Today, David Colker of the LA Times wrote, "Across America, people are planning to line up for hours and even camp out overnight [yada, yada, yada, to get an iPhone]." Seriously, David, overnight? That's the best you could think of?
As you may already know, the lines have already started. Yesterday, Greg and his buddy, were the first to line up for the iPhone. That's right, 4 DAYS before it goes on sale. Turns out that many of these blazingly early adopters are using the queue as a marketing platform in its own right. Today I found out that a former work colleague had started the queue at the SoHo store in the name of Keep A Child Alive. They are going to auction off the iPhone, two bluetooth headsets (not sure why you need 2), and two tickets on Virgin Air with all proceeds going to the foundation.
While the lines are very entertaining, the most iPhone-related hilarity comes directly from Sprint and Verizon. Naturally, these companies are worried that they may lose millions of current and future customers who would prefer the iPhone, only available at AT&T. To better arm their sales force, Sprint and Verizon have distributed a number of key talking points on the subject of why customers should stay clear of the iPhone. My top 5 below:
5. "Concerned about coverage? I think you’ll see that we are
comparable or better than all other carriers. Let me show you the map
on our Power Network Coverage Tool to verify your coverage area."
4. "We have many handsets that are MP3 players."
3. "The Upstage takes external mini-disks for unlimited storage."
2. "Sure we have less expensive phones than the iPhone. The MotoQ, for
example, is only $79 and is an MP3 player, PDA, camera, mobile internet
device, and of course, a phone."
1. "The iPhone is an Apple product and has some nice features. It also
has a nice price. Do you really need all those features in one device?"
So will I be in line come 6pm this Friday? No. For starters, I'd like to hold out for the second version which will no doubt be better and cheaper. For non starters, Apple has made the set up extremely easy thanks to the iTunes software. If you really want one, save the hassle and order at apple.com. It might take a week to get to you, but better than spending days and nights next to this guy:
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