Pictures: Ben Crabtree