iPhone camping rule of thumb: don't wear a suit

It's T-minus iPhone 3G and counting and the international queuing has begun in earnest... and in Tokyo. This is the line outside of SoftBank's flagship store in Harajuku as captured by Akihabara News. Now, let's forget about the first guy, look at our boy number three, Mr. Anonymous Good Posture. With 2 more days 'til launch and the unboxing and reviews already done, pictures of his rapid state of dishevelment might be the most interesting thing we see come Friday. One more picture of the absurdity after the break.

[initialxy @ Jul 9th 2008 7:25AM]

lifeless nerd pretending to be life-full.

[Khris @ Jul 9th 2008 9:32AM]

"I'm only sitting here because my pregnant sister wants an iPhone and I'm too much of a pansy to stand up to her and say No."

[neofolklore @ Jul 9th 2008 11:31AM]

only otaku go to Akihabara anyway. You can't fake it in Japan, there's no casual nerd there.

[OneLove @ Jul 9th 2008 11:47AM]

Those guys work at engadget.

[gabe @ Jul 9th 2008 11:52AM]

LOL that's everyone on this website!

[Cassini @ Jul 9th 2008 2:37PM]

Actually, the guy in the suit is the bodyguard.

[Saad @ Jul 9th 2008 7:27AM]

thats just what we wear in TK.

[Saad Rabia @ Jul 9th 2008 8:01AM]

Heeey!! :@

[Sad Rabid @ Jul 9th 2008 9:56AM]

Oi :ç

[larry @ Jul 9th 2008 7:29AM]

this is a professional queue liner, you can hire them for couple of hours or a day, so you may go home, shower, sleep and eat some decent food.

[Aaronage @ Jul 9th 2008 7:48AM]

Professional queue liner xD Gotta get me a degree in queue lining!

[chefgon_ign @ Jul 9th 2008 8:05AM]

Wow, those Japanese people really take their nerdiness seriously.

[Andreas @ Jul 9th 2008 8:30AM]

Or he's there for his asshole boss.

And don't folget to weal a suit when leplesenting me!

[Blitzkid196 @ Jul 9th 2008 9:12AM]

hey, my brother does that for congressmen in DC. sweet.

[qz @ Jul 9th 2008 12:51PM]

@ Andreas - the Japanese actually don't have the "L" sound in their syllabary, so your racist comment is all the more stupid for that.

[ddub @ Jul 9th 2008 1:01PM]

Anyone else notice all the ads on craigslist for people offering to wait in line for you for $200. LOL People are dumb.

[Simon @ Jul 9th 2008 7:58PM]

@QZ,

You are wrong, their R sound actually combines the L sound. So when you say a word like ramen, it should actually be pronounced 'RL'amen.

Sorry, it is hard to show in written format.

That is the source of the Japanese problem with R and L, they find it hard to differentiate the sounds and are often taught in school to just pronounce using kana. If you pronounce the word using kana as the phonetic way of reading the word out loud, then of course you would have an L sound in there, because that is how they pronounce it.

[Big Al @ Jul 9th 2008 10:18PM]

@Simon:

It's the same in Korea. Some of my Korean friends can say "l" or "r", but it's very difficult without a lot of practice.

Despite knowing this, I still bite my lip sometimes when my Korean friends say to me, "Oh rearry?"

Back on topic, this guy's hardcore to be waiting outside in a suit. It's pretty hot and humid in Japan now. (He must have a bottle of body deodorant spray on him somewhere.)

[nate @ Jul 10th 2008 12:06AM]

i have some korean friends but they never really explained why they had trouble with some words. girl always came out as girr. very funny, but nice to know now.

[franzbonus @ Jul 9th 2008 7:31AM]

Was this a sore attempt from Engadget to bring down Akihabara News? o.O

[seanchk @ Jul 9th 2008 7:32AM]

I want a pair of those cool shades everyone seems to be wearing

[nanobis @ Jul 9th 2008 7:44AM]

ive seen them around on a site some were but i cant seam to find them,

[Saad Rabia @ Jul 9th 2008 7:53AM]

Fake.

[Ancyru @ Jul 9th 2008 8:34AM]

They're only $10 a pop. http://is.gd/P37

[Matt Smith @ Jul 9th 2008 12:33PM]

That is pretty amazing that they actually do sell such a thing... almost worth the $10 just to have a pair.

[Harkonian @ Jul 9th 2008 2:45PM]

Yeah, Engadget. What is up with the censorbars on the pictures? Why would showing people in a public place be a problem?

Me thinks your lawyers have entirely too little to do.

[loosely_coupled @ Jul 9th 2008 6:22PM]

@Harkonian

I don't think it matters that they are in public. Obviously the law is different for different countries, but I'm pretty sure people have to sign a release to appear in published photos, even if they were in public at the time.

[Stewart @ Jul 9th 2008 7:33AM]

I wish that was me...wait.

[initialxy @ Jul 9th 2008 7:38AM]

by the way, is that his mom sitting right next to him?

[louage @ Jul 9th 2008 8:05AM]

I don't think she looks old enough to be his mum.. but just in case..

MILF!!

[David @ Jul 9th 2008 7:41AM]

Wonder what would happen if a bunch of New Zealanders with new iPhone 3Gs came along and started making calls near this line.

[Raheem @ Jul 9th 2008 8:27AM]

The space-time continuum would surely collapse on itself.

[cromas @ Jul 9th 2008 11:33AM]

"Granted, that's a worst-case scenario. The destruction might, in fact, be very localized, limited merely to our own galaxy."

[John @ Jul 9th 2008 7:43AM]

You know whats more absurd? Posting 'breaking news' about clowns lining up at different stores days ahead of time to buy it. Kinda puts you in the same class of 'Apple Tools'

[fred @ Jul 9th 2008 7:52AM]

It does have a whole manufactured buzz vibe to it. People going through the motions for the sake of going through the motions.

It's the same phone with a different black plastic back and 3G. Ok?

It feels like most of these news outlets are kinda wandering around in the dark looking for some way to get some hype going, mainly for page views.

[trumpton @ Jul 9th 2008 7:53AM]

Ain't that the truth.

You can just *feel* the Apple PR manipulation going on, and Engadget and the sad little queuing fanboys are all playing along like good little poodles.

Any chance of some real news please Engadget? Thanks.

[Rakar @ Jul 9th 2008 7:54AM]

This article doesn't even have the breaking news tag.

[kal326 @ Jul 9th 2008 3:55PM]

That and they have had how many "unboxing" postings. Seriously, its the same fucking box with 95% of the same contents in every country. The only major differance is the power adapter included in the box.

[Jalpesh @ Jul 9th 2008 7:52AM]

Bloody iNoobs!!

[Elora HRanma @ Jul 9th 2008 8:05AM]

"Who'll I work with?"
"STANDARD NEEEEERDS!"

I'd love to have a boss like that...
NOOOOOT

[technophobe @ Jul 9th 2008 7:53AM]

I reckon he was just on his way to work, and thought it was the queue for the bus!

[Revels @ Jul 9th 2008 7:56AM]

His Queue-Fu is greater than yours

[Chris Macdonald @ Jul 9th 2008 10:15AM]

Laaaaaaammmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[Ghen @ Jul 9th 2008 7:59AM]

I enjoy the thought bubble =)

[Elora HRanma @ Jul 9th 2008 8:09AM]

That is no thought bubble. That's a painted board he made at home and pasted to his last-gen shades. Or are you insinuating Engadget uses Photoshop/Gimp with hilarious intentions?

[Brian St. John @ Jul 9th 2008 8:14AM]

Yes . . . the reverse thought bubble was brilliant! LOL

[bondsbw @ Jul 9th 2008 8:26AM]

If that's a painted board, then that is one humongous woman approaching from the right in the first picture.

[redfish907 @ Jul 9th 2008 10:11PM]

@ bondsbw - Haha. Glad I'm not the only one who noticed that.

Still thought the reversed bubble was funny though...

[JohnnyRico @ Jul 9th 2008 8:06AM]

I wish I were as classy as this guy in his suit.

[SirCrumpet @ Jul 9th 2008 8:08AM]

I say we need a Truman Show-esque live webcam setup on him post haste!

If we can't have that, hurry up and get Ryan over there liveblogging!