Why do people think there will be lines?

[WhySoSerious]

I don't get it, maybe someone here can explain it to me.

The iphone has been out for a year and this 2.0 version is pretty much the exact same phone. I understood the lines last year because it was a brand new product and the hype was put in motion back in january, FIVE months before it's release! This time around, the 3G was a mere afterthought in the WWDC announcement and still, to this day, almost no marketing on tv, radio, print, billboards, magazines or in-store (about 2% total marketing I'd guess so far).

It seems that people who were so hard up for getting the phone in the first place would have already gotten one over the past year. And even though the price is 199/299......that could actually be a bad thing. Imagine all the people who don't get to pay that price because they "don't qualify" (credit, contract, etc)...they may get up to the line and when the cashier says "that'll be 499+tax", they may just go "nah...give me the blackberry pearl instead".

I just don't see lines or mass hysteria forming at all. Maybe I'm wrong though.

 

[Aravintht]

I don't think there will be lines either

There maybe a few people waiting around just before it goes on sale, but i don't see masses of lines

Especially because of all this talk about having to activate in store

I originally had planned to buy on the £45/month contract (o2) but am increasing thinking of waiting for a week or two after to see if they sell it unlocked/there is a loop hole. Also im being tempted to buying one off ebay, £299 for the pre-order via ebay, not bad!

 

[kevinnugent]

You are both from countries where the device has been out for a long time.

Consider, say, Australia where we have been waiting for over a year for this thing. Oh, there will be lines!

 

[Aravintht]

You are both from countries where the device has been out for a long time.

Consider, say, Australia where we have been waiting for over a year for this thing. Oh, there will be lines!

Fair point!

 

[WhySoSerious]

You are both from countries where the device has been out for a long time.

Consider, say, Australia where we have been waiting for over a year for this thing. Oh, there will be lines!

ah, good point! i guess my post only applies to the US/UK, etc then, huh. thanks for the heads up on that.

 

[juanster]

i think here in Canada, even though there are lots and lots and lots of iphone users already, they re going to sold out, not because of so many people buying them but because of the amount we are going to get, hope I am wrong tho, but i think if lines are created are because of that...

 

[newyorksole]

I am positive that there will be lines. The Apple Stores in Manhattan will definitely have lines.

You do realize that this phone has been unavailable/hard to get for quite some time right? That will definitely contribute to the amount of people that form the lines.

 

[WhySoSerious]

I am positive that there will be lines. The Apple Stores in Manhattan will definitely have lines.

You do realize that this phone has been unavailable/hard to get for quite some time right? That will definitely contribute to the amount of people that form the lines.

hard to get?

every...and i mean every store (att and apple) i went into up thru end of May had the iphone. you can even get almost-new phones off the net.

i don't consider that hard to get.

 

[t0mat0]

I don't get it <snip>


this 2.0 version is pretty much the exact same phone.
<snip>
This time around, the 3G was a mere afterthought in the WWDC announcement and still, to this day, almost no marketing on tv, radio, print, billboards, magazines or in-store (about 2% total marketing I'd guess so far).

<snip>
I just don't see lines or mass hysteria forming at all. Maybe I'm wrong though.

The WWDC posters went up the weekend before it started. WIth 3 more weeks to go, Apple has plenty time to sort hysteria out.

It isn't "pretty much" the "exact same phone" - that's either as you say not understanding the keynote, or trolling.
The 3G wasn't an afternote, it was a key point near the end of the keynote. Marketing will come nearer the 11th - If you look for example at O2 and other carriers - they won't get marketing gear much before Apple shops i'd imagine.

Just give it 3 weeks.

 

[newyorksole]

hard to get?

every...and i mean every store (att and apple) i went into up thru end of May had the iphone. you can even get almost-new phones off the net.

i don't consider that hard to get.

Alot of people don't live close to Apple/AT&T stores and look forward to buying it online, but they can't.

Well we'll just have to wait until July 11th to see what happens.

 

[Merlosso]

I feel like it can go either way in the US. There are plenty of current iPhone users that will have to have the latest and greatest gadget. And there are also those that didn't buy one at $399 but will at $199.

At the same time, that price requires a new 2 year contract and a lot of people are currently in contracts, both with AT&T and other carriers. So, they might wait until they become eligible.

I hope there are short or no lines. I don't want to wait too long.

 

[ipodtouchy333]

hard to get?

every...and i mean every store (att and apple) i went into up thru end of May had the iphone. you can even get almost-new phones off the net.

i don't consider that hard to get.

Beings that they haven't been sold online for about 2 months, and every Apple and AT&T store I've been to hasn't had them for about a month.... I also consider them hard to get.

 

[marksman]

The reality is last year I could have walked up to my local Apple Store at 6:00pm and had an iPhone by 7:00pm.

Instead I waited in line for like 6 hours.

Won't be doing that again. The demand will be much lower, initially than it was last year. I think they will sell a ton of phones in the two months after launch, but that first weekend will not be as big.

People already with iPhones are not going to feel the need to camp out, when they got something almost as good and they can wait a day or two.

 

[Donz0r]

I'm not sure about the lines, but I do think that the 199 price point is definitly going to get a lot of people that would have otherwise dismissed the iPhone. It's always been seen as this really expensive device by the mainstream public in the US, at least the people I see (chicago suburbs/university of illinois area).

But, I don't think enough people know about it and Apple has to get the ball rollin' on advertising! They already made this commercial, which in my opinion is amazing, why aren't I seeing it on TV? Most of the people who are on these forums and who are keeping track of WWDC announcements already have iPhones, the lower price point of this iPhone is going to rake in a whole hell of a lot of mainstream people who otherwise would've dismissed it because of the high price, but these people don't know about it yet! We need to see some ADs for real, I mean, the thing comes out in 2.5 weeks! Lets spread the word apple!

 

[citron230]

i hope there aren't lines. I hates lines. I get really impatient.

 

[newyorksole]

I'm just curious as to how much people who are not eligbible for upgrade will have to pay.

 

[citron230]

I'm just curious as to how much people who are not eligbible for upgrade will have to pay.

I don;t know if those prices have been announced yet.

 

[WhySoSerious]

It isn't "pretty much" the "exact same phone" - that's either as you say not understanding the keynote, or trolling.


Just give it 3 weeks.

i'm not trolling. i stated my very polite opinion as to not offend anyone, *ahem*.

don't start trying to paint me as a "bad cop" and labeling me. i wanted to have a discussion on something i didn't quite understand....and it seems there is a nice, polite discussion going on here as a result of it from the looks of the replies.

thank you though, tomato, for taking time to reply. have a nice rest of the day.

 

[nickspohn]

You are wrong. Think about it.


If the people that waited in line the first time for the iPhone, they either followed the iPhone because they are into electronics (that is the case for the most of us) or they heard about it from advertisement extremely early. No one decides to shell out $550 randomly. And if they did it a year ago, they will do it again.

But NOW, the talk about it until July 11th is going to be more than ever. Even more people now will see the advertising / hype about this new iPhone.

You know why? PRICE.

Now you could possibly be right if the phone was the same price, but the hottest phone in this century is on sale for $199?

 

[aross99]

I think there will definitely be lines at the stores. I doubt they will be around the block, but I am sure people will be waiting. It's the latest thing from Apple, and I have a feeling that a big percentage of the people who waited in line the first time will be back the second time.

Waiting in those long lines was part of the iPhone/Apple experience. If you didn't want to be a part of that, then I don't know why you would have been there. Actually, I am surprised to hear about people complaining about waiting in the lines - it's what you would expect for a product launch like this.

It's like going to a new Apple store opening - you know there are going to be long lines, and you make a conscious decision to either participate, and wait in line, or skip it, and go later.

I don't think they will be as long as las time, but I think there will be plenty of people who want to wait it out, and get their 3G iPhone as soon as possible. For those who don't want to wait, I'm sure there will be plenty of phones.

Hopefully the in store activation doesn't slow things down to much...

 

[WhySoSerious]

You are wrong. Think about it.


If the people that waited in line the first time for the iPhone, they either followed the iPhone because they are into electronics (that is the case for the most of us) or they heard about it from advertisement extremely early. No one decides to shell out $550 randomly. And if they did it a year ago, they will do it again.

But NOW, the talk about it until July 11th is going to be more than ever. Even more people now will see the advertising / hype about this new iPhone.

You know why? PRICE.

Now you could possibly be right if the phone was the same price, but the hottest phone in this century is on sale for $199?

good points, i see your side of it. the thing that kinda spooks me though is the price. what happens to the people who are so excited to be getting an iphone (the "hottest phone in this centrury") for 199/299, but when they go to pay at the register, they are told to shell out over 399/499 because they don't qualify?

man, i hope that won't be the case and no hearts are broken. fingers crossed guys/gals!

 

[themiracle]

But, I don't think enough people know about it and Apple has to get the ball rollin' on advertising! They already made this commercial, which in my opinion is amazing, why aren't I seeing it on TV? Most of the people who are on these forums and who are keeping track of WWDC announcements already have iPhones, the lower price point of this iPhone is going to rake in a whole hell of a lot of mainstream people who otherwise would've dismissed it because of the high price, but these people don't know about it yet! We need to see some ADs for real, I mean, the thing comes out in 2.5 weeks! Lets spread the word apple!

They also have another commercial that has the footage from the 5th Ave store, which no one has seen. In general though, the ad we've seen seems a lot more like an "introduction" ad that wouldn't be run until closer to the release, and I'm assuming the other one is similar. I'm guessing they'll be getting the hype machine running full tilt by about July 4.

 

[a456]

Took me a while to figure out what you meant by lines - thought it meant some screen fault. In the UK we would say: will there be queues? But then I guess this is officially a US forum, so I've no right to expect English grammar.

We stand in line when we form queues over this side of the Atlantic, but we always say there is a long queue or there was a queue to buy the iPhone. Just a boring old linguistic observation to while away the time.

 

[a456]

Took me a while to figure out what you meant by lines - thought it meant some screen fault. In the UK we would say: will there be queues? But then I guess this is officially a US forum, so I've no right to expect English grammar.

We stand in line when we form queues over this side of the Atlantic, but we always say there is a long queue or there was a queue to buy the iPhone. Just a boring old linguistic observation to while away the time waiting for the O2 Pay & Go price announcement.

 

[WhySoSerious]

Took me a while to figure out what you meant by lines - thought it meant some screen fault. In the UK we would say: will there be queues? But then I guess this is officially a US forum, so I've no right to expect English grammar.

We stand in line when we form queues over this side of the Atlantic, but we always say there is a long queue or there was a queue to buy the iPhone. Just a boring old linguistic observation to while away the time.

lol...never thought about it that way! but, no, this isn't just a US discussion....feel free to toss out your ideas on queues in your area as well!!! do you expect them? will you participate in them?