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iPhone 3G S line begins in NY, weather be damned

by Paul Miller posted Jun 18th 2009 @ 1:49PM

It's pretty gross in NY right now -- sure, you've seen rain before, but you've never really experienced it until you've seen the grit and determination of these city folk wandering around in a light downpour with their $500 umbrellas. That's why it comes as zero surprise to see that despite the ongoing drizzle, a few brave souls have gathered in front of Apple's flagship store to be among the first in the States to get an iPhone 3G S tomorrow morning. Sure, they could've pre-ordered for delivery and stayed dry, but what's the fun in that? So far it's four friends from The iLife blog keeping each other company, with plans to upgrade one of the crew's original iPhones (for that attractive full subsidy price). These guys also braved the mayhem of the iPhone 3G launch, and who knows if they'll wise up before the next one. By 7AM tomorrow they'll have spent 24 hours in the elements -- quite a lot of commitment for a phone, but hey, that video recording bit is pretty neat, and male bonding is forever. Meet these guys and their cloud-sent adversary on video after the break, and check out the read link for their ongoing liveblog of the launch -- naturally courtesy of some iPhone 3.0 tethering.

Gallery: iPhone 3G S line begins in NY, weather be damned

Continue reading iPhone 3G S line begins in NY, weather be damned

Some iPhone 3G S orders set to be delivered tomorrow (Update: not likely)

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 16th 2009 @ 2:33PM

Waiting days in the blistering sun for a phone that more level-headed folks (that is, not us) will be able to get by simply waltzing into a store a few days later just isn't what it used to be, is it? As iPhones make the inevitable transition from wildly-anticipated objects of lust to commodities, it seems that Apple's putting progressively less effort into carefully orchestrating and micro-managing launches -- and if you want solid proof of that, look no further than the shipping tracking numbers coming off of the online Apple Store's order status site where you'll find that some iPhone 3G S units should be in buyers' hands tomorrow. If you're counting, that'd be a full two days before the official release of this Friday -- and while we suppose the company could have some agreement in place with its carriers to hold onto the units until the official release, we're not giving UPS that much credit.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: It seems that many, if not all, of the individuals with tracking numbers leading to phones already stateside are now seeing the following status update on their packages: "THE RECEIVER REQUESTED A HOLD FOR A FUTURE DELIVERY DATE. UPS WILL ATTEMPT DELIVERY ON DATE REQUESTED." In other words, Apple's having these guys queue up the phones until they give the word, presumably not until Friday. Maybe some distribution centers with loose reputations might let you run down there and pick 'em up, though? Worth a shot, right?

iPhone 3G S pre-orders start shipping, reservations estimated in the hundreds of thousands

by Paul Miller posted Jun 15th 2009 @ 11:26AM

We've got a number of tips this morning about lucky iPhone 3G S pre-orderers getting shipment notifications from Apple. Naturally, with a high profile launch like this we're guessing Apple has done all it can to ensure shipments won't slip through earlier than the June 19th launch date, but hopefully at least few folks will get lucky -- and at least they've got one of the only guarantees of a launch day phone going. In other news, an anonymous Apple Store employee has done some homework and tallied up average reservation numbers at other US stores -- he estimates about 800 people on average are on the reservation list per Apple Store (ranging from a couple hundred to well over a thousand), which amounts to about 200,000 reservations as of now, a number he believes could double before launch. There's no way to back that number up, but it sounds fairly rational. Finally, the iPhone 3G S firmware download link has made its way into the wild. Sure, it doesn't do you any good if you don't have an iPhone 3G S, but we thought you just might want to know all the same.

[Thanks to everyone who sent these in]

Read - iPhone 3G S shipping notice
Read - iPhone 3G S firmware

Apple Store now taking iPhone 3G orders online

by Chris Ziegler posted May 13th 2009 @ 1:31PM

Back when we were your age, we had to buy our iPhone 3Gs partway online, then we'd trudge across 17 miles of frozen tundra to the Apple Store to complete the sale -- and that's the way we liked it. Now, you whippersnappers have the option of letting Apple ship the thing straight to your door, you lazy, good-for-nothing bums. Of course, you could do this directly through AT&T for a hot minute now, but if your eyes are particularly sensitive to shades of orange, maybe this'll be a more pleasant experience for you.

[Thanks, iphonequeen]

iPhone line forms at Apple's flagship for absolutely no reason

by Joshua Topolsky posted May 22nd 2008 @ 12:35PM

So word on the street (literally) is that a large number of people are queuing in line outside of Apple's flagship store on 5th Avenue in New York City (see above) -- keep in mind the Cube is open 24 hours a day. Our intrepid girl-on-the-scene reports that the group is more than 60-deep, though most people seem confused about what they're waiting for, while some believe they're actually camping out for a 3G iPhone. Meanwhile, Apple reps tell us they're crowd-controlling iPhone buyers because otherwise they would be "screaming" at employees and clogging up the store. See what happens when you get short on stock? More pics after the break.

Update: For those of you convinced this is an Improv Everywhere stunt, here's a post from Charlie Todd -- the group's founder -- denying involvement.

[Thanks, Laura and Abiade]

Continue reading iPhone line forms at Apple's flagship for absolutely no reason

Apple Store's US and UK sites run dry of iPhones, 3G imminent?

by Chris Ziegler posted May 10th 2008 @ 11:36AM

If we saw the typical "Ships in 1-2 weeks" here or whatever, we wouldn't be sounding an alarm, but something is going on here. Both Apple's US and UK online stores are joining the O2 choir and are now reporting the iPhone as "currently unavailable" -- no 8GB, no 16GB, no nothing. It seems that Apple either significantly underestimated demand for the 2.5G models ahead of the 3G release that's still a few weeks (or months) down the road, or the 3G model is a whole heck of a lot closer than we could've imagined. Is anyone suddenly having a nasty case of "I only want what I can't have" syndrome and regretting that they didn't order one of these bad boys a day or two ago?

[Via GadgetKing, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Rogers Wireless expecting iPhone home for the holidays?

by Sean Cooper posted Nov 9th 2007 @ 11:18AM

TUAW has posted up a potentially sweet holiday tidbit with the Canadian Apple store showing an iPhone in its holiday gift guide. Of course, as some clever reader has pointed out, the Italian Apple store is also showing an iPhone with a bit of cut and paste wizardry, could this be a case of just a template mistake on Apple's part? We know iPhone's coming to the Great White North -- or at least are pretty sure -- and the holidays do make sense, but until we hear something official, we'd lean toward error on this one. Check your local site and post back with your findings, make a game of it.

[Via TUAW]

Apple trots out refurb iPhones, $100 off list price

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 20th 2007 @ 11:32AM

If you want to run the risk of getting stuck with the iPhone we sent back because the proximity sensor crapped out (that's another story for another time), get ready to grab yourself a deal. Refurbished iPhones now look to be in stock at the online Apple Store, the supposed result of a nice, stiff mix of iReturners and busted devices. Both the 4GB and 8GB refurb units are being offered at $100 off -- $399 and $499, respectively -- making the 4GB model the slightly better value at a full 20 percent off its MSRP. Not a bad discount, as long as they got around to fixing that bum sensor.

[Via TUAW]

iPhone stocks recover at Apple retail

by Thomas Ricker posted Jul 6th 2007 @ 3:31AM

As of this morning, that lovable gauge of fanboy fanaticism dubbed the iPhone retail locator shows Apple stores re-stocked and ready for action. Sure, the entire states of Texas and California are sold out, but on whole, about 43% of all Apple's retail stores show iPhone availability after yesterday's near-sellout. With on-line orders expected to be delivered today, it would appear that Apple's supply chain is just fine, you know, after just a week's worth of anecdotal evidence (which isn't saying much). That's it, our in-stock watch is done... we outta here.

iPhone sells out faster than an 80's rock star

by Thomas Ricker posted Jul 5th 2007 @ 3:02AM

Unless you live in or near Tigard, Oregon or Pittsburgh PA, chances are you'll be out of luck this morning if you're jonesin' for that quick retail fix of consumer crack called the iPhone -- Apple's retail locator lists the iPhone as unavailable for the rest of the nation. Sales have been so brisk in the first week that AT&T claims to have "sold more iPhones than in the first month of any other wireless phone AT&T ever offered. That's how good it's been." However, neither Apple nor AT&T have released any figures. Anecdotal evidence from readers who ordered on-line or at AT&T stores suggests that a replenishment might come as soon as Friday -- the date many hopefuls were told they'd receive shipment. Based on previous Analyst calculations, we're guessing that Apple has crossed the 1M unit mark. A milestone which surely garners some kind of Apple announcement. Oh, hey Apple, how 'bout clearing up all those rumors in Europe while you're at it? K, thanks.

Update: waitingforiphone claims to have a leaked memo from ATT Mobility claiming more than 1 million iPhone activations since launch.

Line forms anew at San Francisco Apple Store

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 30th 2007 @ 6:25PM

By 10:10AM local time -- just 10 minutes after opening -- this was the scene at Apple's downtown San Francisco outpost. You know, hundreds of iPhone owners waking up this morning and saying to themselves "zomg I need accessories" or "zomg this thing sucks, I'm returning it." Think of it as the "day after Christmas" effect.

iPhone now available on-line: still 2 per person limit

by Thomas Ricker posted Jun 29th 2007 @ 9:09PM

It's here, so we're not complaining... but a 2 - 4 week delivery time? Best giddy up.

Boom!

by Thomas Ricker posted Jun 29th 2007 @ 5:50PM

And off they go. iPhone now officially on sale on the east coast. You'll have to wait another 3 hours to purchase on-line.

iPhone madness hit or miss in Chicago

by Nilay Patel posted Jun 28th 2007 @ 11:14PM

We just stopped by the Chicago Apple flagship store and were greeted by chaos -- at least 35 to 40 people in line and a media frenzy of interviews taking place. Tyler Tessmann, the first guy in line, had gotten there at 2:30 and was holding court with NBC 5, while the rest of the media patiently waited to pounce. The store seemed busy but ready -- employees told us that most of the prep was done, and that the store was closing down tomorrow just to manage to crowd flow.

Continue reading iPhone madness hit or miss in Chicago

Not much going on at San Fran's Apple Store

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 28th 2007 @ 9:57PM

So far, the throngs of iPhone-demanding humanity beating on the glass shells of Apple Stores across the globe haven't materialized -- at least not here in Apple's backyard. At this point, the line consists of about one woman, four gentlemen, and three clowns. For whatever reason, we were expecting more (way more) people and generally fewer clowns. Are the contract requirements and price keeping the buying public at bay? We'll know tomorrow! Stay tuned for more updates live from the San Francisco outpost.