The iPhone line has gotten a little bit longer.
(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET News)NEW YORK--Now this is more like it.
For days, the line at Apple's midtown flagship store for the hotly anticipated iPhone 3G had consisted solely of the crew from Waiting for Apples, who have the dual goal of breaking the Guinness world record for "longest wait for a product release" (or something like that) and simultaneously spreading the word about sustainable agriculture.
Now, three more people have joined them, and these fellows look a whole lot more like what we'd expect people waiting in line for the iPhone to be: Skinny, wearing jeans and black t-shirts, and probably not a day over 17.
But to put things into perspective, this time last year the line at the Fifth Avenue store for the original iPhone was totally ridiculous. But back then everyone was freaked out that there would be shortages of the phone and that they wouldn't get one for months if they didn't camp out for days beforehand. One smooth launch later, Apple fans don't seem anywhere near as concerned.
Besides, the iPhone 3G comes out at 8 a.m. rather than last year's 6 p.m., making it possible to simply wait overnight, grab the phone, and then take your shiny new toy to the office.
Meanwhile, across the country in San Francisco, the line stands at two.
The start of the Apple Store line snaking around the front of the store. You can't actually see most of the line, as it's off to the left; security was in the process of crowd control.
(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET News.com)
Fanboy alert! iPod and MacBook Pro spotted in line...
(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET News.com)It was freezing cold and snow was starting to come down, but at 2:30 p.m. EST there were already several hundred people waiting in line at the new Apple Store on West 14th St. in Manhattan's Meatpacking District, which which opens at 6 p.m. One estimate put the crowd at about 600 people with several hours still to go.
The first person in line, a high schooler, had showed up at 1 a.m. That's not a typo. He told CNET News.com that by 3:30 or 4 a.m., more people started to join him. But the line really started to take off in the early afternoon, as students were let out for the weekend (some schools in the area close early on Fridays) and grown-up Apple fans cleared out of their offices in favor of lining up in the freezing cold.
Yeah, here's the end of the line. With three hours to go.
(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET News.com)Apple events are known for generating long lines well in advance--just look at the lines that formed for the Leopard operating system and the highly anticipated iPhone. But there's no product being released this time--it's just the opening of a new store.
So why wait? Well, Apple's given some incentives. "Come celebrate with us this Friday as we'll be giving away thousands of limited-edition posters and commemorative T-shirts," the store's Web site invited tantalizingly. "You might even win one of several great surprise gifts such as an iMac, a MacBook Pro, or an iPod Touch."
Sweet! Count me in!
(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET News.com)As we've seen with many launch events that draw lengthy queues, many of the people in line were "tag-teaming" with friends, one waiting while the other went to grab food, coffee, or just headed for an indoor space to thaw up. And one local business was capitalizing on the freezing masses: the T Salon, located in the nearby Chelsea Market shopping complex, was distributing free cups of chai to anyone in line.
Also spotted: An establishment across the street, Comix Bar, was pricing apple martinis at half price for happy hour in celebration of the Apple Store launch. Good to know Jobs & Co. are welcome in the neighborhood.
Please don't wear five-inch heels on these stairs.
(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET Networks)A friend of mine once told me that one of the most striking characteristics of the Manhattan mini-neighborhood known as the Meatpacking District was the proliferation of "baby giraffes."
Basically, what he meant were the hordes of impossibly skinny young women in mile-high stiletto heels, teetering through the cobblestone streets of the party-heavy neighborhood as though they were juvenile specimens of Giraffa camelopardalis who couldn't quite control their pole-like legs. (In case you couldn't tell, the Meatpacking District's warehouses have largely given way to pricey designer boutiques and the nightclubs that keep Us Weekly's readership happy).
But those Giraffe Girls had better watch out, because the nerds are invading their watering hole.
On Friday night at 6 p.m., the doors will formally open to the third and largest Apple retail store in Manhattan, at the northernmost end of the Meatpacking District (it's on the corner of West 14th Street and 9th Avenue, to be more specific). Unlike its Fifth Avenue sibling, the West 14th Street Apple store won't be open 24/7--it closes at midnight, which might as well be the Meatpacking District equivalent of three o'clock in the afternoon. It's probably for the better. Steve Jobs has enough on his hands; he doesn't need to have to deal with dubious lawsuits from drunk girls in stilettos who've tumbled down that three-story glass staircase while trying to go hit on the guys behind the Genius Bar (they get way cuter after four cosmopolitans!)
The geeks have already taken roost at the old Port Authority building two blocks north, now home to New York's sprawling Google headquarters. Now they've staked a second claim with the Apple Store. Don't hold your breath, fellow techies, but if Tenjune gets replaced by a late-night arcade or something, we'll know the transformation is complete.
Click here for the rest of CNET News.com's fanboy-friendly photo gallery.
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