Even if you desperately want an iPhone, how sad you must be if you feel the need to sit in the rain for an entire day just to be the first to hand over your cash. Even worse bring along your buddy to sit and blog about it, I bet that will be a thrilling read! Unbelievable.
I *think* you'll find that's 6:02pm... No idea why, there must be a reason, but still, 6:02 it is.
A really clever hype up by Apple this, I mean, a new nokia comes out and no one really cares until their next phone upgrade... but the iPhone comes out and geeks queue up for hours...!
surely we should point out that these are a bunch of sad jobs whorshippers who are so far up jobsies bum cheeks that they would follow him in a suicide pact if he named it
Why would anyone queue for a piece of equipment? Especially, the feature limited iPhone? I mean has no one got any patience anymore, or do people HAVE to have things on the day they are released.
If you must have an iPhone, I say wait for the next revision when they will actually provide decent mobile features such as 3G.
But then I suppose most people in the queue are buying one because Apple are the trendy option these days...
Now, iLike a nice shiny gadget as much as the next person, and iWould like an iPhone, but iWouldn't queue up for one, as iVe got better things to do with my time, and iDoubt that (shiny as they are) they will sell out iMmediately...
I was passing the London "flagship" store this morning at 8:55am and took a picture of the crowds. And what a crowd - at least 10 people behind crash barriers in addition to the Journalists and Apple employees
See image at http://marketing-works.blogspot.com/2007/11/ipe-hype-in-london.html
Doesn't anyone else find it unsettling the level of evangelical mindset of people when it comes to Apple Inc?
I bought a MacBook Pro myself out of a combination of necessity (company more frequently having to support Mac customers) and desire (OS X was apparently a unique experience) and whilst it's a lovely bit of kit - it is just a portable computer at the end of the day. I find it oddly embarassing to be associated with "Mac users" as they generally seem to be seen & heard in media as followers of a cult.
I simply can't rationalise nor comprehend the thought process of people who ally themselves to corporate entites who, at the end of the day, only really *care* about their shareholders. I guess it's a testament to Apples PR machine - they really have achieved the impossible - they've made a capitalist agenda appear to be wholly consumerist.
I questioned the sanity of people queueing outside to buy a ****ing phone and was told it was all about "the experience", how in the US people were apparently clapping for those who had bought an iPhone. Ugh. We are still talking about a phone aren't we? A device that lets you call people.
The biggest humour aspect of this whole charade is that when you analyze the iPhone and the minimum contract O2 forces you to take out it really is like both companies sat down in a meeting and said "how far do you think we can push the fanbase before they started squeaking in their little voices, 'please sir - please can I have some more'?". The base O2 contract is £35/month for 200 mins and 200 txts - which is ridiculous. The phone itself lacks even basic features everyone has taken for granted for the past 5 years - MMS, sending SMS to more than one person at the same time, third-party applications, Bluetooth integration (not just audio), etc.
Oh yeah, I forgot, it's "the experience" of using an iPhone. When you use the UI and see how fluid it is you just forget about all those minor foibles like not being able to do any of the things you used to do.
Someone please explain to me what I'm clearly not understanding about the logic behind people queueing up for this, before my brain explodes.
I love my iMac and I have an iPod, but I would not say I was a fanboy. I bought them because they suited what I wanted to use them for, same reason I still have a PC W2K, becuase it works and does the job it was bought for.
You get geeks that like Macs, PCs, TVs, etc and if they are daft enought to que well more power to them, I wouldn't.
I'd like an iPhone but I would not want a contract, and I would not pay more than £100 for a phone anyway, cos I dont use then enough to justify paying any more.
The reason for 2 minutes past six, just think of the name of the network operator...
Personaly I won't be queuing for an iPhone, since I'm very happy with pretty much all the iPhone features (and some more) on my little 3G sony ericsson w880i.
Using the definition in the ISP English Dictionary, its exactly the right word. They do of course have a "fair selling policy" which means they won't sell more than 1 per hour, and after 5, well that's your lot mate.
Nice consumer sheep have been well programmed. I thought they were supposed to "think different" from all the ovine people who line up for crap that will break or be obsolete within a couple of years.
* 'Unlimited' means customer activation requests will be restricted to no more than 200 people simultaneously activating an iPhone.** Should this happen, iTunes will freeze, then play the bit in Independence Day where Jeff Goldblum's MacBook fires up a laughing skull-and-crossbones on the mothership monitors.
** Given the likelyhood of more than 200 people activating an iPhone concurrently is very small, O2 are sure that this 'fair use' limit is reasonable. Anyone who sees the screen can simply pick up a real phone to request an unblock code, for which a small admistrative charge of £15 will be made.
it does really amuse me. i find that most "computer" related students are blissfully unaware and generally are only there because their careers advisor told them that the future is computing. it amuses me even more so when a 3rd year student turns up at PC World (i realise that by saying this i lose all respect as yes i am a pcworld techie, allbeit temporarily) with a BSOD and instantly thinks he knows the cause. Why won't universities teach hardware aswell as software so we dont have these little know-it-all Sh*t bags who havent the faintest clue about what "RAM" is.
Then and only then will we manage to rule these kind of people out. majority of true "geeks" as i like to call myself will steer clear from the iphone unless they have an image to portray.
So what gets me, is why has noone else done this. The iPhone is nothing new, its just a well designed phone with a crappy feature set which is very highly software limited. why can't HTC make a sleek elegant phone? why do mojority of manufacturers stick to cheap silver painted plastics... WHY!?
rant over
Oh, and paris is nothing more than an animate barbie
there we go, think i covered all sorts in that one.
Fair play, if thats what they wanna do then let them! I can think of many better ways of wasting money/time but if these guys wanna do this then fine. Doesn't require boys like Darren Coleman to write an essay about it.....
People always succumb to sheep syndrome. People queued in the USA.....so lets do the same in the UK. Baaaaaaaa.
The iphone is a triumph of form over substance and the hype machine has done an amazing job (no pun intended) in convincing some people this is only second to the invention of wheel
I saw the iPhone on the Gadget Show recently and the reviewer clearly wanted to punch the living daylights out of the iphone in sheer frustration because of its deficiencies. However, he was unable to being stopped by the lovely shiny looks.
If the products didn't deliver people wouldn't buy them, it's as simple as that.
What use are a million features if they are poorly implemented or don't work?
I personally don't see myself owning an iPhone (happy owner of a Nokia 6110 navigator) but I do appreciate the effort Apple put into designing a slick simple to use interface. They've also raised the standard to be expected for battery life, 8 hours talk time is a lot more than the 4-5 many devices have.
If it wasn't something new and innovative it wouldn't get so much press coverage.
I'm sure Steve Jobs is rubbing his hands with glee at the thought of all that money (yes I bought a shuffle because it was small and cheap and a few hard to find tunes on Itunes but I don't like Macs or the Iphone)
If you want one that badly, order it online!
Oh well I suppose my mobile (which is on O2) will stop working later because of the traffic generated by these jobs loving w**kers trying to activate their iphones or ring world+dog to tell them they have got one in exchange for being ripped off to the tune of 900 quid over the course of their contract crashes the HLR and billing servers.
A direct descendent of Dick Turpin is alive and well and works in Cupertino!
The iPod Touch is a far superior product, once you've "jailbroken" it, absolutely superb. 16GB has been loads for me now that I've figured out how the smart-playlists work!
I can't stand pretty much everything about Apple, but the touch is exceptional.
"I saw the iPhone on the Gadget Show recently and the reviewer clearly wanted to punch the living daylights out of the iphone in sheer frustration because of its deficiencies. However, he was unable to being stopped by the lovely shiny looks."
And you believed what you saw on the gadget show? - a show that panned the iPod shuffle because you couldn't select the track you wanted.
That my local O2 and Carphone Warehouse which are only a couple of doors away from each other didn't have a single person waiting at 6pm. Good to know that far fewer people fall for hype in the north :)
HTC Touch HD Pocket PC
MWg Zinc II
HTC Touch Pro
HTC Touch Diamond2
Palm Treo Pro Smartphone
Queues start a day ahead of UK iPhone arrival
Anonymous Coward
How sad.. #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:21 GMT
Even if you desperately want an iPhone, how sad you must be if you feel the need to sit in the rain for an entire day just to be the first to hand over your cash. Even worse bring along your buddy to sit and blog about it, I bet that will be a thrilling read! Unbelievable.
matt carey
nutters #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:21 GMT
don't get me wrong, i'm a BIG apple fan. but why queue. just rock up to a carphonewarehouse at 6.02 and i doubt you will have to wait long.
Michael Parker
er, actually... #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:21 GMT
I *think* you'll find that's 6:02pm... No idea why, there must be a reason, but still, 6:02 it is.
A really clever hype up by Apple this, I mean, a new nokia comes out and no one really cares until their next phone upgrade... but the iPhone comes out and geeks queue up for hours...!
Richard Cartledge
Unlocked yet #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:21 GMT
Oh my god, oh my god, eh! eh! has anyone unlocked the UK version yet?
Anonymous Coward
Sheep #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:21 GMT
surely we should point out that these are a bunch of sad jobs whorshippers who are so far up jobsies bum cheeks that they would follow him in a suicide pact if he named it
i-suiside?
not giving my name as i dont want death threats.
Gaius Baltar
First pic says it all #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:21 GMT
Well,
The look of disgust on the random pedestrian in the first picture says it all really...
How utterly sad and pathetic...
I'm sure Paris wouldn't be sitting outside an apple store like this!
Whitter
Lemmings #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:21 GMT
'nuff said!
Anonymous Coward
Sad, sorry, pathetic lame-faced dolts. #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:21 GMT
Every last man jack of them. Pitiful.
Risky
iDrip? #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:21 GMT
"o2 assures us that they had an unlimited supply of mug punters who'll pay whatever we chharge for this this as it's so pretty".
Sam
Unreal #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:21 GMT
What a bunch of copper nanotubes.
Anonymous Coward
People are such tools #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:21 GMT
Why would anyone queue for a piece of equipment? Especially, the feature limited iPhone? I mean has no one got any patience anymore, or do people HAVE to have things on the day they are released.
If you must have an iPhone, I say wait for the next revision when they will actually provide decent mobile features such as 3G.
But then I suppose most people in the queue are buying one because Apple are the trendy option these days...
give me a Vario II over an iPhone any day!
Clovis
Nice picture #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:21 GMT
I see they're sitting down; they must be the low iQueuers?
It's the black cord sports jacket, thanks....
Anonymous Coward
Apple Fans #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:21 GMT
Oh dear oh dear oh dear, Will they never learn. Shiny with good marketing is no substitute for a quality product.
Let the flaming begin
Ashley Ward
Student Type... #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:21 GMT
I sincerely hope that he fails the credit check and goes home empty handed - that'll teach him!
Tony Chandler
iQueue #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:21 GMT
Now, iLike a nice shiny gadget as much as the next person, and iWould like an iPhone, but iWouldn't queue up for one, as iVe got better things to do with my time, and iDoubt that (shiny as they are) they will sell out iMmediately...
John
Oh - the queues had gone by 8:55am #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:24 GMT
I was passing the London "flagship" store this morning at 8:55am and took a picture of the crowds. And what a crowd - at least 10 people behind crash barriers in addition to the Journalists and Apple employees
See image at http://marketing-works.blogspot.com/2007/11/ipe-hype-in-london.html
What a damp squib...
Gildas
Are these people sane? #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:24 GMT
Adults, sitting on a pavement, in central London, in the cold and rain, to buy a phone? Give me strength.
abigsmurf
why? #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:24 GMT
These things will never sell out, camping like that just means you end up with a cold.
any info on if trading standards or ofcom will act on the way apple are blocking unlocking as is required by EU law?
Anonymous Coward
Student Grant #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:24 GMT
So how does a student afford nearly £300 for a phone and a crippling tariff ???
Darren Coleman
Cult of Mac #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:24 GMT
Doesn't anyone else find it unsettling the level of evangelical mindset of people when it comes to Apple Inc?
I bought a MacBook Pro myself out of a combination of necessity (company more frequently having to support Mac customers) and desire (OS X was apparently a unique experience) and whilst it's a lovely bit of kit - it is just a portable computer at the end of the day. I find it oddly embarassing to be associated with "Mac users" as they generally seem to be seen & heard in media as followers of a cult.
I simply can't rationalise nor comprehend the thought process of people who ally themselves to corporate entites who, at the end of the day, only really *care* about their shareholders. I guess it's a testament to Apples PR machine - they really have achieved the impossible - they've made a capitalist agenda appear to be wholly consumerist.
I questioned the sanity of people queueing outside to buy a ****ing phone and was told it was all about "the experience", how in the US people were apparently clapping for those who had bought an iPhone. Ugh. We are still talking about a phone aren't we? A device that lets you call people.
The biggest humour aspect of this whole charade is that when you analyze the iPhone and the minimum contract O2 forces you to take out it really is like both companies sat down in a meeting and said "how far do you think we can push the fanbase before they started squeaking in their little voices, 'please sir - please can I have some more'?". The base O2 contract is £35/month for 200 mins and 200 txts - which is ridiculous. The phone itself lacks even basic features everyone has taken for granted for the past 5 years - MMS, sending SMS to more than one person at the same time, third-party applications, Bluetooth integration (not just audio), etc.
Oh yeah, I forgot, it's "the experience" of using an iPhone. When you use the UI and see how fluid it is you just forget about all those minor foibles like not being able to do any of the things you used to do.
Someone please explain to me what I'm clearly not understanding about the logic behind people queueing up for this, before my brain explodes.
Mark Broadhurst
Bad Weather ? #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:58 GMT
Lets hope for rain and snow overnight.
Anonymous Coward
Unlimited #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 12:58 GMT
>> he was reassured that O2 have an "unlimited supply".
I suppose if by "unlimited supply" they mean a supply that will never run out, they could be right - at £269 + 18 x £35 for 200 minutes and 200 texts.
James Robertson
mac users #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 14:46 GMT
I love my iMac and I have an iPod, but I would not say I was a fanboy. I bought them because they suited what I wanted to use them for, same reason I still have a PC W2K, becuase it works and does the job it was bought for.
You get geeks that like Macs, PCs, TVs, etc and if they are daft enought to que well more power to them, I wouldn't.
I'd like an iPhone but I would not want a contract, and I would not pay more than £100 for a phone anyway, cos I dont use then enough to justify paying any more.
Michael
wankers #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 14:46 GMT
that's about it really.
Peter
re 6-02 #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 14:46 GMT
The reason for 2 minutes past six, just think of the name of the network operator...
Personaly I won't be queuing for an iPhone, since I'm very happy with pretty much all the iPhone features (and some more) on my little 3G sony ericsson w880i.
Whitter
"Unlimited" supply #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 14:46 GMT
Using the definition in the ISP English Dictionary, its exactly the right word. They do of course have a "fair selling policy" which means they won't sell more than 1 per hour, and after 5, well that's your lot mate.
DeFex
BAAAAA BAAAA #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 14:46 GMT
Nice consumer sheep have been well programmed. I thought they were supposed to "think different" from all the ovine people who line up for crap that will break or be obsolete within a couple of years.
MrT
Unlimited #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 15:18 GMT
O2 has an unlimited supply.*
* 'Unlimited' means customer activation requests will be restricted to no more than 200 people simultaneously activating an iPhone.** Should this happen, iTunes will freeze, then play the bit in Independence Day where Jeff Goldblum's MacBook fires up a laughing skull-and-crossbones on the mothership monitors.
** Given the likelyhood of more than 200 people activating an iPhone concurrently is very small, O2 are sure that this 'fair use' limit is reasonable. Anyone who sees the screen can simply pick up a real phone to request an unblock code, for which a small admistrative charge of £15 will be made.
Neil Hoskins
@Michael Parker... #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 15:18 GMT
"...geeks queue up for hours..."
The geek defamation society will be in touch.
Daniel
bloody "computing" students #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 15:18 GMT
it does really amuse me. i find that most "computer" related students are blissfully unaware and generally are only there because their careers advisor told them that the future is computing. it amuses me even more so when a 3rd year student turns up at PC World (i realise that by saying this i lose all respect as yes i am a pcworld techie, allbeit temporarily) with a BSOD and instantly thinks he knows the cause. Why won't universities teach hardware aswell as software so we dont have these little know-it-all Sh*t bags who havent the faintest clue about what "RAM" is.
Then and only then will we manage to rule these kind of people out. majority of true "geeks" as i like to call myself will steer clear from the iphone unless they have an image to portray.
So what gets me, is why has noone else done this. The iPhone is nothing new, its just a well designed phone with a crappy feature set which is very highly software limited. why can't HTC make a sleek elegant phone? why do mojority of manufacturers stick to cheap silver painted plastics... WHY!?
rant over
Oh, and paris is nothing more than an animate barbie
there we go, think i covered all sorts in that one.
Christopher Rogers
Leave it out #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 15:18 GMT
Fair play, if thats what they wanna do then let them! I can think of many better ways of wasting money/time but if these guys wanna do this then fine. Doesn't require boys like Darren Coleman to write an essay about it.....
Anonymous Coward
Sheep #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 15:18 GMT
People always succumb to sheep syndrome. People queued in the USA.....so lets do the same in the UK. Baaaaaaaa.
The iphone is a triumph of form over substance and the hype machine has done an amazing job (no pun intended) in convincing some people this is only second to the invention of wheel
I saw the iPhone on the Gadget Show recently and the reviewer clearly wanted to punch the living daylights out of the iphone in sheer frustration because of its deficiencies. However, he was unable to being stopped by the lovely shiny looks.
Giles Jones
Cult #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 15:18 GMT
If the products didn't deliver people wouldn't buy them, it's as simple as that.
What use are a million features if they are poorly implemented or don't work?
I personally don't see myself owning an iPhone (happy owner of a Nokia 6110 navigator) but I do appreciate the effort Apple put into designing a slick simple to use interface. They've also raised the standard to be expected for battery life, 8 hours talk time is a lot more than the 4-5 many devices have.
If it wasn't something new and innovative it wouldn't get so much press coverage.
gizmo
Who are the real wankers #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 17:21 GMT
The people buying the iPhune, or the people who sit here and bitch about other people buying an iPhune?
pctechxp
Get a Job! #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 17:21 GMT
Don't these people work for a living?
I'm sure Steve Jobs is rubbing his hands with glee at the thought of all that money (yes I bought a shuffle because it was small and cheap and a few hard to find tunes on Itunes but I don't like Macs or the Iphone)
If you want one that badly, order it online!
Oh well I suppose my mobile (which is on O2) will stop working later because of the traffic generated by these jobs loving w**kers trying to activate their iphones or ring world+dog to tell them they have got one in exchange for being ripped off to the tune of 900 quid over the course of their contract crashes the HLR and billing servers.
A direct descendent of Dick Turpin is alive and well and works in Cupertino!
Anonymous Coward
Laughable naivete #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 17:21 GMT
"If the products didn't deliver people wouldn't buy them, it's as simple as that."
People still buy religion. And lottery tickets. And Windows. It's all in the marketing.
Not saying that Apple stuff doesn't do the job. It's just a specious argument.
Chris Fryer
Deficiencies #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 17:21 GMT
No 3G, no MMS yadda yadda.
But... Will it Blend?
http://www.willitblend.com/videos.aspx?type=unsafe&video=iphone
Anonymous Coward
touch #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 18:35 GMT
The iPod Touch is a far superior product, once you've "jailbroken" it, absolutely superb. 16GB has been loads for me now that I've figured out how the smart-playlists work!
I can't stand pretty much everything about Apple, but the touch is exceptional.
Ivan Headache
@ anonymous coward? #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 19:16 GMT
"I saw the iPhone on the Gadget Show recently and the reviewer clearly wanted to punch the living daylights out of the iphone in sheer frustration because of its deficiencies. However, he was unable to being stopped by the lovely shiny looks."
And you believed what you saw on the gadget show? - a show that panned the iPod shuffle because you couldn't select the track you wanted.
Nev
Masochists #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 19:46 GMT
If they're so desperate for this iProduct, why not just fly over to the States and get
one!?!? Maybe they just like sitting in the rain. Weirdos.
Cris Page
ixpensive #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 19:46 GMT
My macbook pro owning - ipod using partner summed it up for me....
"nice piece of kit... but not at that price... not on that tarrif.... not on an 18 month contract"
Not all Apple customers are sheep blindly following the Apple brand wherever it wanders... thank god!
This post has been deleted by a moderator
Danny
I am pleased to report #
Posted Friday 9th November 2007 23:11 GMT
That my local O2 and Carphone Warehouse which are only a couple of doors away from each other didn't have a single person waiting at 6pm. Good to know that far fewer people fall for hype in the north :)
Anonymous Coward
BUT CAN IT #
Posted Saturday 10th November 2007 01:05 GMT
BE MILKED?