Really? Are you serious? I was so sure that this was a publicity stunt for Apple--some kind of gorilla marketing campaign--that I
went down to the Apple store in DC to check it out for myself. To my dismay, there was indeed a line of about 300 - 400 people. I was blown away in disbelief. Then I came across this article on fool.com and laughed aloud when I read that some guy apparently sold his spot in line for $500 and then bought another spot in line for $200. I was definitely not clever enough to make money on the insanity, but if I had somehow been able to sell my spot in line for almost twice the cost of the damn widget I was only hoping to buy, there is no way I'd pay to get back in line.
What is most crazy to me though is not even the fact that all of this is taking place in the middle of the longest and deepest recession since the great depression, but rather that this is the fourth Iphone that apple has come out with in less than 3 years. No, really... I checked! The first Iphone was released June 28, 2007, so it isn't as if this is a completely new concept. What do these people think this phone can do that is sooo advanced from the third one that they are willing to camp out? What is the draw? Is it really just a keep up with the Jones' kind of thing?
At the very least, it is a clear demarcation between the haves and have-nots. I cannot imagine buying 4 phones in 3 years. Then again, I just upgraded my phone this past week for the first time since the original Iphone came out--and that is only because it was a free upgrade!
