Apple's iPhone 4S arrives in stores worldwide (photos)

Israpilou Rakhman, left, and Natayeva Mali were among the early buyers of an iPhone 4S in Paris. France was one of the countries to get an iPhone 4S on the first day they went on sale in stores.

This section of the crowd waiting outside an Apple Store in Paris had to get in line yesterday for their spots in the queue.

Hundreds of people line up in front of Apple's store near Paris' Opera House to buy an iPhone 4S.

Paris resident Raphael Journé, about to buy his seventh iPhone, shows the "crappy" phone he's been suffering during a two-week period after he lost his iPhone 4 and before Apple's latest smartphone went on sale.

Some started lining up yesterday to get an iPhone 4S in Paris, but plenty more who showed up today had a comparatively short wait of four hours. The waiting area rapidly emptied as the line moved into the store.

The presence of people holding a collection of new iPhone 4S smartphones indicate the likelihood that some will be rapidly resold beyond the Paris Apple Store where they were initially purchased.

iPhone 4S purchasers filed past a tribute to Steve Jobs, the Apple co-founder and chief executive who died last week. One post-it note bore the word "iSad."

Waiting in line at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store in Manhattan are a few very tired folks this morning.

The crowd at the Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan wasn't quite as big as for some past iPhone launches, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a big crowd.

The memorial for Steve Jobs outside the Fifth Avenue Apple Store in Manhattan before sunrise today.

The memorial for the late Steve Jobs at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store includes dozens of apples.

The Steve Jobs memorial outside the Fifth Avenue Apple Store.

Flowers and apples in honor of the late Steve Jobs.

A line shot in Manhattan.

Another line shot outside the Fifth Avenue flagship store.

Apple employees haul out boxes of tickets to hand out to the crowd to keep the launch orderly.

Apple employees line up outside the store, awaiting the signal.

Apple employees cheer on some of the first customers.

Keenen Thompson (wearing a bright orange hoodie) is the first to buy the iPhone 4S at the Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan.

Apple loves to create fanfare for its launches by having employees line up and cheer on customers.

The first two customers in line, Keenen Thompson and Jessica Mellow, walk out of the store with their new smartphones. They had been waiting since September 26--with sponsorship from an iPhone reseller.

Keenen Thompson, the first person in line at the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue, shows off his new iPhone 4S.

One proud owner of the new iPhone 4S shows off his device. The iPhone 4S is on the left, and his old iPhone 4 is on the right.

Apple employees inside the Upper West Side Apple Store in Manhattan help customers pay for and set up their new iPhone 4S smartphones.

A pre-sunrise line forms outside the Apple Store in Emeryville, Calif., which is in the East Bay across from San Francisco.

A decent line formed this morning outside the Apple Store in Emeryville.

Despite the line at the Apple Store in Emeryville, there was no line whatsoever at the AT&T store down the block.

The early morning line in front of the downtown San Francisco Apple Store.

For more photos of the West Coast launch, check out this slideshow.