Something I've been meaning to ask: do you all truly believe there will be a "rush"/long line situation on June 29? I have a hard time believing for a couple of reasons:
1. The price ($599 isn't a $249 iPod or $129 major OS update)...that alone, even for folks already with Cingular/AT&T, is a big hurdle to overcome.
2. If you manage to get past the price, you still have that thing of Cingular/AT&T-only; people can stand in line to buy a new iPod or new OS (like I did with Panther and Jaguar years ago) because they've got the Macs to use it on already. But are there a) enough Cingular/AT&T customers around to begin with,
and b) are there enough of those people who are going to lay out the money for this on launch day? Really?
I don't know, I'm asking.
I'm truly not expecting - I can't even imagine, at this point - mass defections from Verizon and other carriers either. Not yet, anyway. Maybe in a year or two when this product, like the iPod, hits its second- or third-generation "sweet spot" and enough real-world reviews, info and word-of-mouth has been out there to make this thing seem like
the phone to have.
But June 29? Two weeks from now? Lines and mass frenzy?
Sorry, I don't see it. I really don't. It's a completely different situation than other Apple products (for the reasons given above)...the price and people's current cell phone situation make it a much finer, "limited target" than those looking to buy a new iPod or Mac OS.
Maybe I'm judging this completely wrong, but I never imagined a big "launch day hysteria" situation. I think it'll sell in nice numbers, no doubt. I expect strong, brisk sales. Especially in certain parts of the country (New York, L.A. and the Bay Area).
But I think pickleheads who opt to show up at the Apple or AT&T store at 3:30am need to consider getting a life. They're going to feel silly when 10:00am rolls around and it's them and four other people "scrambling" for one.
