Some motivated Hawai'i consumers seeking Apple's new iPhone planned to line up early this morning outside retail stores that will begin selling the phones at 6 p.m. today.

"That's the plan — pack the cooler, pack the drinks and the food, get your camping gear out and wait for the mall to open," said Ken Ah Lo, a 31-year-old network engineer at NetEnterprise in Honolulu.

Ah Lo and seven friends planned a 5 a.m. arrival at the Ala Moana Center Apple store — one of 18 Apple and AT&T (formerly Cingular) stores statewide to sell the iPhone — in hopes of being one of the first in Hawai'i to use the gadget that integrates a wireless phone, iPod media player and Web access using touch-screen technology.

"I've taken two days off work to make sure I get one," he said.

Apple, a company known for intense secrecy, would not say how many iPhones are being made available in Hawai'i or elsewhere today, though AT&T said consumers can order the phones from Apple's retail Web site today.

The iPhone was unveiled in January and costs $499 or $599 for respective 4- and 8-gigabyte models, plus a basic two-year AT&T service contract at $60 to $100 a month.

iPhone features include voice mail displayed like an e-mail and computer audio file, a virtual keypad, touch-screen navigation without menus, a camera, e-mail and programmed connections to online maps displaying weather and traffic conditions.

Although Apple disclosed a sales target to sell 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008, the product's much-hyped release has fostered competition to get one today among some electronics enthusiasts eager to adopt the newest technology.

At Apple's New York flagship store, people started lining up for the phone days ago. Crazed iPhone seekers haven't turned out locally to that extent, but the "iPhone world premiere," as Apple calls it, has generated a fair sense of urgency here.

Ron Yoda, general manager at Kahala Mall, which has one Apple and one AT&T store, said the mall prohibited overnight camping but expects to see people lining up to buy the iPhone this morning at the mall's normal 6 a.m. opening judging from "dozens" of calls inquiring about lining up for the iPhone.

"It should be pretty exciting," he said. "We're looking forward to it."

Apple spokeswoman Amy Barney declined to say if there is a per-person limit on iPhone purchases. AT&T wireless spokesman Mark Siegel said customers will be limited to one iPhone, and that AT&T will ship orders that can't be filled in stores if supplies run out.

Matthew Derby, public relations and tourism director for Ala Moana Center, said mall security would not allow people to line up until 5 a.m. this morning, four hours before the Apple store's opening and 13 hours before iPhone sales begin.

Tai Blechta, a 28-year-old graphics designer and part-time employee at the Running Room, won't be among the eager iPhone buyers today despite wanting a new wireless phone and researching Apple's sleek offering.

"It seems to do a lot of interesting things, and the interface is really great," he said. "But the lack of keys and the network are the killer. I used Cingular/AT&T before, and it's really bad."

Ah Lo said he's getting in line today because he's a devoted user of Apple products. "I'm a Mac-only computer guy, and I work in a (PC) Windows-dominated industry," he said. "For people like me, anything (Apple) makes, we go buy."

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.