We do a lot of integration with Facebook and apps for that, and are moving into mobile device application development.Essentially , iPhone and Droid apps. Being an avid Blackberry user for years, I really had no interest in any of the iPhones. I'm a cell phone user, not a smart phone user. By that I mean, I don't care about any of the cool features, and apps, and touch, etc. I like to dial, I like to press enter. However, times are a changin', and even I was getting frustrated with Blackberry's completely antiquated phones. With the strong encouragement of one of the partners, I decided I'd get the newest iPhone 4.
On the pre-order day, me and my assistant tried to pre-order a phone online all day. I didn't have time to go to the actual store to pre-order, so that was out, but the Apple store was so bogged it kept failing, and timing out. My next chance was to make an appointment at the Apple store the day of the release which allows you to walk-up at a specified time and get in. This prevents you from having to wait in line with everyone else. I was ready to wait until midnight the eve before you could schedule a reservation and book a time to get the phone. Well, I woke up super early that day, and when I got home from work, felt really awful. Overtired, sick to my stomach (I think the curry noodles from the ghette Chinese place in Hamden caused this), and generally gross. So, Trent put Lyla to bed, and I went into our room to rest for a bit. I ended up falling asleep all night! The next morning I realized I didn't make the reservation, and at 5:30 a.m., they were all gone. Bah. This meant I would have to wait on line at Apple for the phone. Some would say I deserved it. I say, screw you melon.
I contemplated not doing it, and waiting another month until they were easier to get, but as usual, the rumors that they wouldn't be available were flying, and I already felt pretty disadvantaged at work without intimate iPhone knowledge. We do have an iPod Touch which is essentially an iPhone without the calling part, so I haven't been completely in the dark.
I decided to wait in line.
I got there at 5:45 a.m., thinking they wouldn't let people in before 6. Well, people camped out, and at 4:30 a.m., they started letting people into the mall. By the time I arrived, there were already about 700 people ahead of me.
Now, let me explain the process of how people get the phones. Anyone with a pre-order gets priority over everyone else since they already bought the phone. There were at least 500 people with pre-orders. Then, every hour from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. people with reservations as described above, wait in a separate line at their designated time, to go in and get their phones. I'd say for every one hour time slot, there were 50 people. They get second priority. Then, the pee-ons like me, are last. The first four hours were nothing but pre-orders. Therefore, none of us even moved during that time. We just watched.
Also, when we first arrived, security was really strict. They would not let anyone sit down on the floor, even though the mall wasn't opening for over four hours. It wasn't easy. I started rocking back and forth while reading my book to keep the blood flow in my legs pumping, and drank lots of water since I felt dehydrated already. The first few hours actually went by pretty fast because I watched the big unveiling and the excitement of the employees and crowd, and cheers of everyone. Plus, there were just so many people, and so many things to watch and wait for. The nice thing was they had Starbuck's outside the store when people first arrived, and a girl giving out waters. At 9:30 a.m. the first Chick-Fil-A sandwiches arrived, and I've never been happier to see a dry chicken sandwich before in my life. Every single person on line took one. No one said no to that little piece of heaven in this hellish place. The pickles tasted like truffles, the chicken melted in my mouth, and the soggy bun tingled my taste buds. Now, when the 15th Chick-Fil-A sandwich cart came by at 6:30 p.m., everyone said no. They also had sweet tea from CFA, and nuts from harry and David, which was also nice. They could have done nothing, let us all starve and stand for hours on end.
Luckily the security guards got lax after a while and let people sit down, but most of the time people stood, including me. I don't think they thought people would be there all day and night, and I doubt they wanted any medical incidents where suing and people waving their finger in a news camera were to take place.
I had a doctor's appt. at 11:00, and at 12:30, I was meeting my sister-in-law Ali to look at linens and stuff for her wedding. I planned this day off to spend with her, and enjoy ourselves. When I wasn't even close to the front at 10:00, I quickly called one of my co-workers and convinced him to hold my place in line. Not only did I wake him up after he had a date that went until 4:30 a.m. (I won't mention why), I dragged him out at 10:00 to wait in a hot, sweaty line. I decided I had to pay him for his time, and he gladly accepted. I didn't even have many cool people in front or behind me to chat it up with. Toward the end though, cooler people emerged, and our line became circles, and we talked a bit more. We banded together, we rooted for each other, we ate together.
Anyway, back to the hiatus. I left Fil at 10:30, and returned with Ali at 1:30 or so. He sent us shopping since there was little movement. About 1.5 hours later, I re-joined the line, and sent Fil home. Ali and I then proceeded to wait 4.5 more hours on line to the finish. Around 5:30 or 6-ish people started getting angry, beligerant, and annoying. Everyone was tired, they were all yelling at the poor manager that was orchestrating everything and sending people in from both lines. What ended up also happening that pissed people off, is the reservation line got bigger. They started letting us in, and the reservation line got longer and more delayed. So, those people started to have to wait an hour or so just to get in the store. So, there was a war between them, thinking they were going to stroll in at 6:00 on the dot, get their phone, and leave; and us, the angry mob whose side of the line sendt one person every 30 minutes into the store. The reservation side started cheering when people were sent in because their perceived wait time was so long. This really ticked off our side, so our side started booing them when they cheered (by the way, I was not partaking in any of the "our side" antics). There was heckling, and teasing of the reservationers, belittling and general discontent with who they even were as people.
To give you an idea of how slow this went, I called my parents at 5:50 to tell them they would have to go to my house to relieve our nanny. At that time, there were six people in front of me, on my line. I didn't walk in the store until 7:00.
As we were peering in the windows, analyzing everything that was transpiring in there, a few people were making fun of a guy that was in front of us that was in there so long. Jokes about just buying the damn phone were made. We were all wondering what could have taken 30 minutes for him to complete this transaction. I did notice that he looked spaced out while the Apple employee was talking to him. Well, she ended up being our sales person, and now I know why it took him so long, and also why he was spaced out. We were hoping for the hobbit-looking employee or the old vet that cheered and clapped his hands every time he walked out to get someone. As an aside, they set things up for the employee to come out, shake your hand, and walk you into the store. This was to prevent people from just walking in. It was like getting a massage. The lost massage therapist blindly asks for you, then you follow them to a dark room, take off all your clothes, and they touch you for an hour. I guess you could compare it to a white-night stand too (not that I've had one).
Instead we got the soft-spoken, personal story-telling, wish we would talk more to her sales person. She kept asking me if I had questions about the phone, and I continued to say no, only wishing I could get the hell out of the there pronto. She was going on about the places she used to work, how great working for Apple is, and that in a past or future life she was or should be a doctor because she just doesn't mind hospitals. Honestly, and pardon my language, WTF? I felt like saying, "I've been here 13 hours, and I just want the phone, and you to stop talking." I don't want a tutorial, or your life story, or to tell you mine. I just want to activate, sync my contacts, and walk away. I Also felt like telling her there were still 200 people waiting, and she might want to expedite the checkout before she gets her ass beaten by my side of the line. 20 long minutes later we were done. God bless.
I could barely walk since my heels had endured the massive weight of my body all day in gladiator sandals. I hobbled home, and we all celebrated with dinner at Pei Wei in Towson, one of Lyla's favorite hot spots. They serve white rice, her favorite, and set fire to the food, so it's doubly good for her. She also has a new obsession with sitting in high chairs after never sitting in one since she was a baby. That kid never ceases to amaze me, and man does she know her way around a chopstick.
We got home so late, and I was so spent. I put Lyla down around 9:45, and by 10:00 I was ready to expire for the night with my well-earned glass gadget.
Of course today at work, Fil sent me this link, with him on the news holding my place on the line. It's no longer the featured vid, so you have to search for iPhone. It's the "Marylanders Line Up for New iPhone" video. Fil is shown at :31 seconds sitting on the floor on his phone with a blue shirt and black jeans (next to the guy with the aqua t-shirt on) in front of Anthropologie. That should have been me man, it should have been me.
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