Although Phoenix is now the 5th largest city in the United States, the iPhone launch event was a bit of a dud. ZuneScene showed up at 5:55pm, just in time to see the launch. We were carefull not to reveal our true identity.
Upon arrival we found about 120 people in line, no idea how long they had been there.
Here's the sad part. There were a few local reporters there trying to get an interview with a proud new iPhone owner. As shoppers came out with 2 iPhones each, reporters asked them to see the phone. One after another they all said the same thing "I can't open it, I'm selling it on Ebay". After the first 25-30 came out of the building, all saying the same thing, it was obvious the reporters were getting frustrated. Phoenix can be hot in the summer, and the cameras get heavy.
Finally the reporters gave up and decided to change the story. They followed the shoppers around asking them why they were selling the iPhone on Ebay. As if they didn't know. We left to get a bite to eat and came back.
By the time we returned the Apple store was deserted, except for a few curious people like us. We were debating wether or not to enter such a place but the store manager came out on the grass and asked us to come look at the iPhone. It was 7:15 pm, we entered the unholy grounds.
Never whip out a Zune in an Apple store, especially on Jan 29th. People look at it like it's some kind of ticking bomb.
There were a dozen iPhones on display and only a few people checking them out so it was pretty easy to move from phone to phone, setting the homepage to zunescene. (Hey it's free advertising).
We took some cool Zune vs iPhone pictures, and played with the touchscreen.
Trying out the keyboard was frustrating, but hey, at least it has a keyboard.
We finally met some guys who actually wanted the iPhone to keep, not for ebay sales. And they didn't hesitate to be in a photo. Hopefully one day they will see themselves here, and know they represented the cult of iPhone with dignity. Not ebay greed.
Now apparantly we weren't the only ones causing trouble:
