So word on the street (literally) is that a large number of people are queuing in line outside of Apple's flagship store on 5th Avenue in New York City (see above) -- keep in mind the Cube is open
24 hours a day. Our intrepid girl-on-the-scene reports that the group is more than 60-deep, though most people seem confused about what they're waiting for, while some believe they're actually camping out for a 3G iPhone. Meanwhile, Apple reps tell us they're crowd-controlling iPhone buyers because otherwise they would be "screaming" at employees and clogging up the store. See what happens when you get short on stock? More pics after the break.
Update: For those of you convinced this is an Improv Everywhere stunt,
here's a post from Charlie Todd -- the group's founder --
denying involvement.
[Thanks, Laura and Abiade]
posted May 22nd 2008 12:35PM
And the insanity begins.
I on the other hand am glad I only paid less for 2 iphone gen1's than these crazy people will pay for one 3g iphone.
That's insane! The rumors say the 3G iPhone will be ... $199 or $299 (I forget which). So you paid either $50 or $100 per iPhone? Good deal. My iPod Touch cost more than that!
I know this is the second time today, but dammit, it's the best way to express my feelings:
facepalm.jpg
It's Improv Everywhere. A friend who participated tipped me about it.
Out of curiosity how do you have a live photo?
Is it a photo that updates itself constantly, basically making it a video? or time lapse photography?
=)
i have, 3, iphones.
zed, has lots, of commas,
I, don't think, you get, Zed's joke.
It wasn't even a good joke though, so I don't blame you.
May be they have refurb 2G iPhones
Zed had, a, Joke?
funny thing is, when i first read this the first thought in my head was 'improv everywhere' good stuff!
that's hilarious
Someone must have pressed the recall button from the Apple mothership. Pesky robots.
For those ranking Zed low, I think he was refering to the infamous "3 Playstation One" auction on eBay where one guy was selling three PS ONE during the worst PS3 hype with the intention of fooling someone that he in fact had a ONE PS3..
And as such, I believe it was a quite fun joke. :-]
is, there, still a line, out there?
Kris sez "The rumors say the 3G iPhone will be ... $199 or $299 (I forget which). So you paid either $50 or $100 per iPhone?"
I may just be me, but isn't your math WAY off? Two iPhones at those prices would equate to $100/$200. Your pricing would make his iPhones cost $100/$175 per, no?
Like I said, I may be wrong because I'm tired and this seems too dumb of a mistake for anybody to make twice (but then again, look at the US). His sentence structure didn't help much either.
Their faith is admirable.. too bad it is just a phone...or something.
Its some marketing scheme from Apple I'm sure. Did anyone interview these queuers?
I would not want to read an interview of these queers...I mean queuers.
EricR:
What are you trying to say? That people SHOULDN'T let a box of wires define their life?
That's crazy talk...
you mispelled queers.
(and yes i know he didnt)
I agree... It's just a phone for crying out loud !
it might be that group ImprovEverywhere.
They're such awesome troublemakers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo
Thats what I was thinking, I bet its them
Thought the same thing
The real tell is that the fat guy from the original line isn't there...
I don't think it's Improv Everywhere. I'm on the agent list and the last event they did was last friday.
Maybe some other group?
The bad thing about improv Everywhere for the GM plaza store is that during, and directly following their shenanigans, Apple would lose tens of thousands of dollars due to shop lifting, and some of it would be customer property.
Apple Stores are constantly patrolled by shoplifters, especially flagship stores, because they contain so much easily hock-able hardware. Thieves don't care if its Apple's iPod, or your MacBook if they're looking to sell it on the corner.
Yes, I've seen shoplifters go after customer property, both successfully and unsuccessfully. They are opportunistic and will strike at a moment's notice. An Improv Everywhere event would basically be Christmas for them.
That's why I buy a proper serviceable laptop, and service it myself, instead of trusting it to some Apple service department.
You can service a Mac laptop yourself, just don't be such wuss! Anyone with a passion for working on their own equips would have much more fun with a Mac anyway. I work at a computer repair shop and I always call dibs when Mac lappies come in. I'd rather spend the extra 5 minutes taking out my MacBook Pro hard drive than having an ugly ass Dell.
same reason flashmobbers do it, they're pretentious low-lives with no jobs and nothing better to do than try to appear better than everyone else.
Wow, someone swallowed the bitter pill with their breakfast this morning
Actually, Sinai, I sent my butler to wait in line instead. So there.
We are the Time-Haters. We've traveled back in time... to call you a cracker—Silky Johnson, Time Haters, Chappelle's Show, 2004
i don't get it? whats happening here?
uhm...hey i see a line..... it must for something good..... guess i will stand in it...
...so funny...
because it's true!
be with you girl! like being low! hey hey hey, like being stoned!
uh, that's a song people. check your pop culture references, mmkay?
Well at least Gary is not the first one this time :)
oh god, the guy that was first in line for that store opening was a twat.
(i was 4th)
In death, members of project iphone have a name. His name was Gary.
His name, was Gary.
His name, was Gary.
group think. roped off entrances and future 3g iphones make me go something something.
... go crazy?
don't mind if i do!
AHAHAHA Love it!
I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of Microsoft Fanboys suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened. Did Apple release the 3G phone today?
Oh do pay attention 007. In the wrong hands, this Dual 3.2Ghz Quad-Core Mac Pro could be very dangerous
Why would Microsoft fanboys cry out in terror, and for what?
Microsoft isn't in the phone market other than its WinMo OS.
Mega.
Mega fail.
What should I be crying out about, again? I've had 3G, GPS (via bluetooth or more recently, integrated,) ActiveSync (or equivalent to the tech being built in to the next iPhone software milestone,) and third-party applications for YEARS.
I'm sorry that you couldn't find a better topic in which to shoehorn your Star Wars quote.
http://clank.justgotowned.com
http://fragmitcantspellclakproperlysofragmit.justgotowned.com
ROTFLWHMSWMGATOTIJTPOTMF
(Rolling On The Floor Laughing While Having Monkey Sex With My Girlfriend And Talking On Two iPhones Just To Piss Off The Microsoft Fanboys)
Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis
Don't worry clak. I laughed my ass off...
God I can't wait to see whats in this phone!
@clak Using a competing product doesn't upset most consumers. Only the Apple zealots like yourself. You and your monkey girlfriend can talk on as many iPhones as you like and it really doesn't affect anyone else in the slightest.
Though it must be cool to own a product that so inflates your ego that you think others are upset that you (and what, 3 million others?) all have the exact same thing. You're such a rebel, and so elite!
I wondering if we can get him to be LOWEST ranked...Ryan confirmed, it exists.
"Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis"
You aren't cool or funny enough to quote Jack Handey effectively.
@clak:
Did you just admit that your girlfriend is a monkey?
Wow.
Holy shit! You're right, Low Rank. How the hell did your mother trick me?
Hey, white boy, find the square root of this room—Tron, The Mad Real World, Chappelle's Show, 2003
What exactly does a microsoft fanboy look like, I don't think I've ever seen one. I use pens to write things down but that's because pens dominate the workplace for taking notes. I'm not a pen fanboy lol
bloody fanboys.... get a job...
NOT FAIL
Why in the world would all those people be waiting in line if they didn't even know what they were waiting for?
It's America... what else are we going to do, fix our problems? Ha!
Because Apple fanboys (and girls) are the biggest group of sheeple on the planet. They try to pretend they are better and somehow unique from everyone else, but the reality is they just like to pay way more for a glossy interface on a device everyone else has had for years.
They took the 'early bird gets the worm' proverb and extrapolated it to 'the power of queueing produces 3G iphones'.
@the_boo - there must be lots of sheeple in the world. How many iPhones have been sold so far? 4 million? 5 million? Losers. Those 5 million people should learn to lead!
One of the beauties of being an Apple fanboy. You don't have to do much to rile up the Windows geeks. Apple products and sales volumes do it for us. Enjoy your RAZR.
I think your right; there all just plain STUPID!
What has this world come to?!
@Frank Furter
Seriously? 5 million?
Call me when there are 100 million units sold. Or better yet, when there are 127 million iPhones sold.
I'm far from a microsoft fanboy, in fact I only use it because I play alot of PC games, I don't really care for consoles. The Razr sucks too by the way, wasn't that supposed to be the best phone of it's time? Worst reception ever. But I digress, I'm simply stating, a fact, which frankfurter on drove home further, apple fans, no matter how many millions there are , are willing to pay for that which is already available but at a higher price and they will think that they are better than you for it.
If you don't agree, please find me stats on how many other "smartphones" in total have been sold, I imagine it outweighs 5 million by a fairly large margin.
@Hellios
Will do. Just keep your phone on.
Yeah.....and iPhones have been available for how long? Oh yeah......less than a year.......yeah........
Why don't you use that Linux PC you bought at Wal-Mart and work on projecting sales over time.
Why are Windows users so obsessed with the thought that there are COMPUTER users that might think that they are better than them? Is your self esteem that low? Does your balls shrink when someone drives by with a Mercedes?
It must be those Get-A-Mac commercials. Seriously, guys, I had a Mac a long time before those commercials and it's not like we all get together and vote on what commercials Apple makes every year. So, please, calm down.
Dude, I invented the friggin' iPhone. Have you heard of it?—Fake Steve Jobs
@boo: The kind of fit, finish, and integration the iPhone offers throughout its entire experience is not available in any other smartphone at any price.
FAIL
Crazy iPhone yuppies
oh noes, looks like i should wait in line already
baa... baaaa.....
baaa......
LOL, the sheep syndrome.
Funny.. I know a lot of Patriots "fans" who were doing the saaaaaaame thing up until this past February... =)
And if I were one of THOSE fans, I certainly would have dumped my image back then. =)
*sniff sniff* what's that I smell? Is that a.. rumor?? Someone find the chap who started it, and buy him a beer!
Thats some bad camera skills, fingers on the lens..
just talked to a guy on line....an image of the virgin mary appeared on someone's cracked iphone screen. i'm leaving now....
I was having a bad day, and then I read your comment. Thank you.
Wow, just wow. I mean, I want a 3G iPhone as well but I wouldn't sit in a line outside the door on release day, much less a day where there's not even a hint of anything happening.
Oh god, lines are already forming? I'm late, I'm late! I have to get my camp-out gear together and get to New York!
Now where's my Mountain Dew...
Mountain Dew? I think you've been drinking enough of the Apple Kool-Aid to get you through.
Wait- you're being facetious. Sorry. I'm reading this on my iPhone- where humor cannot be transmitted properly (slow speeds, I guess).
there you go again...this time they are lining up not even knowing when it will be out...crazy people...shall we pity them or laugh at them???
Naw, i say paintball time! Its just like the lil duckies at the fair, cept these oneS can talk!
A drive-by paintballing? What a brilliant idea! :p
Just make sure you cover your plates and maybe even rent the car you do it in. Hell, it would totally be worth a couple of hundred bucks to pull a job like that. Use a pre-paid credit card too so they can't track you down that way...
Yeah I also think that sticking a gun out of a window and starting to fire at people is a brilliant idea. In America. In New York.
Of course it might just be that panic breaks out, a few defenders of the free pull their (real) guns and shoot back at you, a few police officers do the same, a brave cab driver rams your car in order to stop the presumed terrorists, and even if you survive all that an unnamed U.S. government agency might still fly you to a third world country for some "extended questioning".
Congratulations! You have qualified for a darwin award!
Wow, engadg! Thanks for that important second photo. It is refreshing to see the fat lady outta the way
callous!
...although laughingly true.
Big boned. Jerk.
Plus I'm more interested in whether or not that person w/ the portfolio was standing behind them in the first shot. The fat lady & her in sync walking friend were blocking the view.
I wouldn't be leaving that line until the fat lady sings.
It's amazing though. I didn't think the Reality Distortion Field had that much power over New Yorkers.
someone explain this... pretty please!
Anyone seen Zak? Must be inline.
LMAO! Comment of the day.
+30 internets.
Now you're calling me out in other threads? Seriously? That's pretty pathetic. I do think it's funny that you think I would be in line for something that hasn't been announced yet. Care to make any more assumptions about me? Here, use this strawman.