This day in Engadget: waiting in line comes to an end as the iPhone 3GS launches
By Laura June 
posted June 19th 2010 1:57PM
posted June 19th 2010 1:57PM
Welcome to 'This day in Engadget', where we crack open the archives and take a whimsical look back at the memories and moments of our storied past. Please join us on this trip down random access memory lane.
Try to recall if you will, June 19th of 2009, a rainy, ugly day, when the iPhone 3GS launched. People had pre-ordered, sure, but a few hundred people lined up at the cube in New York City anyway, and our very own Paul Miller braved the elements to document the proceedings for us lovingly. And here we are, in 2010, on the cusp of the launch of the iPhone 4, which has pre-sold about 600,000 units by last count. We've heard random reports of a few people already waiting in line (see the photo below of two early birds snapped by a reader in Santa Monica), but we're going to stay inside for now and take a look back at June 19th in the history of Engadget below.
Also on this date:
June 19th 2009: The Zune HD was confirmed to have a Tegra processor, Microsoft extended Windows XP's downgrade availability to 2011, and Nokia's N86 MP and N97 launched to great fanfare in the United Kingdom.
June 19th 2008: The Mars Phoenix lander discovered ice on Mars, Chevrolet's Volt plug-in hybrid got priced at $40,000, and Dell launched its UltraSharp 2709W 27-inch LCD.
June 19th 2007: A man was confirmed to have gotten two Zune tattoos, Sony's Ken Kutaragi, father of the PlayStation, stepped down, and Apple was rumored to have a cheaper (and possibly smaller) iPhone in the pipeline.
June 19th 2006: Taiwanese company Foxconn denied operating sweatshops, Steve Jobs was rumored to be fighting for $9.99 iTunes movie downloads, Verizon sued Vonage for patent infringement, and we caught sight of a Batman Begins casemod.
June 19th 2005: Monks were reported to have started using hyperspectral imaging to retrieve ancient texts, and Engadget took a little aggression out on the mainstream media.
June 19th 2004: We checked out the SciFi Museum in Seattle, Washington, caught sight of a 70 megapixel, panoramic camera, and were introduced to a product called the Pixie.
[Thanks to Craig for the photo of the store in Santa Monica]
Also on this date:
June 19th 2009: The Zune HD was confirmed to have a Tegra processor, Microsoft extended Windows XP's downgrade availability to 2011, and Nokia's N86 MP and N97 launched to great fanfare in the United Kingdom.
June 19th 2008: The Mars Phoenix lander discovered ice on Mars, Chevrolet's Volt plug-in hybrid got priced at $40,000, and Dell launched its UltraSharp 2709W 27-inch LCD.
June 19th 2007: A man was confirmed to have gotten two Zune tattoos, Sony's Ken Kutaragi, father of the PlayStation, stepped down, and Apple was rumored to have a cheaper (and possibly smaller) iPhone in the pipeline.
June 19th 2006: Taiwanese company Foxconn denied operating sweatshops, Steve Jobs was rumored to be fighting for $9.99 iTunes movie downloads, Verizon sued Vonage for patent infringement, and we caught sight of a Batman Begins casemod.
June 19th 2005: Monks were reported to have started using hyperspectral imaging to retrieve ancient texts, and Engadget took a little aggression out on the mainstream media.
June 19th 2004: We checked out the SciFi Museum in Seattle, Washington, caught sight of a 70 megapixel, panoramic camera, and were introduced to a product called the Pixie.
[Thanks to Craig for the photo of the store in Santa Monica]
No Comments.
LOL at the bums! :D
They're all bums, right?
@loocas That person on the bench has been waiting for an iPhone worth purchasing.
@vishal1082 This day in Engadget: apple store is down... x10000
@pintozoz actually that is a AT&T customer that went homeless because he could not afford the data fees and plus his calls to his job kept dropping and boss thought he was screwing around, because NO service could be that bad.
Ironic is the homeless person on the bottom-left of the pic.
@Tuan X
No kidding. Hopefully the police were called to pick him up.
@cardfan What did he do wrong?
@kent99
Apple tipped them off.
Part of me has to wonder...does this post help to fulfill the daily Apple post quota? Slow day Engadget?
@jrm125 Zing, dude, never heard either of those before! And yes, it is a slow news day -- it's Saturday, when we typically post about 1/3 of the news we do on a weekday. This is a feature a ton of readers have responded to really well, and that I toiled on for them, not you. Come up with some new material before you troll one of my posts again.
@Laura June
I appreciate posts even on a "slow news day." Thank you. The person on the bottom left is a good reminder of how selfish we can -- and shouldn't be.
@jrm125 Another whiner who doesn't realize he has helped propel more Apple articles to the top of the Engadget pile. I appreciate your help as I find just about all of them to be informative. Please please keep on acting like a 6 year old because it means that the editors are far more likely to post the things I want to see since the Apple articles get a ton of views from social misfits who like to bitch and moan.
Thank You!!
@Laura June
Well I do believe I just witnessed a burn. Journalist style.
@Laura June
Sorry Laura, I typed in for the Apple exclusion and here I am with a 3GS post, and a pretty heartless photo.
If you think this is trolling, you need to grow a thicker skin. Maybe posting publicly isn't for you. It's funny you cite reader feedback to support your post but can't handle the negative reader feedback.
@Tuan X Santa Monica is well know for its homeless problem.
"Long known for generosity to transients, the city has adopted a program to provide transitional housing and treatment"
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/feb/26/local/me-santamonica-homeless26
@jrm125
calm down dude or the ban hammer is coming, this isn't the old engadget we used to know and love
@JeremyBenthem
So true, it's not, is it?
In that case, I feel terrible about "trolling". I still think the photo is in poor taste.
Gives me a good idea though...when I head down to see the iPhone 4 launch I think I'll bring a case of juice and some snack packs or something...hand them out to any unfortunate homeless people I see. It's a better use of my funds.
@jrm125 You know what's heartless? The jackasses standing in line for a phone while someone sleeps on a bench. My skin is plenty thick or else I wouldn't have kept a job here for longer than 10 minutes. I'll tag this post "apple" now so you don't have to see it anymore.
@Laura June
RAWR! Kitty's got claws!
@Laura June
Couldn't agree more, I'm sorry we had a poor exchange.
I think my problem with the photo stems from posting in an attempt to make a statement about jackass consumers on a site that caters to, nay, endorses it. And outside the lone photo we don't have any other information. While it's pretty unlikely, for all we know those people did offer to buy the guy a meal or something else positive. It's all pretty disgusting now matter how you look at it though, especially consider we could all probably do more.
Thank you for the tag. I can never say you weren't reachable or never listened to your readers.
@Laura June
"You know what's heartless? The jackasses standing in line for a phone while someone sleeps on a bench."
do something about it then, maybe a nice post about how we should think about buying expensive things when other people suffer around us, but then never actually do anything.
yea, that might work.
@Laura June
You make working for engadget sound really shi**y!
@jrm125 it's all good.
@who said what It's actually an awesome job. You just need thick skin, as I said. Luckily, I was born with that. :)
@jrm125
It's America , not Cambodia.
What prevents him from getting a job and a home?
Even a walmart job could pay for a room, couldn't it?
There are literally millions of people wishing to come to the US to work here. You sure he just doesn't prefer not having a job?
@jrm125
there are unfortunate people who need help, and there are people who just don't want to do a thing
@AlfaCat
wow, you win the worst comment award
@JeremyBenthem
care to elaborate?
Please stop the banter, it's starting to feel like news.com. Do you even know the guy is even a bum?
@Laura June Or you just ignore the trolls, like I try to do. I know it's not an easy task, but it's the best solution
@AlfaCat why is your comment not downranked into the depth of hades yet. not every single person on the street is there for the same reason ..so think before you make such comments and be grateful for the life and family you have
Even the bums have to get their hands on an iPhone
@JClay hehe ya
@JClay Look, you cretin, most homeless people have a mental illness. When you see them sleeping on the street, you can thank our government for its limited support for programs to help these people. Their families are most likely dead now and there is no one to help. You should feel so lucky because before the grace of god, a car accident could render you in the same condition. Grow up!
Whatever. You guys are just jealous that fine upstanding citizen got a crack at a 3Gs before you did.
The dude on the bottom left has been waiting for months.
They're wearing earrings I think it's a chick.
I'm just wondering whether there is really any device worth camping outside of a store for days over. I mean, I know the iPhone is great and all, but isn't it just a smartphone? There will always be more available.
@Mecha2142 I seriously hate waiting in line for anything, but plenty of people seem more than happy to do it.
@Mecha2142
It's odd people buy these handsets, yet have no understanding of things like the "internet" where one can pre order and it shipped right to their door or office. No waiting in line necessary.
@Mecha2142 its a dumb phone not a smartphone, fyi.
@pinktacoyummm
You people with your hilarious jokes and your completely oblivious nature about everything going on around you. You can hate on the iPhone all you want, but your statement is like saying that Kobe is bad at basketball.
@trey992
Ad hominem. If you have a problem with his statement, refute it for its own merit.
@Mecha2142
why do people go to concerts when they can easily listen to music at the comfort of their home?
why do we liveblog when we could easily just read the summary of E3 or WWDC?
@Ziv so you are comparing the experience of living on the street to being at a rock concert? interesting...
@boxieblue
Apple fanatics think going to one of their stores is like going to a rock concert...ie, they're sad, lonely losers.
@Ziv Thats the worst comparison I've seen in a long time. Concert lines do not equal iphone lines..... at a concert you pay for an experience when buying an iphone you buy an item, you cant sit at home and have the experience of a concert but i can sit at home and get an iphone.
@Ziv There's absolutely no comparison between that and waiting for an iPhone. I understand sleeping outside of the store for a single night, but not outright camping for DAYS while waiting for the device to be released. There's absolutely no benefit of doing so besides having the phone for a few hours/days before anyone else.
i'd rather wait in line than hate on people i don't even know, for doing something i may not understand. when did engadget commenters become so bitter?
@paul34 Stop acting like a douche. The original quote was void of anything that would require a serious rebuttal. The post was juvenile and your response equally lacking. Go find a new sand box to play in.