Survey of Regent Street iPhone 4S Line Reveals Record Crowd and Other Tidbits

[MacRumors]

UK insurance firm Protect Your Bubble today conducted a survey of the iPhone 4S line at Apple's Regent Street retail store in London, finding a record line of 778 people just as the store opened for sales.

Analysis of the data, comparing against previous Regent St exit polls on the iPhone 4, iPad and iPad 2 launches, shows that the crowd of 778 people for the iPhone 4S comfortably beats the previous record holder of 668 for the original iPhone 4; 662 for the iPad 2; and 451 for the original iPad.

The company has also put together an infographic highlighting a number of pieces of data collected in surveys of the crowd. Among the most interesting results:

- 53% of those in line were there because they missed the pre-order window, while an additional 7% thought the iPhone 4S was only available in-store. A substantial fraction of the crowd was also there primarily for the experience, with 18% saying that simply wanted "to be there" and 11% noting that they were there because they were "die hard Apple fans".

- Nearly half of the crowd was upgrading from the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 4S, while 35% were lining up to purchase their first iPhone.

- The new 8-megapixel camera was cited most frequently (37%) as the "standout feature" of the iPhone 4S, with Siri (34%) registering in a strong second place. But 33% of the crowd viewed Siri as a gimmick rather than a truly useful feature.

Article Link: Survey of Regent Street iPhone 4S Line Reveals Record Crowd and Other Tidbits

 

[bryanl]

Before the concept of pre-order, I could totally understand the lines. Now I'm just baffled.

 

[Kebabselector]

No wonder that 'only 15 people at Regents Street' post went into wasteland

 

[just21]

There is no line at regent street by 2pm bst.

 

[bassfingers]

it's standing as a gimmick is strictly dependent on how useful it is. If it works, no longer a gimmick

 

[TheStoof]

There should be a "because [carrier] effed up my pre-order even though I reserved it in time" option.

 

[wolfshades]

It would have been interesting to see the numbers of people who were upgrading from 3GS. Many of us decided not to get the iPhone 4 because of the 32 GB limit, and are upgrading now because of the 4S' 64 GB.

 

[jowie]

Before the concept of pre-order, I could totally understand the lines. Now I'm just baffled.

O2 decided in their infinite wisdom there would be no pre-order.

I've never stood in these lines... What if you're upgrading on a network, can Apple set that up for you too, or do they only deal with new phones off contract?

 

[jayducharme]

it's standing as a gimmick is strictly dependent on how useful it is. If it works, no longer a gimmick

Exactly. The mouse was a gimmick when it first appeared. Eventually, it became an indispensable part of working with technology. Siri will be the same.

 

[LRichard]

Late

Before the concept of pre-order, I could totally understand the lines. Now I'm just baffled.

too bad pre-orders for country's other than the USA are delayed 1-2 weeks... now i wish i stood in line so i could at least get it on time

 

[TimDynamo]

More Stats

It would have been interesting to see the numbers of people who were upgrading from 3GS. Many of us decided not to get the iPhone 4 because of the 32 GB limit, and are upgrading now because of the 4S' 64 GB.

You can find the full breakdown of stats below, including what people are upgrading from: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ai1HQ8TVY0OxdFZYTlAyeTlTTTg0N2lpMmdsR0JMbVE&hl=en_US

 

[ChrisTX]

too bad pre-orders for country's other than the USA are delayed 1-2 weeks... now i wish i stood in line so i could at least get it on time

The line was relatively small at the apple store here in the states you still might have a chance.

 

[solinari6]

- Nearly half of the crowd was upgrading from the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 4S, while 35% were lining up to purchase their first iPhone.

How is this even possible? Half the crowd is paying full price for iPhone 4S? $650??? Or are they somehow able to get upgrade pricing after only 1 year?

 

[jowie]

How is this even possible? Half the crowd is paying full price for iPhone 4S? $650??? Or are they somehow able to get upgrade pricing after only 1 year?

The UK aren't limited to buying into a 24-month contract. 18- and 12-month have always also been available (for a price).

And of course there are some mentalers with more money than sense.

 

[Philsy]

No one was 'standing in line', they were queuing.

 

[pohl]

How is this even possible? Half the crowd is paying full price for iPhone 4S? $650??? Or are they somehow able to get upgrade pricing after only 1 year?

Search ebay for "iPhone 4 32GB unlocked". See how much they're going for. That puts a lot of people with an iPhone 4 within spitting distance of being able to buy themselves into an upgrade without too much pain.

 

[bassfingers]

the 11% that can't admit why are ashamed to admit that they are part of the "die hard mac fans"

 

[whooleytoo]

How is this even possible? Half the crowd is paying full price for iPhone 4S? $650??? Or are they somehow able to get upgrade pricing after only 1 year?

There are lots of possibilities - including people buying the 4S and passing their 4 onto a friend/family member.

 

[marksman]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

Before the concept of pre-order, I could totally understand the lines. Now I'm just baffled.

If they sell out you either wait weeks/months to get a phone or wait in line

 

[azzarocks86]

Please check statistics before re-publishing them

Thought the statistics for Mac owners, PC owners and "both" owners seemed a bit odd and after 5 seconds of thought and some kindergarten math I realized why...
39% I own a Mac
34% I own a PC
12% I own both

This leaves 15% of people lining up on launch day apparently not owning a computer? I know apple are pushing to make iOS devices a replacement for a desktop or laptop but I hardly think this change has happened in the year between the release of the iPhone 4 and the 4S, certainly not amongst the consumers who are willing to line up on launch day.

 

[petergrunberg]

the 15%

With OS 5, the iPhone no longer needs a computer with iTunes for backup, synchronization, or indeed any function at all. I'd suggest that's why the 15% of survey respondents who seem not to own a computer have bought the iPhone. It looks like Apple has enlarged its potential market once more.

 

[ade2bee]

Has anybody told them that Siri (the most public) and only thing apart from the spec of this upgrade won't totally work ha ha...

 

[rmwebs]

Exactly. The mouse was a gimmick when it first appeared. Eventually, it became an indispensable part of working with technology. Siri will be the same.

Theres a slight difference here.

The mouse was brand new technology at the time, never before seen.

Concepts for Siri style devices were demoed by apple in 1987. There are thousands of voice controllable AI products out there...its not new....its just new to phones (even then not really since similar products have been on Android for a while).

Give it a year and Siri will be forgotten. Give it a month and you'll no longer be using it.

 

[Mal]

Exactly. The mouse was a gimmick when it first appeared. Eventually, it became an indispensable part of working with technology. Siri will be the same.

Yep. Remember that it was Apple who took the mouse from gimmick to indispensable too, even though they didn't invent it.

Theres a slight difference here.

The mouse was brand new technology at the time, never before seen.

Concepts for Siri style devices were demoed by apple in 1987. There are thousands of voice controllable AI products out there...its not new....its just new to phones (even then not really since similar products have been on Android for a while).

Give it a year and Siri will be forgotten. Give it a month and you'll no longer be using it.

I'm not going to be that pessimistic. You could be right, but Siri is so much better than the Android and other voice solutions, and on a device with so many potential uses (especially if it becomes extensible so that other developers can add their own hooks to it), I suspect that we'll eventually wonder what we did with phone before voice control. Granted, there are many situations in which voice control is not beneficial, but for many situations, it will be very useful. Hands-free operation while driving a vehicle just got much safer, for instance.

jW

 

[Laird Knox]

Thought the statistics for Mac owners, PC owners and "both" owners seemed a bit odd and after 5 seconds of thought and some kindergarten math I realized why...
39% I own a Mac
34% I own a PC
12% I own both

This leaves 15% of people lining up on launch day apparently not owning a computer? I know apple are pushing to make iOS devices a replacement for a desktop or laptop but I hardly think this change has happened in the year between the release of the iPhone 4 and the 4S, certainly not amongst the consumers who are willing to line up on launch day.

There are other options besides a Mac or a PC.