After more than six months of saving up his own money, 14-year-old Joe Brockmann was finally able to get his hands on an iPhone Friday evening.
Brockmann, who waited 10 hours after arriving at 8 a.m., was the first of more than 50 customers lined up outside the Valley River Center AT&T store on Friday. The crowd was waiting for Apple’s highly anticipated device, which debuted after months of hype at 6 p.m. Friday.
After months of rumors and speculation, Apple announced the iPhone, which fuses the company’s hugely popular iPod with a multimedia-enabled mobile phone, on Jan. 9, and hype has been steadily building ever since.
“It’s been a lot of excitement,” said Jon Biggins, the AT&T store’s area manager. “(It’s) a very unique launch in the wireless industry.” AT&T employees are not allowed to purchase the iPhone, but each has undergone a minimum of six hours training on how to use it, Biggins said.
For AT&T employees, as well as the general public, the launch of the iPhone was an unprecedented experience. When the store received its shipment of phones the day before the launch, they guarded the product with 24-hour security. AT&T even hired a company to send what it called “protective agents” to its stores to maintain order and to ensure employees’ safety.
Despite the security and secrecy surrounding the launch, it was mostly a positive experience for everyone involved.
“There’s a real sense of camaraderie,” said Ori Applebaum, who will attend the University in the fall. “It’s nice having people who can relate to you about the hype.”
In the hours leading up to the phone’s release, and as excitement mounted, people’s conversations inevitably centered around the iPhone and its features.
Brockmann discussed how he was looking forward to surfing the Internet on his iPhone, while others talked about the phone’s touch-screen and iPod capabilities.
To keep the mood light while people waited, the AT&T store handed out apples, cookies and bottled water to the dozens of customers waiting in line, and Apple provided iPhone-shaped apple pies for employees to hand out to customers.
After all the waiting, customers weren’t really worried about the iPhone not living up to its hype.
Justin Gibbs, who owns the Indigo District, was waiting in line because he found the iPhone irresistible.
“I’m a little bit wary of first-generation electronics in general, but I couldn’t help myself,” he said.
Gibbs said even though it does not come with a few important features, like GPS or a Java-enabled Web browser, he feels like he just has to have an iPhone. He routinely uses Apple products and has an iPod named “Lil’ Homie,” so he said his trust in the brand is partially what persuaded him.
Sultan Baig, a University finance major who will graduate in August, credits Apple’s advertising with the incredible hype surrounding the product. “I think their marketing campaign is the best on the world, there’s just something about Apple.”
Baig, who broke his current service contract with T-Mobile in preparation for the iPhone, said he expected the iPhone to replace his iPod and digital camera in addition to his cell phone. He said he didn’t know exactly what attracted him to the iPhone, but was very impressed by the traffic feature, which allows users to view traffic conditions on any stretch of road.
Slumping on the sidewalk outside the store, several of those waiting passed the time on Apple laptops, making the clicking of their keys audible over the murmur of the excited crowd.
With 15 minutes to go, the line unrested itself from its camping chairs and pressed forward. An AT&T employee circumnavigated the crowd, answering questions about the glass coating on the device, operating system compatibility, battery life and everything else.
When the AT&T store’s doors finally opened at 6 p.m., the flow of customers was a controlled trickle instead of a mad rush. People were allowed in only when new iPhone owners emerged from the store.
While waiting, one woman went to Apple’s Web site using her BlackBerry and announced that the shipping time for iPhones was listed as “two to four weeks.”
When they were allowed inside, customers were greeted by smiling AT&T employees and numerous handshakes as thousands of dollars changed hands.
Some came out of the store smiling, others looked exhausted. One small boy was crying.
The wait was over.
Days after getting his iPhone, Applebaum is still impressed.
“There is no question that the iPhone is worthy of all its hype,” he wrote in an e-mail produced on his iPhone. “I am amazed by the user interface and experience – it is truly incredible, even better than how it was advertised.”
Despite the “incredible” experience, the price of the device is a problem for some people.
The phone’s two models cost $499 and $599, and when data, voice plans and activation fees are added, the iPhone experience quickly becomes spendy.
Eighty-five percent of the people waiting in line said they would opt for the more expensive model, which is equipped with 8 gigabytes of storage, over the less-expensive 4-gigabyte model.
Because of the price, Applebaum is considering returning his phone, in which case he would wait for either the price of the phone or the monthly cost to go down.
“Yeah I’ll have to pay a 10% restocking fee but at least I’ll get to test the phone and see if I truly need it,” he wrote.
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