Long Lines Forming for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Launch in Australia

[MentalFloss]

It's sad that you think the launch of a consumer product that will be forgotten about in a year is an "experience". These people need real experiences.......

So who defines what qualifies as an experience? Is there some agency that can give some guidelines of what people are allowed to enjoy and what is considered a waste of time?

There are a lot of hobbies that I consider to be completely stupid and pointless (many of them are even executed in public or broadcast on TV on a frequent basis), but I usually think it's not a good idea for me to judge the enjoyment that other people derive from their hobbies, so I surely hope there is some kind of independent organization that decides for all of us which things we can consider as forms of entertainment.

 

[Wirbowsky]

I still do not get it why people wants to have a phone on release date.

 

[deepan84]

Had about 30 Chinese push in before me, from number 110 to about 140 now.. Bragging about buying two and selling the other for double the price on ebay.. Not fair really.. They all have grouped together in 2's and 3's on specially laid out seats, but none of them seem to really know each other.. Oddest thing I've seen.. There is approx 4-5 'Aussies' amongst 250 others..

Do not feed the scalpers. No demand means no supply.

 

[ohbrilliance]

not a single aussie to be seen in these lol

we all know where those phones will end up

Who's to say they're not Aussie? Australia and Melbourne are multicultural. Doncaster and neighbouring Box Hill have high populations of Chinese, many naturalised Aussies.

 

[Nem]

Anyone already queuing in the UK yet does anyone know?

 

[ozziegn]

I don't get why people don't preorder.

because people like myself got majorly screwed when we did preorder.

(I woke up 15 minutes before the ordering process began and I still got shafted with 3-4 week shipping.)

 

[markyr17]

Here is vid of Highgate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTvafdx3Oe4

Apparently they didn't want you recording lol

 

[fullauto]

Just had an Asian sit an Aussie down in front of me in one of these 'reserved' seats, I asked hey did you buy this seat or something? He said yeah, I asked how much, he said $50 bucks.. I told security, they are now checking security footage, guy denies he said anything to me.. Ringleader calling me a liar.. Now left with a mob of 30 of them.. What a joke..

 

[Lancer]

Last year I was at my local telco here in Australia (Telstra in Caloundra) got there about 15 min before the store opened with less than 10 others waiting, in less than an hour I had my new 5s. I laugh at those lining up for days at Apple stores, probably just to get on the news.

My 5s is only half way through the 2 year contract so I might check out the new one over the weekend but I'll be waiting for the 6s... should I get in line now?

 

[BvizioN]

Anyone already queuing in the UK yet does anyone know?

In Manchester usually they start queuing up later on the afternoon or on the evening. They always have, can't see it being different this year.

 

[ollie87]

There is approx 4-5 'Aussies' amongst 250 others..

What? Native aboriginal people?

 

[Thunderhawks]

Never done the line thing.

Never will. Know how to wait!

 

[gnasher729]

Do not feed the scalpers. No demand means no supply.

Apple could just state that for all phones sold in the first month, service and warranty will only be given to the original purchaser, and returns will not be accepted.

and have _massive_ amounts of phones available in the countries where these phones are going to.

If that's too tough...

Give out numbered tickets at the entrance of the shopping centre. Starting at the time when the store opens tomorrow morning. Don't tell anyone ahead, obviously.

 

[bushido]

I still do not get it why people wants to have a phone on release date.

to pull it out in slow motion at their local starbucks and have everyone stare at them

 

[bpcookson]

Never done the line thing.

I don't get why people don't preorder.

Feels risky.

Will it arrive on time? Sure, maybe early, but maybe late, too. What if the delivery guy wants a signature while I'm at work? What if they do leave it on the stoop but some punk is making nice coin just picking up small boxes on stoops that day?

Even if everything goes fine, I'm supposed to do my thing at work all day knowing that there is a brand new iPhone sitting at home being completely ignored?

On top of all that, getting in line offers immediate gratification as well as the company of fellow geeks who are equally excited about a silly piece of hardware.

Besides, where else can I nerd out with a brand new collection of instant friends?

 

[SlCKB0Y]

Had about 30 Chinese push in before me, from number 110 to about 140 now.. Bragging about buying two and selling the other for double the price on ebay.. Not fair really.. They all have grouped together in 2's and 3's on specially laid out seats, but none of them seem to really know each other.. Oddest thing I've seen.. There is approx 4-5 'Aussies' amongst 250 others..

Start a riot dude

----------

What? Native aboriginal people?

Nah, the English did a pretty good job of killing most of them off way back when...

 

[bpcookson]

I still do not get it why people wants to have a phone on release date.

Have you never been excited about something?

I'll grant you this: delaying gratification is a noble thing and is probably a good idea for personal mental health. But even so, to understand why delayed gratification is a good thing, you would necessarily understand why there are folks who are not interested in the delaying of said gratification.

 

[vanimal]

Can't decide if I should gamble and line up. I have two 6 plus phone scheduled to ship between 10/02-10/13 from at&t. If I cancel my pre order and not able to get one I'm screwed lol.

 

[bushido]

Do they hand out numbers? Maybe its my impatient german gene but i would never bother to wait for anything with more than 15 people in front of me without any kind of assurance that u actually end up with one.

 

[GaryMumford]

So funny! I just walked past the london regent street store, there are 2 small tents with 3 people in them, and that's the total queue!!

Preorder#.

 

[fishmd]

How come there were no stories this year about some nut lining up like last week? I was surprised. ;-)

 

[Nem]

So funny! I just walked past the london regent street store, there are 2 small tents with 3 people in them, and that's the total queue!!

Preorder#.

Well thats made me feel better

 

[bpcookson]

It's sad that you think the launch of a consumer product that will be forgotten about in a year is an "experience". These people need real experiences.......

I give you this:
http://xkcd.com/1314/

 

[69Mustang]

Apple customers. Because they are excited about getting a new iPhone. Apple employees have either all gone home, or will be going home soon when the store closes for Thursday evening.

Technically they are customers. Realistically, they're resellers looking to get stock for their "stores". The quip from the other poster about them being Apple employees was pretty dense.

 

[MentalFloss]

Maybe because they don't want to stay up until 5AM trying on an unavailable Apple Store to maybe get an phone 6!

Don't want to stay up at home until 5am.

Are willing to line up in front of some store over night.

Well, ok then.

Only way I got mine was to use the iPad Apple Store App and that almost didn't work either! I still need to add AppleCare+, I couldn't add it to my cart, the system was too slow!

Ok, it's off-topic for this thread, but why do people even get AppleCare+? I have been an iPhone user since 2007, and I have never had any issues that required a repair. So from the money that I would have spent on AppleCare, I could nearly buy a whole new iPhone by now.

And yes, it contains an accidental damage coverage, but the main thing that usually breaks in iPhone accidents is the screen. There is a $79 service fee for using the accidental damage coverage. So that's already $178 for a repair that - without warranty - would cost $269, and that you can get quite a bit cheaper if you are willing to trust a "third party".

Of course, once you break your screen for a second time, it becomes cheaper. A third time however is not covered anymore. So the word that comes to my mind (as with most extended warranties) is: "scam".