[UPDATE: At 7:50, T-ten minutes, the line was 820 customers long and growing at the rate of six per minute. That’s more than the 500-600 we counted at the launch of the original iPad.

At 8:00 sharp, the rush started. First in line: Hazem Sayed, 54, who had spent eight days a nights in the queue to promote a social networking app called Vibe. See here.]

The media presence was, as usual, intense. There were 9 TV satellite trucks and more Steadicams and well-coifed talking heads than I could count.

The presence of iPhone resellers was also strong. At least three were sponsoring line-sitters: Gazelle, Otterbox and BuyBack. Otterbox grabbed the pride of place: A big yellow tent directly in front of the glass cube’s glowing white apple.

To the relief of the die-hards who had been there for over a week, the Occupy Wall Street crowd that arrived Wednesday night and harshed their vibe for most of Thursday disappeared last night at about 6 p.m. without, we are told, managing to sell their spots in line (asking price: $100).

The NYPD, anticipating another wave of subway iPhone thefts, was handing leaflets out to line sitters encouraging them to register the serial numbers of their new phones.

By 7:30, two analysts had already weighed in. Chris Whitmore raised his Apple price target (to $850) on signs that demand for the iPhone 5 is “very strong.” Topeka’s Brian White reiterated his conviction that today will go down as “the biggest consumer electronic launch the world has ever seen.”

I shot a video of the whole line and the first wave of customers running the Apple staffer gauntlet. You can get it on YouTube here.