Not much going on at San Fran's Apple Store
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Jun 28th 2007 9:57PM
posted Jun 28th 2007 9:57PM
posted Jun 28th 2007 9:57PM
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"Are the contract requirements and price keeping the buying public at bay?"
Yes, yes they are. People aren't going to go paying early termination fees to get on the iPhone boat. It will definitely be a slow trickle rather than a homicide-inducing grabfest like the PS3 launch.
Interesting....I thought the same thing. Even 5th Ave seems a bit dull...I would have thought there would have been complete anarchy outside that glass cube.
The monthly fee is certainly respectable....it could in fact be the 5/600 pricing point
Arc
any more iphone post or "breaking news" and i will quit!!!! please calm down its not god that is coming down!!!
Sir, fuck you.
See Ya!!!!!!!
Remember....it's called engadget....GADGET...get it?
Give me a unlocked 8gig Apple iPhone @ 500.00 and I'm sold!
As a HARDCORE Apple fanboy I'm just NOT getting all the hype or at least not buying into it at this time.
Not surprised at all... all these websites have been hyping it up way too much, this isn't like the PS3. At the larger stores, there may be some lines, but I don't think it's gonna be as nuts as everyone thinks. No way am I gonna stand in line all day!
I would definitely run from the lighting bolt that is about to strike you!
I personally don't think there is going to be the mass hysteria alot of people have predicted. With a iPod or notebook, it can be looked at like a single independent purchase. Not so with the iPhone. There will be the current AT&T subscribers that will be on board, and there will be those out of contract that will jump on too. But those locked in will not pay up the ETF just yet. There will be some that jump ship, but not as many as people would like to think. At least not at launch.
As a side note. I would think strong Verizon areas would be a great place to score one tomorrow. I'm in NJ and I can count on one hand the number of AT&T subscribers I know. NJ is Verizon country.
I had to do a double-take to validate that I actually read a headline that said 'not much going on'.
iJizzed in my pants.
Sorry seeing or hearing the word iPhone just gets me off. Engadget is my new porno.
Engadget should change its name to iGadget.
Maybe everyone is in line for Ratatouille instead?
I've said it before - and I'll say it again. Apple revealed that they have done none of the things that a basic cell phone does. You can't search your contact. You can't speed dial. You can't voice dial or do voice recognition. You can't text pictures (you can e-mail them - but I don't have e-mail set up on my phone nor do lots of people) - it doesn't do video either. And, from what I've heard, its not going to fit in with other older Ipod peripherals. For many of my friends at work - they use their ipod with some dock to listen to music while working - this won't fit in there - its too wide and tall (from my understanding). Its downside after downside. And having to pay .99 cents for a ringtone you've already paid .99 cents to download the full version for your Ipod seems a rip off. You get 20 seconds (or less) of the song for the same price you paid for the full thing. Oh, and you can't use standard size mini-headphones becuase of the way the jack is designed (again, from what reviewers have said). Oh, and the slow network. Oh, and in a year or so you'll have to send it back to Apple to replace the battery (and be without your 600 dollar phone for several days). You can't get insurance for the unit - so if you break it - you are screwed. Oh, and that pesky 2 year contract with Cingular/AT&T.
Now, the positives. Its pretty. Uhm, the UI is nice. Visual voicemail looks cool. And its pretty. Oh, wait - I already said that. Oh, and the internet browsing looks nice. But trying to use a network speed slower than dial up seems a bit painful. 2 minutes for Yahoo? Ouch. No flash support when browsing either. Oh, this was supposed to be positives too. I mentioned it was pretty, right?
Oh, right - another negative. Nearly 1 gig (700mb) is taken up by the OS to run the iphone. And they plan on adding more to it with updates later.
But at least its pretty.
Allow me to show you something. This should explain alot.
http://www.geocities.com/peacemalion/iproduct.gif
I don't get it either.
haha...its funny because its true.
@Drakin: Link down. I 'spose the geocities account has exceeded it's traffic quota. ;)
edge is not slower than dial-up...at least know what you're talking about before you go off on a 5 page rant
@Will. Why don't you check the reviews. 2 minutes to load yahoo. The reviewers asking to have a dial-up connection because it was that painfully slow. So why don't YOU do your research.
@Josh: if edge is slower than dial-up, how come my edge speeds are constantly 3x that of dial-up? no clue why it took 2min to pull up yahoo, but it doesn't take anywhere near that long for me to pull up even a page like espn which is way larger than yahoo...get a clue.
Those are good points from the perspective of, say, an Engadget reader, but I think the majority of the people interested in the iPhone don't understand or care about most of it. That's who the hype is for, after all. Again, I'm not disagreeing, I just think that the target audience is... well, the "uninformed".
You just don't get it.. Comparing it to a phone is a bit 'apples and oranges'. Yes you would expect it to do the core set of things a phone can do -- but it also does much more. Does a phone allow you to watch movies, listen to music, browse the internet? Maybe -- but not easily. Another important thing to keep in mind is that the system is *MUCH* more expandable than your normal phone.. and many features can be added and/or dramatically upgraded over the next year..
And as for EDGE data speeds? I don't know where you are getting 2 minutes for the Yahoo! Homepage but you're going to see MUCH *MUCH* snappier load times than that come tomorrow..
mmm speaking of pretty, that guy in the black t-shirt and jeans is so cute
Heheheheh.
I think tomorrow's going to be a dud. Mass hysteria over a cell phone, or anything that *requires* a credit check and service activation is a waste of time.
Put the stantions away 5th Avenue. Sales will be gradual. Just relax. Breathe, life goes on. People are saving up for 4th of July vacations and bbqs.
I BET Steve Jobs is SOOOO CONSTIPATED RIGHT NOW!!!!
Oh I hope he craps in my mouth. I love steve.....alot....
Apple + "old dinosaur telco trying to be cool but really just doing the usual phone company bullsh*t by locking the phone and insisting on a 2 year contract (i.e. screwing the user)" = NOT COOL.
1) stores don't open until 6pm tomorrow. only total doorknobs would be lining up the night before.
2) there hasn't been any suggestion that these will be sold out for weeks like the ps3, all signals seem to indicate that if you just walk into a store this weekend they'll have iPhones, which really reduces the need to camp out overnight.
3) i'd wager most people who buy $600 phones actually have things like jobs they do and value their time more than camping on creete and waiting all day to buy a phone.
Well said.
Normal people don't camp out for a phone, no matter how cool. Video game geeks for a console, maybe, but not real people, with real lives don't.
There are something like 1 Million iPhones aready made/in the pipeline. They may sell fast, but not that fast. There will be phones available next week, etc.
I'll probably just order one online. No hassle at all that way...
Indeed, I'd personally be very surprised if there were long lines already. Wait until tomorrow morning -- that is when people will start to line up. If lines aren't forming by noon, then you can start spreading doom and gloom.
bad news.. i was expecting hordes of macfans camping for the ipony
Considering that an iPhone can be ordered online with a very short delivery time, all waiting in line buys you is (potentially) getting the iPhone a few days earlier. I plan on checking out the lines a few hours before and waiting if they aren't too long. Otherwise, I'm ordering online and waiting a week. I'm sure that thought isn't lost on others.
The iPhone just isn't worth that kind of dedication.
obviously no one but engadget cares about the iphone. its a total bomb.
PS3 fans don't have jobs so they might as well camp outside a store overnight. iPhone customers might be fanatics, but most of them aren't dumb enough to sleep on the street for a cellphone. The lines will get crazy tomorrow, much to the chagrin of all the haters.
Apparently less people are inclined to part with an arm or a leg for a pretty phone then previously believed..
Where is Kevin Rose? He said he would be camping outside the San Francisco Apple Store!
Doesn't look like he'll be getting his iPhone then. ;)
http://digg.com/apple/Are_you_bored_waiting_on_line_for_your_iPhone
It's not really convenient to camp outside SF's Apple store. The store is right at the corner, the sidewalk is not wide, it is literally teeming with passers-by. I can hardly walk that side of the street without bumping into someone.
That'll be eight clowns in total then.
Here's a picture of the Apple Store in Salt Lake City last night:
http://www.gadgetspage.com/pda-phone/no-iphone-sitters-in-slc-utah.html
(And no, that man isn't waiting for an iPhone.)
Remember the hysteria over the PS3 launch - yeah, that lasted and now it's the best (cough, cough.. ) I mean worst selling console to date. Even the PS2 is selling better.
Umm thats different... they had like 3 or 4 PS3s per store imagine that and with the iPhone selling for more than a PS3 with probably more or less 30 units per store I would think they are selling a lot more than the PS3 did.
> "... we were expecting more (way more) people and generally fewer clowns."
Classic. Laughed my ass off. Thank you, Chris.
The problem is Steve gave away iPhones yesterday to all the fanboys in San Fran, his employees.