My Experience in Line on iPhone 3G Launch Day
Indeed, I was one of the people waiting in line on the morning of July 11, 2008, in downtown Montreal, before every store was closed. The only things I have ever waited in line for were movies (The Dark Knight) and rides at Six Flag’s La Ronde. This was the first I actually spent a considerable amount of time to buy a product.
I arrived at the Rogers Store on Sainte-Catherine at around 7:40 A.M. The line was moving very slowly. When the first guy got out of the store with his iPhone, it was already an hour later. There were girls who were hired to cheer the line up by giving prizes such as caps, t-shirts and umbrellas. They were also giving water and orange juice. Sometimes, they would ask for somebody to do something like scream or dance in order to receive one of the prizes. Those cheerleaders were definitely ridiculous, but they definitely made the wait much less boring. It was a good thing that they were there.
You probably already heard about the Canadian Rogers Petition. There were people from that, who were giving away sheets that showed comparisons of iPhone 3G prices between Canada, UK and US.
While in the line, I was talking with people around me and networking. I only gave my business card to one person who asked for it. It made me glad to have come that early.
At 9:20, an employee came out of the store and announced that they no longer had the 16 GB version in stock. Some people and I decided to go to the Rogers Store that was in Eaton Centre, even though is was only going to open at 10:00.
We arrived at 9:30 and there were already about 20 people in line. We waited until about 12:30, when they ran out of 16 GB iPhones. We were very much out of luck, but then, it occurred to me that, with Rogers, there is such thing as being eligible for an upgrade of the phone, provided that customers have been with Rogers for at least one year. I asked the clerk if I could upgrade in a year to the 16 GB version, if I bought the 8 GB, or even upgrade to the 32 GB, should that iPhone come out. He answered positively, and to make sure, I asked the same question to another employee later on, who said the same thing. At that point, I decided to go for the 8 GB.
As you might know already, the iTunes Store went down which makes total sense as the entire world has been and will still be trying to activate iPhones all day and possibly all weekend. On top of that, Rogers servers didn’t go so well either. I was the “lucky” guy who was able to leave with an iPhone at 1:30 P.M.
The employee who was dealing with me said that I was his second successful client since the door opened at 10:00 A.M. That’s incredible.
I’ve been using the iPhone since about 3 P.M. I have installed applications, synchronized with me computer, dealt with MobileMe unsuccessfully, and some other things. I even reset the iPhone. I foresee at least two other iPhone-related posts coming up: one about the iPhone itself, its hardware and the changes since the first generation, and the second post will be devoted to the App Store.
Stay tuned!
