With less than four days until the Apple iPhone finally hits shelves across the country, anticipation is reaching a boiling point. This $600 device (for 8gb, $500 for 4gb) is following the tradition set down by generations (and repeated recently with the PS3), fan boys are starting to amass in the time honored tradition of excessive line waiting.
The honor of first in line goes to two gentlemen whom Gizmodo interviewed at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store yesterday. The first two at the Soho store arrived this morning. They're clad with shirts advertising for Keep a Child Alive and plan to auction off the iPhone for Charity.
Noteworthy:
- Apple has a 20 minute guided tour detailing iPhone functionality. If you are on the fence about the phone, don't watch this - you will be pushed over.
- Apple on setup and plan costs
- Steve Jobs was profiled in New York Magazine last week. They talk about Job's well documented working behavior, and whether Apple's luck will run out with the iPhone.
- David Pogue reviews the iPhone for the New York Times. There is even a video to watch. It's interesting to see a reviewers hands finally.
- CNet Top 5: iPhone waiting-line essentials
- NY Post "reviews" the iPhone (the article doesn't sound like he even touched it)
- Walt Mossberg chimes in
Regardless, if you are first on line or are turning away from the screen right now, it would be hard for one to argue the significance of this device. We leave you with this, which to us summarizes the power of this phone on the average user. When the guided tour video was shown to a patient techno-loathing wife, we were shocked by her excitement and the quote: "This seems more like evil magic than technology." In the end, it's people like her that are going to give iPhone a future. And its ability to be used by people who aren't tech-savvy will rate its success. What's made Apple successful so far is largely its simplicity, it's what they do best.
