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]
IF THIS DOESN'T SHOW HOW FAR ENGADGET IS UP APPLES' ASS I DON'T KNOW WHAT DOES.
ENGADGET, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP SUCKING STEVE JOBS' DONG.
Why doesn't Apple just offer a $400/yearly subscription for their phones? This shit is getting a little ridiculous.
Nice way to fill in the days without any hot Apple news.
So, what else could we invent ?
Man, those were the days... when Engadget didn't make workstations we used daily for Rhino 3D and Autocad cringe and fans scream in pain each time they loaded the site.
Seeing a homeless person in an Engadget article pic...
The realization resultant from the juxtaposition is immense.
We're all so fortunate to be able to even read this site. Much luck to those who are significantly less fortunate.
Wanks. No need to line up for this shit, any store will have it in stock on launch day. Its barely any different to the 3gs, fair enough for the first one in 2007. Get a life
With all of the "How dare you show a homeless person on a bench" comments, how many of you have donated money to a homeless shelter? Or TIME which is worth much more? How many of you contributed to ANY of the past 5 or 6 world tragedies? I can admit that I haven't. Call me a bad person if you want, but at least I live my life accepting the truths about myself and this world. I'm not rich by ANY means (in fact i was laid off in February and still suffering from it) but apparently i still have internet access and ordering my EVO soon.
Lets be real here: Homelessness is a reality and cropping the man out of the picture to make readers (who have a computer, smartphone, mp3 player, and I'm sure at least 1 other portable device) feel good about themselves would have been worse than this. I applaud Laura/Engadget for leaving him in there. But then again.. I live in NYC and see this all the time, so maybe I'm just used to it.
Is it just me or are those people waiting to spend hard earned money on a gimmick gadget that it not even the most capable smartphone out there, Which I will admit, is a sign of excess in today's society, be hardcore waiting outside for a this piece of crap while a Bum sits there on the bench with his entire life in a bag..... Isn't there something wrong with this on whole bunch of levels? I don't see Steve Jobs handing out soup or sandwich to the people waiting for his piece of crap let alone helping the homeless. He's waiting for his Bugatti to be delivered while a man next to the Apple store waits for a leftover sandwich. I say if you're insane enough to wait in line to get defunct technology the least you can do is fund raise for the homeless while you're out there on the street.... or do something...anything.....