Well, I have no idea how MANY iPhone 3Gs Apple sold yesterday (I know now that 1 Million is the proper number), but I was one of the folks who bought one. Now before you go getting all anti-consumer on me and telling me how it’s evil white boys like me who are bringing down society. This has been a planned purchase for a while. Not only that, my lovely Mother-in-Law gifted me the iPhone for my graduation present. She listened to my iPhone ranting and granted my wish. I love the iPhone UI and I said as soon as it had 3G and GPS, I’d get one, no matter the price. Thankfully (as you’ll see below) it wasn’t that expensive. Well, like the folks in NYC, Boston, and other municipalities, I was out bright and early yesterday hoping to get one. I arrived at the Albany Crossgates Mall at about 5AM. I was under the impression that I would have no difficulties getting my phone from the Apple Store there, having called on several occasions to make sure that they could handle people like me, those “non-upgrade eligible customers” who would be forced to pay $499 (the original price for the 16GB iPhone) rather than $299. I had been assured I would be fine.
I talked to the folks around me. Watched Harry Potter (yes, I’m a dork) on my PSP and read from 5AM to around 7AM. About this time I took up the sport of watching the hired police officers and security guards set up an airport style snaking line barricade system. Eventually they even very successfully cut off the line and moved those people into the snaking “s”. By 7:30AM Apple Store employees were going around handing out water (coffee would have been nice), pamphlets, and making sure we had our IDs, etc.
At 8AM the first 13 of us (I guess it was supposed to be 15, but a few employees were getting into gear) were filed into the store. I was number 11. “Sweet,” I thought to myself as I went in, “I bet I’ll even be out of here by 8:30AM.” I suspect it was that thought that altered my trajectory into user/consumer hell. Continue reading »