TaskRabbit: We'll sell ya a spot in the iPhone 5 line

Enterprising line-goers in San Francisco trying to sell spots further up to people near the back at the iPhone 4S launch last October.

(CNET) Just how hard will an iPhone 5 be to get when it's released next week? Based on last year's

iPhone 4S goes on sale (live blog)

, and the even faster rollout of this latest model, probably not too difficult.

That won't stop people from lining up though, and one company is already gearing up for that with a way to buy a spot in line to secure one of the phones on day one.

San Francisco-based TaskRabbit has rolled out a new program that lets people in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as New York, purchase four hours worth of wait time in line at an Apple retail store for $55. That's more than a quarter of the price of Apple's entry-level iPhone 5, and $55 more than it costs to pre-order the phone from Apple's Web site and carrier partners beginning tomorrow.

The program is part of what the company calls an "experiment" that will make specific types of tasks available for a flat fee. Typically the company's business revolves around people creating tasks and naming their own prices, something people are still able to do.

The iPhone 5, which was announced yesterday, goes on sale next Friday at 8 a.m. local time at Apple's stores, and at its carrier and retail partners. Pre-orders for the device begin just after midnight Pacific tonight.

This article originally appeared on CNET.

[ralphing]

Baaaaaaaa.