Originally Posted by
paulbrock:
“yep v true.
Still don't get it. Only thing I might be tempted to queue like that for is limited supply of something (an actual limited supply, not an artificial one). Gig and festival tickets spring to mind. They will not run out of games consoles or games or books or phones.
Its like when people take a day or two off work so they can devote their time to (normally) the latest game. It's just a game. it will still be there for you in the evening or at the weekend.
”
it's all about anticipation. I was chomping at the bit for my iphone 4 because my old phone was falling apart but had decided to hold out for the new model of the iphone. I made that decision in December 2009 and had to wait until the end of July 2010 before I was able to get a new phone. I was not about to wait another few weeks or months for something I felt I had already waited long enough for (and I did need it as my old phone had broken by that time).
I wanted SIM free as I'm not stupid and will not pay for a so called 'subsidised' phone on a contract that means I end up paying over £100 more than the cost of a SIM free phone and Sim only tarif. I received my phone at 9am on the day of release. Receipt was guaranteed by Apple for those who got in early with the pre order (some even got theirs the day before release due to the delivery firm).
I didn't want an iphone because everyone else I knew had one. However, the fact they did helped me to at least see it's functionality and to see how I would get on with it compared to other phones on the market. My need was for an all in one device that replaced my phone and my MP3 player but also provided me with so much more. Most of the people I know who have an iphone do not use it to it's full potential (and it's to those people I would question why they even bothered to get one in the first place. Maybe they are more sheep than I am. I know at least four people with no music and only one page of apps on their iphone. That personally frustrates the hell out of me. But it's their money and their choice, who am I to say how they should spend their savings).
I use my iphone for calls, texting, as a camera and video camera, to stream those photos and videos to my Apple TV, as an MP3 and MP4 player, as a hand held games console, for internet browsing and e-mails, I control my TV and blu ray player with an app, I access my PC with Splashtop, I use dropbox to quickly move photos from my phone to PC, I use it as a torch and can read my children a story on it if we are away from home and didn;t have room to take story books with us, if I am away at bedtime I can video call home to say goodnight, I can spontaniously read my own books whilst in the park on a sunny day without having to take anything extra with me, it helps me navigate towns I am visiting and to find shops and places whilst there, it can keep my children quiet if we are in a queue and they are getting bored. I'm sure I use it for plenty of other things I haven't listed above.
Now to say that I am a sheep for buying an iphone is wrong, the iphone fits my needs very well and it does it very simply (and yes I have jailbroken so I can teather for free, but I am not interested in adding themes etc other than a wallpaper).
Now for someone else wanting to do all of those things (or even half), who has made the choice to upgrade from there crappy old phone that has seen better days to the new model iphone (because they know there is no point getting the 4 when the 5 is due any day now) is allowed to get excited about it. So much so that they want to get down to the shops as soon as it is released so they can finally get what they have been waiting for. Add to that the fact that there will have been an additional 3 month wait for the 5 than there was for the 4 and you are going to see a lot of very excited people wanting to upgrade at the first oppotunity, many of whom have an iphone 3G(s) that they did not or could not upgrade when the iphone 4 came out.
I'm not too fussed about the iphone 5 at the moment. I'm pretty certain that Apple aren't going to add anything that amazing to the existing feature set of the iphone 4 apart from a few spec bumps. But it's not my turn for a new iphone just yet, Iphone 6 will probably be the one I get excited about.
Of course I follow the news on the new iphone as I am interested to see what it will offer and if I am correct in my assumption that it will not be enough of an upgrade to justify me buying it.
Anyway, that's why I bought my iphone. It's not the same for everyone but we should just let people have their fun. Many people enjoy the whole hype and queing experience, for some its a day out with like minded people and an awful lot of friendships are made on those days as people meet in the queues. They feel part fo a world wide event and that makes them happy. If I had the time and could be guaranteed the product I wanted, I would propbably go down myself to be a part of the experience. However, I know I wont get there early enough and don't want to come home disappointed, so online ordering is the order fo the day for me.