The 3-G - Experiencing the new iPhone

Today was the first day for the 3G iPhone. Not surprisingly I wanted to upgrade. Not because I did not like my current phone but because the new features of the phone are so overwhelming that I wanted to get them from the start. I had a free day so I spent 6 1/2 hours waiting to purchase. The Pasadena Apple store, when I got there about 11 AM had a line of about 250 people. I got into line thinking it would take 2 hours at most - when it became clear it would take a lot longer, I decided to stay. It turned out to be a pretty good day. (The photo is four hours into my wait on Friday).

There were good points and bad of this day. The bad is relatively short. Evidently the Apple people did not think carefully about how to put the things they needed to do to make sure that the new authorization process could be accomplished in a reasonable amount of time. When I got through the line, my salesperson told me that in the early part of the day it was taking an hour per person to get people through. Appleinsider thought the process was 30-40 minutes. Activation, by the time I got there was pretty flawless. The WEB applications, which I believe are a major part of this new push - are still "in progress."

The good is relatively long. I think I was one of the oldest people in line. The group around me averaged under 20 years old. They were all excited. Four of them were going to be frosh in local colleges (a film student from the Art Institute, a political science student who was going to UC Riverside, a nursing student at Azusa Pacific and a theater student at CSU Fullerton). As a group they were remarkably patient. We took care of each other - we held places as one or another decided to go for drinks, food or bio-breaks. We were interested enough in each other to talk about why we were in line and what each of the young people wanted to do in college, but I never offered a name.

One of the students had read my post from last year which criticized the comments of a Wharton marketing professor who argued that the iPhone would be a bust. How wrong was this professor. The young student understood something the Wharton person did not - branding matters.

The phone actually does what Apple said it would do. The Internet connection is quicker. The GPS is fine and useful. The Applications offered are diverse and useful. I downloaded three of the free ones and am likely to do several more soon.

The news accounts of the first day of the 3G used words like debacle - but I disagree. Apple was able to go into a second cycle of a phone which, in my discussions with my linemates is very popular and useful. The new phone does more and costs less.

POSTNOTE: On Saturday morning we drove by the Pasadena store and there was a long line in front of the store. I waited until the line was green, opened my window and honked my horn while waving the phone. (Childish but satisfying)