Apple Store welcomes Apple fanboys and sells 3G iPHONE
Apple Stores to open at 8AM Friday — prepare for a long day. Aple Store around the country will throw open their doors to thousands of Apple fanboys (including myself, natch) at 8 am on Friday to start selling the 3G iPhone.
Unlike the original iPhone introduction — and a number of Apple’s recent product launches — which went on sale at 6 pm, the early-morning release will require some late night line grabbing to be the first in line.
The early morning launch will, hopefully, ensure that everyone who wants an iPhone can get one. Unlike the original iPhone, which could be activated in the comfort of your home, the new iPhone must be activated in-store with an AT&T calling plan. Customers who don’t already have AT&T service will be required to submit to a credit check and select the appropriate plan for them. Apple estimates that the total purchase process will take 10-15 minutes which, given the experiences I’ve had trying to buy cell phones in the past, is optimistic.
It isn’t known how many iPhones stores will have on hand, but Apple’s UK partner, O2, warned of likely delays for customers who want to pick up the new iPhone. O2 had a registration system set up to gauge demand for the iPhone so they could pass those numbers on to Apple. Demand was so high — more than 200,000 people expressed interest and broke their ordering system — that O2 knew they wouldn’t be able to come close to fulfilling demand. The company instead offered phones first-come, first-serve — and sold out online in a few hours.
Apple’s Senior VP of retail, Ron Johnson, says Apple’s “goal” is to “always have enough supply for every customer.”
Additionally, Apple is trying to spin the in-store activation as a Good Thing, calling it a “Personal Setup” service, in which an Apple employee will “assist” the customer with picking a plan, selecting a model of phone, and making sure the customer has the appropriate credit to sign a 2-year contract with Ma Bell.
That doesn’t exactly sound like “assistance” to me. The original iPhone’s “activate-at-home” method was much superior to the traditional “get-stuck-in-the-store-forever-while-employees-dick-around-and-slowly-activate-your-phone” method. Personal Setup indeed — no thanks.
With hundreds to thousands of people in line at the various Apple Stores across the country — and Apple estimating that the average Apple Store will be able to handle 100 customers-per-hour, expect a very, very long day indeed.
Apple Stores to open at 8AM Friday — prepare for a long day. Aple Store around the country will throw open their doors to thousands of Apple fanboys (including myself, natch) at 8 am on Friday to start selling the 3G iPhone. Editing by Edward Chan
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