The iLine
The line was huge, stretching and twisting like a maze through red satin dividers. About 150 people were waiting in line at the Apple Store. The usual Mac geeks were there along with people of many ages (toddlers to 60-year-olds). Whole families were there. A few ?¢‚Ǩ?ìstealth?¢‚Ǩ¬ù security guards milled around with at least ten mall security guards looking for something to do. Apple employees walked in the vicinity of the door. The windows were covered in giant, black iPhone advertisements. Occasionally an Apple employee would walk by, offering us free bottles of water or coffee. Two teenage eBay connoisseurs in front of me were talking about selling their iPhones. Wives were exasperated, husbands were eager. The man in back of me had gone to two AT&T stores and another Apple store who didn’t have enough iPhones. A local reporter interviewed people next to me. A boy around twelve walked near and said ?¢‚Ǩ?ìI’m 24th in line, how much??¢‚Ǩ¬ù. I laughed; the boy was trying to sell his spot.
The iNtensity
The line was shifted. Security guards counted us. We moved against the wall. An Apple employee came by with a counter, asking how many iPhone we were going to buy. Suddenly, the Apple employees lowered the black advertisements. The store’s windows were now visible. Giant iPhone models flashed iPhone videos and a 25 minute countdown. People cheered; a person nearby called Apple a ?¢‚Ǩ?ìHypeWhore?¢‚Ǩ¬ù. We were moved to another satin rope maze. The cutout square of the floor above us was bordered by people gawking at us, taking photos and muttering. The clock ticked down. When less than a minute was left, the Apple employees started clapping rhythmically. When ten seconds was reached, we chanted the countdown to zero. Over the course of the next hour I waited as five people at a time entered the store. Security guards flanked the inner doors and general area. Finally I entered. Half the store was roped off just for iPhone buyers. In the back was an iPhone presentation. The other half consisted of the iPhone demo units. The people using the iPhones were ecstatic. The kid next to me sounded exactly like an ad, ?¢‚Ǩ?ìIt’s just so easy to make calls…?¢‚Ǩ¬ù.
The iPhone
Of course, the iPhone was is amazing. The actual device is tiny. You just can’t grasp how slick it is until you use it. The keyboard works way better than a Palm device’s writing. Still, not as good as a physical keyboard, but this way you get a bigger screen. The camera is OK. The apps are awesome though. Mail, Calling, and the other apps worked great (except the YouTube app couldn’t connect to YouTube). The iPod functions were virtually perfect. Turning the device 90 degrees notified an internal accelerometer that the unit was sideways. The screen’s view flipped along with it. The sensor had a little trouble detecting this when the iPhone was flat against the table though. The very best thing about the iPhone was Safari. The web browser was just like a desktop. To zoom in, I just spread two fingers apart. Logging in worked perfectly. Any other mobile web browsing cannot compare to the iPhone.
Four and a half hours waiting for four and a half inches of pure joy, it was worth it.
