[from today's MetroKnow entry]
So how are you getting your iPhone today? Waiting in line at the Apple store for that golden 6PM to roll around?
I was speaking to a friend of mine up in Seattle about her opinion of the iPhone - whether or not she was going to buy one, what her thoughts were as a designer, and so forth, and she told me about a little plot that was hatched by a friend of hers to get an iPhone....without the camp out. Nothing particularly new or sinister (its the old, "I gotta' hookup at the [insert plot element here]" ploy), but I thought it was mildly entertaining nonetheless.
Here's part 1.
Thursday, a friend of hers, R., calls her up.
"Hey C. -- what are you doing right now?"
C: "Uh, working? And I'm guessing you are not?"
R: "What? Oh yeah - hey, so are you going to get an iPhone?"
C: "I think so. Looks interesting."
R: "Well how are you getting one? Because I've got a guy who can hook us up. Works at the AT&T store. No waiting, if you're up for it."
C: "Uh, sure. What do I need to do?"
R: Just call this number - not the store - this is his cel phone. And just know you might have to grease the skids a bit."
C: "K. Is it legit?"
R: "Yeah yeah no worries. L. and I are heading over tomorrow afternoon to pick ours up. Call him."
C: "Cool. thanks. Get back to work, slacker."
C. calls the number.
[background store noise]
AT&T Guy: "Hello? Yeah - I just ran it. Hello?"
C. "Uh, I'm calling about the iPhone thing? I'm a friend of R.'s."
Guy: "Oh - hang on. [To someone at the store] Hey. I've got this call - I'm outside."
[A door opens, and the sound of a busy street in the background]
Guy: "So you're interested in a phone?"
C: "Uh yeah...an...iPhone?"
Guy: "How committed are you?"
C: "Committed?"
Guy: "Yeah, Are you just interested, or, ya know, Committed?"
C [rolling eyes]: "I'm definitely committed."
Guy: "OK, so hang on. OK, what is your credit card number?"
C: "Is this for real? I mean, am I going to get this phone?"
Guy: "Yeah yeah yeah - you'll get it. No problem. I just need a credit card to run when we get the stock."
C: "I'm not going to see any random charges on my card, right?"
Guy: "No no no - its all cool. I'm not into that, plus you know where I work, so its cool."
C: "OK. The card is a Visa..." [gives him the card info]
Guy: "Can I get your PIN too?"
C: "I'm not giving you my PIN -- "
Guy: "Well, I can't force you to give me your PIN, I'm just saying it might not work without it."
C: "Well, try it. If it doesn't work call me back."
Guy: "OK, well I'll try it without it. I'll have it for you tomorrow. But don't come during store hours! Meet me behind the store at 8. Come alone. Gotta go."
[call is ended.]
C, to herself, with a slight sense of nausea, "Yeah Right. By myself, behind the AT&T store."
This morning, C. gets up and immediately checks her bank accounts. Nothing fishy. so far.
As she's leaving her building to go to work this morning, a guy sharing the elevator she's in strikes up an iPhone conversation with her.
[In a small elevator]
Elevator guy, out of the blue: "Hey, happy iPhone day. Are you going to get one?"
C: "Yep, I think so."
Elevator guy: "How long do you think you'll have to wait in line?"
C: "I actually have a hook up, so no wait."
Elevator guy: "A hook up? You know that everyone can only buy one, right?"
C: "My connection is a guy at an AT&T store, so its not a problem."
Elevator guy: "Oh man! [pause, thinking] What do you have to do to get it? Are you gonna make out with him to get a phone???"
C: "Uh, he'll be duly compensated."
Elevator guy: "You ARE?"
C [as the doors open]: "I said, duly compensated. Have a good day."
Elevator guy [with the doors closing]: "Yeah, you too! Have a good night!"
So, she is going with her two other friends, the ones who set it up, at 6, without the Barry White soundtrack. Stay tuned.
Great post...but I honestly think it is really sad that people's lives suck so badly that they find camping out at AT&T for a stupid little phone that doesn't have a keyboard to be the pinnacle of their 2007.
Don't people have better things to do with their time and money?
I mean...geez. Take that $600 and donate it to a charity or something. It is JUST A PHONE.
Just a phone?! Okay, you're right, it is. But I also see it as a very exciting, though very expensive, technological development. Today it's "just a phone," but tomorrow, it could be as indispensible to you as the "just a phone" cell phone most people carry around every day.
I won't be buying an iPhone anytime soon, but, boy, what it could mean for the future is truly ponderous!
Donna
Actually, as it turns out, it is much more than, "just a phone." I didn't really get it either, until I saw it in action.
For those of use who are tied to our computers for work reasons, social excuses, or otherwise, it actually appears to be a landmark achievement in usability and connecting the world wirelessly. If you've ever tried to use a palm device or a phone with a keyboard, they are generally really difficult to use, unreliable, slow, have poor battery life, and are bulky. The iPhone changes that - the Internet load speeds are fast, making it practical for things like email and maps on the road (If you've ever tried to check email on Windows CE device, you'll know why something needed to change for the better). Reliability has yet to be proven, but by limiting the applications it supports, that should help reliability-wise. And it is much easier to send text messages using the virtual keyboard than any existing phone, including those with keyboards. In fact, they feel less like awkward text messages and more like Instant Messenger messages, which is quite a difference if you're familiar with it. Couple that with the two fingered-spreading thing that it does to zoom in and out, and so forth, and the thing really is a couple of steps ahead of anything out there (blackberry, palm, etc.).
In my friend's opinion, she says that most things like Palm devices were aimed at business users who were willing to put up with the clunkiness because they were desperate for a solution - even if it was a bad one. She says that this thing feels like it was designed for everyone, and it happens to do a better job, quicker and easier, than any business-oriented device to date. She says it feels a lot like the iPod felt as far as changing the way users expect to use portable devices, for the better.
Anyways, I am still waiting for the 2.0 version and eventual price adjustment, but until then, I'm still impressed.
The Onion parodies iPhone features. My favorite:
"When moved from hand to ear, makes Lightsaber sound effects"
