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Westchester Shoppers Come Out For New iPhones

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- The crowds came out to the Apple Stores in Westchester County on Friday for the release of the new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c.

Westchester shoppers show off their new iPhones after the release of the 5s and 5c on Friday.

Westchester shoppers show off their new iPhones after the release of the 5s and 5c on Friday.

Photo Credit: Casey Donahue

The stores at The Westchester in White Plains and at Ridge Hill Shopping Center in Yonkers were both crowded with shoppers eager to get their hands on the new smartphones.

Both locations extended their hours and increased the number of staff members on hand in anticipation of the release.

At times there were lines outside the stores, but most customers did not have to wait for long periods of time.

"It only took about 10 minutes," said Valentina Franco after she and Nikki Agarwal left the Apple Store in The Westchester.

Both women were smiling as they explored their new purchases.

"I had an older version of the iPhone, the 4s, and I felt like it was time to get a new one," Franco said.

Said Agarwal: "I had an upgrade, so I thought I would get a new one. And honestly I was very excited about the colors."

Both the 5s and the 5c come in a variety of different colors besides the standards white and black of the older models. Among the new shades are gold, silver, blue, pink, red green and yellow. Other features include the new iOS 7 operating system, an enhanced camera, Control Center, Notification Center, increased battery life and iTunes Radio, a free Internet radio service.

"I really like the fingerprint feature," said Franco, referring to Touch ID, a new security feature that uses a fingerprint reader to lock and unlock the phone's screen.

"IOS 7 seems really great in general," said Agarwal. "I've never used it before, but I'm really excited to."

Both women were glad that they were able to transfer their old apps through iCloud when setting up the phones in the Apple Store. They said that the purchasing experience was very pleasant.

"It was great. Everybody in there was super helpful and very friendly. They were very well organized for this," said Agarwal.

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