So I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while (since June 28th, to be exact), but just have been so busy that I haven’t felt like forcing myself to write anything. But I wanted to take a moment to tell you all about my experience with purchasing and (thereafter) loving my new iPhone 4.
On Wednesday, June 23rd, my family and I headed down to the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri to have some happy hour dinner at McCormick & Schmick’s (I had the 1/2 pound hamburger and fries, which was delicious as always). We arrived around 5 pm and already saw a few people carrying chairs and coolers in the direction of the Apple Store. After dinner, we went down to the store and saw that there were about 40 people waiting in line already. A second line, specifically for those that had reserved a phone through the website or by calling the store during the initial reservation process, was completely empty. That was my line. I had arrived, more than 12 hours in advance, for a product that I could get by walking into the store at any time during business hours the following day.
But I wanted to be first.
I have owned 3 iPhone models in total, including the iPhone 4. I got the first one for free from my employer and loved it like a child. When the iPhone 3G came around, I purchased a white one and gave my original iPhone to my wife (who eventually traded it for a black 3G to someone that wanted to unlock it). Unfortunately, due to a discount from my employer, I was forced to purchase through AT&T and couldn’t wait in line at the Apple Store. It didn’t matter, though; my 3G went everywhere with me. Many times I was chided for pulling it out during inappropriate moments (TWSS), but I didn’t care. When the 3GS came out, I couldn’t upgrade without paying the full price, but I knew that the next revision of the iPhone would be worth waiting for. And it was.
I pulled my car around in front of the Apple Store and parked it very close to the start of my line. I got out my chairs, my cooler, and my bag of gadgets and sat down with my 7-year-old son to wait for the digital device of the year (I would have preferred to say decade, but it’s the first year–I doubt that Apple won’t top it by 2019). For several hours, we were the only ones waiting in line. Avery played with his iPod, I with my DS. I couldn’t play with my iPhone 3G as I had sold it two weeks prior and spent the first time in 2 years completely cut off from my preferred iDevice. Soon, others joined us and we made many friends. There was the guy whose friends were all waiting in the non-reserved line but asked us to hold his spot in the reserved line so he could hang out with them, the former police officer that loved his iPad for all of the amazing productivity apps that he used it for, the current Apple employees that were so excited about the device and the energy around waiting all night for it that they hung out with us (including one that showed us how to play Marble Mixer for iPad—now also available for iPhone), and the couple that were waiting for their new iPhones together.
The news crews came around several times before dark to interview the earliest line-waiter, a gentleman that had arrived around 3:30 to wait in the non-reserved line. He was a pretty nice guy who had waited in line for an iPhone launch before. He came prepared with a cooler, several reclining chairs, a TV, a Nintendo Wii, and a power source that was somehow tied to his large truck parked directly behind him.
As the night went on, even I found myself doing a few interviews with the news crews, as the reporters came around in the middle of the night. Eventually, I managed to get an hour nap from 5 to 6 am, woke up in time to chug some caffeine, and do a live interview with KCTV5. Most of the questions came down to why I was waiting in line (I’ve never been able to do that before due to how I had to get my last two iPhones), what I thought was so amazing about this iPhone (incredibly fast hardware, video calling, HD video camera), and what I had been doing while waiting in line all night (playing lots and lots of video games).
My wife showed up around 6:30, as well, and began handing out muffins she had baked (she apparently stayed up nearly all night, unable to sleep with Avery and I sitting out on the street all “alone”), which were a big hit. Latté Land brought coffee out to everyone waiting in line, and Apple employees that had been working all night changing over the visual displays in the store started stepping outside to gauge the level of anticipation of employees. One of the managers even walked down the line checking inventory levels of the iPhones that people in the non-reserved line were hoping to pick up to make sure that no one was waiting in line in vain (they weren’t).
Finally, at 7 am, I walked through the doors of the Apple Store, and in less than 2 minutes had an activated iPhone 4. I immediately made a FaceTime call to several people I had waited in line with, as well as my wife, and drove home to quickly get ready for work. It was a remarkable experience, and one that I would not trade for any amount of sleep I lost out on that night.
