With the WWDC kickoff only days away and the launch of the 3G iPhone imminent, many hardcore geeks will brave the elements outside of their local Apple store in an attempt to be among the first to score a shiny new phone. If you happen to be one of those geeks, the following tips and gadgets will help you survive the crowds and emerge victorious.

•Tip #1: Stay informed. Waiting in lines for hours on end to purchase gadgets is borderline crazy. Waiting for gadgets that may not actually show up to the party is full-on crazy.

•Tip #2: Make sure things are cool at work. The iPhone is great and everything, but it is not worth losing your job over. Make sure you have the vacation time and / or you come up with a great excuse to be out of work for a day or so.

•Tip #3: Get there early. It seems like common sense, but keep in mind that there are always people out there willing to go the extra mile.

•Tip #4: Dress appropriately. If it is hot, wear shorts. It is as simple as that. However, wearing an iPhone or Apple related shirt might earn you some respect from your fellow line nerds.

•Tip #5. Bring a friend. You will need someone to talk to (and hold you) when things get rough. Plus, who will watch your spot when you have to go to the bathroom? If you don't have any friends, try and make some in line with your irresistible charm, wit and good looks.

•Tip #6:Bribes can't hurt. Bring a box of donuts or soft drinks to distribute to your fellow campers. It will go a long way to help you make friends and acquire information. Cash always works too.

•Tip #7: Stock up on non-perishable foods like beef jerky and Twinkies. You will need the beefy, spicy sugary energy to stay alert.

•Tip #8. Entertainment is essential. Handheld game systems, portable DVD players, and portable web-enabled devices should do the trick. Just remember to bring backup batteries.

•Tip #9: Stand your ground. If you let people cut you in line a stampede is likely to breakout. Let those dorks know you are one geek that is not to be trifled with.

•Tip #10: Last but not least, make sure you are properly equipped to handle everything that mother nature can throw at you while you are waiting in line. The following gadgets can offer some assistance in your iPhone quest:

Tents are not always necessary, but If you plan on hunkering down for a long time, this Woods solar-powered E-Z Tent with interior LEDs is the way to go. Four to six hours of sunlight on the solar panels will yield 2 to 4 hours of light in the tent. You can even use the panels independently to charge up your gadgets. Available for $100-120 (4-6 person tents). [Camping Outlet]

Earlier I mentioned that it is a great idea to bring a friend so that you can take care-free bathroom breaks. But with this Coleman portable flush toilet you could pinch a loaf right there in line. Although, I recommend that you do so inside a tent or away from prying eyes. Dropping a deuce in public is generally frowned upon and will not go over well with both your fellow line nerds and the authorities. Available for $74.95. [Sunny Sports]

Staying clean is crucial. It boosts morale and your clean fresh scent will be intoxicating to those around you. Thanks to this pocket shower, you can enjoy a good seven minutes of washing up using 10-liters of water. Plus, the black casing absorbs heat from the sun, so your shower will be nice and warm. Again, think of the people around you when using this. Public nudity is a no-no. Available for $24.95. [REI]

In order to survive, you are going to need food. As mentioned earlier, non-perishable items are key when line camping, but if it is a hot meal you crave this portable solar cooker can get the job done. All you need is a black pot to cook things like fish, poultry and red meats, stews, casseroles, eggs, veggies, grains, bread, cakes and desserts. It can even help you purify water should you be forced to drink your own urine. Available for $24.90. [Safety Central]

Finally, you are going to need some sort of cooler to keep drinks and other items cold. If you are going to be in line for an extended period of time, this solar power refrigeration unit can keep your beverages frosty using the power of the sun. Unfortunately, the privilege is going to cost you somewhere in the neighborhood of $1000 for 5-8 cubic feet of fridge or freezer space. [Parts on Sale]

Naturally, this advice would work for any big product launch line camping scenario—but over the years I have learned that waiting in an endless line for a gadget is more trouble than it's worth. This is especially true when you consider that there where plenty of original iPhones at launch. If you have some patience, it is a good idea to make friends with store employees or ask questions about when shipments arrive. If you know when product comes in, you stand a much better chance of being there first when it is restocked. Using this technique, I managed to score a Wii at a Toys R' Us only a week after launch.

The 2.6 gallon Pocket Shower sports a compact showerhead that operates with twisting on/off valve. Bathers can adjust the stream to produce a slow trickle, or open it up completely for a dousing 8-minute power shower. Want a warm shower for those cool, crisp camping mornings? Leave the black fabric out in the sun.

Alternatively, the Pocket Shower can also be used as a dry sack to transport clothes, a sleeping bag, or those aforementioned beauty products no self-respecting city slicker would be without on the open range. [Sea to Summit]

You can see it in its two configurations here, where the white tent in the picture above is its single-wall summer configuration, and the orange and gray one shows the tent with its extra layer on top, constructed to withstand even the fiercest Alpine conditions. It's plenty big, too, with a 6.99-foot center height and 171 square feet of room inside, supposedly big enough for 10 people.

These $3000 tents are made for Arctic and Himalaya expeditions, but you'd better be pretty strong if you want to carry one of these things up Everest: It weighs 50 pounds in its pack. Might want to get one of your Sherpas to handle this one. [Mountain Hardware, via Born Rich]

If you don't feel like winding it up you can plug it into your car's cigarette lighter, with a charge of the light's internal battery giving you eight hours of light. It even has a handy carrying handle that lets you hang it upside down in your tent. We're just hoping that its wind-up mechanism doesn't make that distracting ticking sound as it completes its energy cycle. [I Want One of Those]

One could see this as a stab at the heart of camping, but this only applies if you go camping in company-run campsites. People who like to actually get away from it all, and not just a few miles off the interstate, still won't find Wi-Fi hotspots out in the mountains on hiking trips. Yet. [Yahoo!]

There's LED lighting and a ventilation system in the boudoir, and the galley boasts a two-burner, foldaway stove, hand pump faucet, Formica counter, stainless steel sink and a Coleman steel cooler. There's an awning to keep the sun off you while you're chowing down on that Flame-Grilled Whopper you picked up at the BK just down the road.

Measuring 130 x 72 x 60 inches, and with a price of $24,000, I can't help wondering what this will look like being towed behind a modern car - a plate of sardines and custard, I would guess. [Born Rich]

Gridskipper Guides

You know those two guys waiting in line for the iPhone a whole 100 hours early? We've got an exclusive non-interview with them. And this grumpy guy is probably not what Apple expected when it envisioned the perfect customer for the iPhone.

Fake Steve is going to cry this is a Microsoft plant. But, look at it this way: he's a living, breathing, sweating indicator that Apple's iPhone really does appeal to the masses, and is ready for more love from the mainstream. Hey, you can't sell 10 million phones by catering only to beautiful technocrats.

Oh and readers, can you help identify these two men? Do you know them? If you do, email us.
UPDATE: Carolyn over at CNet talked to the man, and found out he's a veteran camper, having endured a PS3 launch. Aha, he looks so much friendlier in these shots.

Video by Nick McGlynn and Richard Blakeley

UPDATE: Andrew Andrew sends in photo of #1 iPhone fan's mysterious sign.

Here's the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, the NYC Staten Island Mall, the Beverly Center in LA, the Santa Clara Valley Fair, and the Grove in LA.

Previous maps:

5th Avenue NYC Store

SF's Stonestown

Pasadena

NYC Soho

SF downtown

LA Century City

Among the amenities listed are local motels, free bathrooms, good eateries within a couple blocks, and of course, free Wi-Fi. We'll update the maps leading up to launch, so you'll want to check back often. If you want an iPhone, you're going to want to be prepared. – Jason Chen

NYC Campout [Gridskipper]

SF Campout [Gridskipper]

LA Campout [Gridskipper]

Ah yes, Beck's rhinestone Nudie Suit, queueing to file my copy from the only place with an ISDN line on the site (there is no mobile coverage at Glasto, gadge fiends) a conversation with Bobby Gillespie about how rock-n-roll gumboots were, another one with John Peel on how his wife had packed his daughter's boots instead of his and how he'd had to buy a new pair from an enterprising young man who was selling them alongside Es, trips and whizz.

And I remember wrestling with my tent in the evening gloom, and swearing to myself that no amount of fun was worth the heartache of putting up the Nylon Thing That Was To Be My House For The Next Four Days.

When I saw the Morpho tent, I felt sad. Why, laydeez and gennulmen, was this thing not invented a decade ago, when I was young, green and impractical? I would quite happily have forked out $400 (excluding pump) on something made out of booger-green man-made fibres and air. No tent poles, you see. No tent poles, no tripping— over strings, that is—no arguments, no mud leaking into the Nylon House. No hassle. Festival fiends, the future is Morpho.

– Ad Dugdale

Product Page [Sierra Trading Post via Product Dose]

Go camping to take a break from your tech obsession, people, not to challenge yourself to keep connected in the middle of nowhere. –Adam Frucci

Product Page [via Uberreview]

The BMW Air Camper inflatable tent is said to be big enough for two adventurous campers. Check out that BMW logo on the side, completing the illusion of swank adventurism. Camping? Maybe this is targeted toward BMW owners who can't keep up with their car payments.

Next up: a cardboard box for Rolls-Royce owners who want to rough it, complete with designer newspaper blankets. – Charlie White

BMW Inflatable Bubble Tent [Coolest Gadgets]

Camping season will be here pretty soon, and Kensington is ready with weatherproof speakers. Looking a little like a Franklin Planner, the FX500 Speaker To Go zips open so you can plug in and insert your iPod. View the screen and control the scroll wheel via the clear screen on the front. The speakers sit behind vinyl covers but sound surprisingly good and not muffled. Available end of January for $50. – Sean Captain

This guy's name is John, and he's been here since 8am this morning, putting him about 50 people back in the line. He might be 50 people back, but he's got more spirit that most of the tired and irritable
people ahead of him. Why, just look at that sweatshirt! I mean, he's even got a Super Famicom controller on there and he's wearing a Power Glove. Kudos John, kudos.

Why is he the second biggest fan an not the first, you ask? Well, the guy who is first in line has been here since last Thursday (with some of his friends and his infinitely patient wife taking over once in a while to give him a break). His name? Triforce. Look for an interview with him shortly. – Adam Frucci

The Toys 'R' Us employees are handing out white Livestrong-esque Wii bracelets to everyone in line, which apparently guarantee a unit tonight, but it doesn't look like anyone will get turned away unhappy tonight. – Adam Frucci

Wii Launch [Gizmodo]

More NYC mayhem after the jump.

– Adam Frucci

Wii Coverage [Gizmodo]

This is one highly capable navigator, too, with unlimited expansion with SD cards, USB connectivity and a 14-parallel-channel GPS receiver that gives you accuracy down to 9 feet. Its under-4-ounce weight and 4.6-inch height fits easily into the pocket or pack, making it the ideal trail companion. We're also liking that 2.3-inch high-rez color screen. Available now, it's about $225. – Charlie White

Press Release [Thales Navigation, Inc., via uber gizmo]

This two second self-pitching tent takes the theory of those car window shades that are so hard to close and expands, dramatically. Quechua's tent comes folded up, but when you toss it into the air—preferably not straight up—it deploys into full tent form before it hits the ground. All you need to do is stake the corners. Nifty.

Cleanup is also easy, but takes a bit longer than two seconds. If it weren't for the mosquitos, ants, bears, and our hatred for the outdoors, this might make us go camping.

The two second tent goes for around $83. The last time we pitched a tent in two seconds was back when we were fourteen and Mrs. Donaldson bent to pick up some chalk. – Jason Chen

Product page [Quechua via Gizmag via Sci Fi Blog]

It comes in 4- and 6-person versions which cost $150 and $200 respectively. They seem to be only available in Canada, so get your hiking boots on. – John Biggs

Product Page [Canadian Tire via TreeHugger]

If you're willing to spend $460 on the luxury version, which is pictured here, you get all that plus a solar-powered iPod charger, a shetland wool throw (kind of like a shawl) and organic soap and towel. Wow, being ecologically conscious sure is expensive, not to mention painfully dull. – Nicholas Deleon

Product Page [Biome via Hippyshopper]

Our wives are going enjoy these—In the bedroom, if you know what we mean. And I think you do. – Jason Chen

PrincetonTec [via Popgadget]

Product Page [via The Cool Hunter]

Tall carabiner mugs [Amazon]

Short of removing all ticks from the face of the earth (they will outlive us all, no doubt), for $3.95 you can at least remove them from your presence with all due haste by using this unique little tool.

Plastic tool safely twists ticks from skin of humans and other animals [BoingBoing]

Tick Twister priced at $3.95 [Amazon]

Because this iteration of the stove, called the Fire-Fly from Mo-Go-Gear, is made out of mostly old recycled aluminum beer cans, it only adds a mere 22 grams of weight to your pack. Light up its clean-burning alcohol fuel and you can boil a pint of water in five to eight minutes. It even includes a wind screen to keep it from being snuffed out on those blustery days.

If you don't feel like spending the $23 to get that store-bought unit, you can melt down some old beer cans and make one yourself—the instructions are available at Readymade.

Fire-Fly Stove by Mo-Go-Gear [Treehugger]

SELK'BAG [TheCoolhunter]

Instead, we packed everything up and nearly fell into 3-foot wide sinkholes while driving back through Queens. Anyway, this magical apparatus twirls three marshmallows in a circular motion, ensuring proper marshmallow roasting throughout while avoiding the dreaded "carbonite Han Solo" burned marshmallows that so many people seem to fear.

Electric marshmallow toaster [T3]