RSSEager iPhone 3G buyers begin all-night wait outside stores
By Nate Mook | Published July 10, 2008, 11:00 PM
The second-generation iPhone won't go on sale for another 9 hours, but some intrepid souls are already lining up outside AT&T and Apple stores to be among the first to use the device. We spoke with two as they began their night-long wait.
At an AT&T store in downtown Baltimore, which saw early morning lines form before last year's nighttime iPhone launch, was preparing for big crowds. Shortly after the close of the store at 8pm, plastic posts and chains were being setup to guide the expected line.
Inside the store, iPhone 3G posters and displays were put into place as employees asked passersby if they wanted to become the first person in line; nobody seemed interested in waiting 12 hours. Employees at AT&T stores across the country will receive training this evening to prepare for the morning's onslaught.
BetaNews asked if AT&T expected the same size crowd as last year, and the answer was a definitive yes despite the 8am launch. Although current iPhone owners may not be tempted to upgrade just yet, AT&T expects huge numbers of switchers from other carriers who waited for more enticing features, like 3G broadband and GPS.
It may be right. By 9pm, the first buyers had lined up at the two AT&T locations visited by BetaNews, in Baltimore and Reston, Virginia.
A 41-year-old Verizon customer decided it was worth the long wait because he really wanted the iPhone 3G. He was originally planning to arrive at the Reston AT&T store by 3am, but didn't want to potentially miss his chance, since limited numbers of the device will be available in each location. Last year, most AT&T stores sold out with customers still in line.
In Baltimore, the story was one of love. A 50-year-old flight attendant agreed to wait all night to make sure her husband would receive the iPhone 3G before he went to work. She said it was his birthday, and although he's a huge Apple fan, he required the faster Internet and GPS functionality that is finally arriving in the upgrade. He's also switching carriers from Verizon.
Both individuals were expecting some friends to show up to help pass the time, and were a little embarrassed to admit they were waiting all night for a phone. Still, the flight attendant seemed happy to wait, saying she's frequently up for 20 hours at a time, and even brought along a map of the stars to study while she sits on the sidewalk looking up in the sky.
Yep, the Apple drones are alive and well even here in Tokyo:
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/p...aph/080709iphone/6.html
Its funny though, In Japan the iPhone is technically pre-historic, most local cell phones here can also be used as mobile wallets have video conferencing, be used for transportation services, GPS and can receive HD free to air TV broadcasts.. to name but a few. Even the Apple weirdo's realize this and the only solution is keeping their existing phones as well.
Nice design though.
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|Be sure to keep us informed of the lines for the opening of HellBoy2 and Batman - The Dark Knight too.
And updates regarding Molly Cyrus and the audience voting for American Idol too.
Inquiring minds with no lives want to know.
And I am sure that the "failure" to anticipate and avoid such lines - and the attendant hype and coverage that serves to elevate the perceived desire and popularity of their product is all an accident as well.
After all, it would NEVER occur to anyone that a company might actually WANT their product to be perceived as something other than a routine and just another uneventful launch...especially when the fanboys and girls are the only ones affected and have already justified their lemming behavior to themselves.
Obviously none of the erudite techie(sic) fanboyshas never taken a marketing class. And exclusive debuts of products are never done in an effort to increase the hype and perceived need surrounding the event.
That's why they NEVER have exclusive movie debuts where the poor buying public are excluded so that the privileged few there only to be seen can attend and the poor real world market is kept waiting and watching on TV.
...Nope, that concept would NEVER work!
Reality and perception....take a marketing class.
LOL!
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|And updates regarding Molly Cyrus and the audience voting for American Idol too.
*gasp*
Miley! Sheesh... :p
(I have kids, I swear. Really, I do. One of which happens to be a *huge* Hannah Montana fan...)
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|Amazing.
So after the hype of the headline, and the myriad posts reacting to it, all we manage is to get a single picture of two lone people that constitute the reputed hordes of expectant customers who simply can't wait for the product?
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!
The ire of so many who claim not to care about a product but who spend so much time each time it is mentioned on this site are the real entertainment and subject of this story.
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|The ire of so many who claim not to care about a product but who spend so much time each time it is mentioned on this site are the real entertainment and subject of this story.
I think you just described damned near every story posted on this site (well, the one's that generate hits, anyway). ;)
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|Sadly, you're right.
I have given up on the idyllic notion that this site could actually be used by folks to exchange information based upon first hand knowledge about issues, credible insights, and possible solutions to problems some might experience.
But that would necessitate that a few actually have more experience with IT than simply having a dedicated game platform, an MP3 player, cool new cell phone or a rad gaming rig.
BTW, as the built in editor seems to have no provision for rich text, how do you utilize italics, etc. in your posts?
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|Actually, the hordes did arrive. Many stores had more people than the first iPhone launch. One store we visited in Maryland had over 200 people lined up, and continued to add more as the hours went on.
http://www.betanews.com/...ne_3G_Launch_Images/194
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|[i]put yer text here[/i]i = italics
b = bold
u = underline
code = something that doesn't actually let you insert code....just a different font.
Pretty much it. If you find anything new, or I missed something, please...do tell.
It's basically BBcode, but....worse.
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|Thanks Tool.
Finally something of actual benefit and insight on the site.
The truth hurts, doesn't it editors?
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|wow...
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|PS360 fanbois, take note. Macaddicts are in the place.
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|You would think that the Iphone is the second coming of Christ, its not like the Iphone is going to be like the Wii, where its 18 months later and the damn thing is still quite hard to find in most stores.
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|The "lphone" belongs to some other company I'm not familiar with. The iPhone is an Apple product.
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|Only apple could get away with a marketing blitz that says half the price yet you pay more in the end. Yet the sheep formed lines.
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|???
This isn't new or unique to Apple. Lower the initial cost, increase the service fees. Pretty standard stuff for anything tied to a service.
I get the whole "apple marketing juggernaut" thing, but let's not fool ourselves into thinking this is innovative. ;)
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|Foolie,
That they have the wit to market/create something beyond your "vision", is indeed a worry!
You should get Oren & his mates to right us in our ways!
Once again, thank you for your wonderful, and most incisive contributions???
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|Once again, thank you for your wonderful, and most incisive contributions???
Compared to yours?
Heh...
NSS.
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|Wait a min something is missing...
name-calling, trolling, speaking nonsense and the blog. Er, there is no blog??
Where's your clever blog about someone you know on the internet! It wouldn't be a true Zaine post without it...
Its a phone for chrissakes, its not going to cure cancer, its not going to improve the quality of your life and its not going to get you laid.
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|"but let's not fool ourselves into thinking this is innovative. ;)"
Spoken like a true M$ fanboy troll. No smart phone has ever come even remotely close to creating the buzz and hysteria that the iPhone has and yet "let's not fool ourselves into thinking this is innovative. :)" ROFL
What a shame Toolie, you missed your calling as a comedian.
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|Dipwad, if I *were* an MS fanboy, I would probably not absolutely *despise* the entire upgrade SKU for the Vista line....
Ya think?
As to your comment, well.... If you'd rather call the inability to activate your new phone an "Apple Innovation", well....go right ahead.
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|"Eager iPhone 3G buyers begin all-night wait outside stores"
Errrrrm the photos seem to suggest otherwise. I know it's a great day for phones and I've been waiting for the iPhone 3G for a year (I'm dying to get one), but don't you think you're hyping this up just a little bit too much?
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|Nope:
http://www.betanews.com/...ne_3G_Launch_Images/194
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|Well I think it's generous to call it a modest line. Compared to the photos of queues last year when it was first released, these queues are nothing to write about. The story of iTunes collapsing under the weight of activation is newsworthy, but not this.
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|Does anyone know if the iPhone uses the crappy Google Maps software for it's GPS feature? It looks an awful lot like Google Maps. If this is true then this means no automatic rerouting around traffic jams and construction. Better to use the superior AT&T Navigator software with a Samsung Blackjack II or better yet wait for the upcoming Samsung Blackjack III which includes a touchscreen.
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|THE WHOLE WORLD SHOULD BE IN LINE FOR THIS NEW iPHONE MADE BY THE GREATEST COMPANY TO EVER EXIST!!!!!!!!!
APPLE, APPLE, APPLE, OH HOW I LOVE APPLE. I LIVE AND BREATH ALL THINGS APPLE!!!!!
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|oh dear, we've missed the point lol
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|The saddest part is he's being serious with that post lol...
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|No, he's not.
You haven't figured that out yet?
He's just trolling. Providing amusement for the masses.
It's doubtful he's ever even used a Mac or an iPhone.
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|Is your life that pathetic you go on forums and hype a product you don't even use?
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|Stupid,
Do you not realize by now you mirror your own inadequacies?
Have you not figured that out yet?
You're simply trolling, and do not be embarrassed by the blush!
Perhaps Foolie, you should read "Ethelred's" comments, not only are they witty, they paint a picture, one that that reqires imagination and not visualisation.
Think about it "Dummy"!
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|Aww....account got banned so you had to make a new one?
I know there's got to be a reason that keeps happening.... Some causal link.... (look at your posts mod for hint)
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|"You're simply trolling"
Says the guy who created an account to do just that? lol....
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|What I find extremely pathetic is that there have already been people telling me that they will wait in line for it, and we don't even have 3G coverage in our area.
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|That just goes to show you the type of people in your area buying them :)
Smile and whistle as you walk past the line hehe
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|I just checked (11:15 PM local time). There is a yellow chain fence setup at the local AT&T store. There are iPhone 3G posters setup inside. And there is a sign with arrows that says something like, "Line starts here and goes that way." No one is in line yet. I plan to arrive around 6:30 AM. Hopefully that is enough time in advance. *excited*
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|Its funny, a mate just walked into the local shopping center here in NSW Australia and purchased the new 3G model and didnt even have to wait! (he paid $100 up front + a 24month contract @ $100 per month, but includes 500 meg data and stacks of call volume) - AUD.
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|500 meg of data?
terrible.
happy rogers bent a bit rather than somehow have consumers feel that that's an appropriate package for the device.
might as well get the bb bold when it comes out with 20 txts, no pins and 30 emails max a month.
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|There is only one network in Australia that offers good packages apparently and apple would not allow them to sell the iphone for some reason.
There was a pretty big public outcry about it but for some reason apple did not want the nations best value carrier to stock it.
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|In the UK on O2, data is unlimited for the iPhone 3G.
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|Which it should be or at least a large quota to work with :)
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|S^S
These are the best deals in OZ for the phone, of the 3 vendors'.
http://personal.optus.co...plans&site=personal
And, yep we have to pay prices that would be considered extortion in other countries for data.
Nup, not interested in one, only ever use mobile for calls.
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|Ridiculous. Didn't any of these people learn their lesson from last year's iPhone launch? If you can't get it on day one, you can on day two. Besides, the new phone is just barely better than the old phone, and is certainly a major letdown for anyone expecting something better from Apple.
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