Newton Poetry

Booya.

At 12:25 this afternoon, I successfully purchased a white, 16 GB iPhone 3G from the Ann Arbor Apple store at the Briarwood Mall.

It’s official. The whole process took about 15 minutes. My “Specialist” said the networks were still being goofy, but I could take my iPhone home and activate it there “in a few hours.”

“AT&T has been fun to deal with today,” he said with a sly smile.

While I’m disappointed I can’t hop on the phone and start playing around, it’s almost better this way. At home, I can take my time and really absorb the thing.

Looking outside the store, the line is still incredibly long – and growing. Before, the line didn’t extend far beyond where I stood. But now the whole mall is full of people in line. It’s madness. Workers on their lunch break, hoping to whip into the store and make their purchase, may lose their job if they’re not careful.

The Apple rep outside the store gave me a “no comment” when I asked how supplies were holding up. My own specialist told me they had just a few of the white models left, so perhaps I lucked out. Whatever. After looking at their store model, I’m sure I made the right choice.

So now it’s past my lunch time, and after all the coffee and water I’ve had there are important matters to deal with. Then I hit the road back home, get everything set up, and life begins again. But this whole thing has been incredible. The people in line were amazing company, the Apple staff were courteous and helpful (if vague with their information), and the in-store setup couldn’t have been easier.

Over and out, for good, from Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor.

Almost noon now. Finally made it inside the store, but was getting nervous there for a while. More nervous for Apple employees than anything else (see above).

People keep coming into the front of the store expecting to just “shop.” One can’t feel sorry for these folks; who DOESN’T know iPhone 3G day is today? One lady came up to replace a printer, though, and they let her in and out – with a new box. They probably just wanted to get her out as soon as possible.

The line wait has been a boon in one way: people can read the labyrinthine AT&T disclosures on the brochure they’re handing out. Ann Arbor is a liberal town, and it’s hard to make sense of anything AT&T explains. How can one company, besides Microsoft, be so evil?

One two people in front of me. The lady behind me’s cut-off time was 2:30 p.m. “You’re halfway there,” I told her. California is just now coming on line. Will things get worse?

An Apple rep came out and said the servers are up, but it’s been “up and down” – he said this while giving the roller coaster motion with his hand.

Seems with MobileMe problems and now this, Apple has its hands full.

The line is moving, but super slowly. We haven’t moved in probably 10-15 minutes, but people are walking out of the store with phones again.

The nice lady next to me is off to grab a cookie. Meanwhile, my iBook’s battery is just about out, so more updates when I get into the store and can access an iMac.

This last hour or so has been pretty slow. We were moving at a steady pace at first, but not so much now.

Got a call from my buddy Keith, who almost made it with me today. He stopped at the Toledo, OH AT&T store but said “at least 200 people were in line.” Instead, he headed to Bowling Green and got the last phone at their AT&T store.

“But it works,” he said. “I’m talking to you on my new iPhone.”

Right-o. Here in Michigan, we still have a wait. Luckily the lady next to me let me move out of line to take some video, which I’ll be posting later. I took some shots of the poor schmucks at the T-Mobile stand right next to the Apple Store entrance. Why even show up today?

Serious doubts about supply are starting to make us nervous. Keith said they only had 8 GB models at Bowling Green. Will there be a white iPhone for me?

Arrived just before 8 a.m. this morning. Walked into the mall (it opens at 5 a.m. for walkers, I found out) to the sound of clapping and cheering. The festivities had begun.

The Apple employees were outside the store, pumping up the crowd, and handing out coffee and water to anxious waiters. I followed the line past Rogers & Hollands and down to JC Penny, where the familiar sculpture stood, and took my place at the end of the line next to a guy in a Joker/”Dark Knight” shirt.

“I hope they don’t run out,” he said. “I drove past the AT&T store and they had, like, five people in line.”

One lady walking the mall, her iPod mini in hand, asked us why we were all waiting in line.

“You know they’re going to have some tomorrow, right?” she said. One guy told her to go away; she was ruining our fun.

Later a security guard on a Segway rolled past, and an Apple staffer came out and asked if anyone had any questions. They have coffee and water stations set up at strategic points along the waiting line – a nice touch, I thought.

Applause echoed through Briarwood as the first customer in line got in the store. A second round of clapping followed after the transaction took place. All together, it took about 10 or 15 minutes, which is what we expected.

“I’m leaving for vacation next week,” the lady behind me said. “I have to get one before I take off. I hope they don’t run out.”

This fit the general feel of the crowd. One guy didn’t expect this kind of line, but I told him it could be worse: last year, when this Briarwood store opened, the line snaked across the entire mall. All that for just a t-shirt.

Incredibly, Briarwood charges for a wifi connection. There were several WEP connections in the area, and the one free wifi connection wasn’t loading. And I’m not about to pay for wifi – not at some mall. Finally some linksys connection opened up. Hence this post.

One thing I forgot to do was transfer money into my account to actually make this purchase. What a fool I was. Luckily I’m on the grid now, so a quick trip to online banking and I’ll be good to go.

What kind of iPhone will I be getting. Despite all the controversy, I like the white one. I matches my iBook and my iPod 30 GB video, and there’s something about the white look that says “Apple.”

This is report number one from the front lines. Hopefully I’ll post again as I get closer (maybe even in the Apple store, on some super-powered Mac Pro).

Over and out from Ann Arbor.

[UPDATE: read my total coverage here.]

Today’s the big day, and this morning I’m heading to Ann Arbor to scope out the scene, hopefully do some live blogging, and grab an iPhone 3G while I’m there.

You can help but wonder what other phone companies think when they see lines like the ones that form for Apple. I imagine some nervous, nail-biting CEO stands up in his meeting and screams, “Why do I pay you people? Why isn’t our demand like that? What are those…those…hippies doing that we can’t do?” It’s easy to feel sorry for them. What else besides rock concerts (before Ticketmaster started taking their brick-and-mortar outlets away) and Black Friday inspires people to get up at the crack of dawn for a phone?

My preparations actually began last night, when I made a list of items needed in case of a long line:

• camera, with USB connector
• iBook and power adapter
• notepad, for documentation
• My current wireless cellphone bill (I’m not an AT&T customer)
• A full iPod
• A book to read
• Snacks and a drink

No Newton, however. One less thing to lug.

The tricky part was wondering whether there would even be a line this morning. Our Ann Arbor Apple Store at Briarwood Mall opened after the iPhone came out, so us Michiganders had to drive to Grand Rapids or Novi to see the spectacle.

The MacRumors forum had a few bees buzzing about being in line, but my search yielded no firm clues. It was a sure-fire risk, and I had to come prepared.

To get a firm date on the time the phone would be available, I called the Briarwood Apple Store, who lists the opening hour as 10 a.m. (probably when the mall itself opens). My call, however, yielded no concrete answers. The message lady said the store was opening at 8 a.m. So would the mall open early? Would just the Apple Store open early? Or would us schmoes have to wait until 10 a.m., at which point our bladders would explode from all the coffee.

Who’s in charge here?

Either way, I planned on leaving my place at about 6:30 or 7 a.m. and drive the 40 minutes to Ann Arbor and see what happens. What could I lose? A spot in line? The human body can only endure so much.

Other questions that plagued me: should I bring a chair? What would happen if some line-stander got sick? Would he or she give up his or her place in line? Would there be wifi available? How about power outlets in case my iBook gets a case of hypoglycemia? What about my own hypoglycemia?

Enough’s enough, I told myself. Watch me just walk up to the mall, open the door, and walk right into the Apple Store at 8 a.m., complete my transaction, and walk out – all within 20 minutes.

If I had done this last year, my mind would have known what to expect. Planning would have been easier. But I chose to wait.

But the wait is over. A quick breakfast, get cleaned up, and off I go. The weather looks decent. It’s going to be a great day.

Check back for updates as the morning goes on!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBu3N8_U4WE]

I have a feeling I’ll have this song in my head all day tomorrow.

It’ll be so worth it. I’m taking the iBook, just in case I can get a connection, and will post updates if there’s a super-big line. If you’ll be in line, let me know – we can iChat with News from the Front Lines.