Houston/Galveston Area

[bls8195]

How many people are going to get the new 3G iphone from the Houston/Galveston area?

I currently have an iphone but I think I am going to get the new one.

[iconone]

How many people are going to get the new 3G iphone from the Houston/Galveston area?

I currently have an iphone but I think I am going to get the new one.

Im in clear lake in between g town and h town and im getting one but dont know if im going to wait till monday. Just so i dont have to wait in line and to read some reviews.

[bls8195]

Thats true thats a good idea. Will they be getting more in on Monday ya think?

[iconone]

Thats true thats a good idea. Will they be getting more in on Monday ya think?

I dont think they will ever sell out its just the lines i dont want to deal with.

Side note is your name bls8195 for the black lable society? If so i think i talked to you on craigs list.

[bls8195]

Yeah I agree with you as well. I actually just called AT&T and they said I cannot get it unless I pay full retail or add a new line, b/c I just got my current iphones a few months ago.

No BLS is my initials, but I am on Craigslist alot.

[bls8195]

Ok nevermind the rep came back on the line and said since I already have an iphone even though I got it in April, I can upgrade for the current price, b/c I already have an iphone.

[wakeupluis]

I am in the Seabrook area. I will probably buy one but not anytime soon. I will wait a month or two see what happens. Mine does what I need it to do now. The 3g would be nice. I do a lot of net surfing when I am bored at different places.

[iAttorney]

I live in Houston (near donwtown) and I will be leaving my house around 4:30 to go an apple store. I know it sounds early, but I missed out on iDay last year and I want to be among the first to get it this year. Plus, I got a day off of work so I might as well take advantage of it!!

Has anyone heard if many people from Houston are planning on showing up early??

[wakeupluis]

You may want to camp out the night before. Just go after work and take a sleeping bag. Its supposed to rain so go to Academy and get you a can of Camp Dry and spray all your stuff including your cloths. haha..

Just messing.. good luck with that. I dont care to be the first to have one. I will wait until everything chills out. Plus I am poor so I have to wait until I have extra money. Good luck though.

[|3are]

I've lived in Houston for 18 years and I have no idea where Seabrook is o.O

I really don't think the lines will be that bad, though I'm sure they'll be much worse at Apple stores than AT&T stores.

iAttorney, I'm sure you're planning to go to the Apple store in The Galleria? That place is going to be PACKED, in my opinion. If I decide to go to an Apple store rather than an AT&T store, I'll go to the Apple store in Memorial City Mall -- I live about equally far from the one at Memorial and the one in The Galleria. I still might do a little more inspecting of the AT&T stores nearby to see if any of them give me any hope of having an enjoyable experience there. If not, I might be forced to go to an Apple store.

[iconone]

I've lived in Houston for 18 years and I have no idea where Seabrook is o.O

I really don't think the lines will be that bad, though I'm sure they'll be much worse at Apple stores than AT&T stores.

iAttorney, I'm sure you're planning to go to the Apple store in The Galleria? That place is going to be PACKED, in my opinion. If I decide to go to an Apple store rather than an AT&T store, I'll go to the Apple store in Memorial City Mall -- I live about equally far from the one at Memorial and the one in The Galleria. I still might do a little more inspecting of the AT&T stores nearby to see if any of them give me any hope of having an enjoyable experience there. If not, I might be forced to go to an Apple store.

Yeah dont go to The Galleria go to a low key at&t store

[iAttorney]

I've lived in Houston for 18 years and I have no idea where Seabrook is o.O

I really don't think the lines will be that bad, though I'm sure they'll be much worse at Apple stores than AT&T stores.

iAttorney, I'm sure you're planning to go to the Apple store in The Galleria? That place is going to be PACKED, in my opinion. If I decide to go to an Apple store rather than an AT&T store, I'll go to the Apple store in Memorial City Mall -- I live about equally far from the one at Memorial and the one in The Galleria. I still might do a little more inspecting of the AT&T stores nearby to see if any of them give me any hope of having an enjoyable experience there. If not, I might be forced to go to an Apple store.

I am actually planning on going to Memorial City Mall as well. Maybe I will see you in line?! The Galleria is out of the question. There is no way I am going there.

[Ezekiel2517]

How many people are going to get the new 3G iphone from the Houston/Galveston area?

I currently have an iphone but I think I am going to get the new one.

i live in Galveston, and im definitely planning on getting the 3G, just not right away though.. i kinda want to wait it out and see what other people think first.

[streborhcaz]

I'm from the League City area but live in College Station currently. I am going to try to pick one up on Friday in College Station & if for some reason I can't get one here I am heading home Friday anyways so I might try some stores on my way home. I went by the AT&T store yesterday and asked if they are expecting a big turn out on Friday and the rep said yes, because he thinks this iPhone is more popular than the first one. I don't know how this phone is more popular than the 1st iPhone, but I think the stores are expecting large turn outs.

[richardman84]

before i read this thread, i was planning on going to the galleria...but this thread is a bit dissuading. why does everyone think the galleria will be packed? it really seems like the hype isn't nearly as big this year as it was last year, especially in houston, and lots of people have to work. i cant find any other message boards about people who plan to camp out in this area either. does anyone have any real reason to think the galleria is a bad place to go?

[c_jack_70]

before i read this thread, i was planning on going to the galleria...but this thread is a bit dissuading. why does everyone think the galleria will be packed? it really seems like the hype isn't nearly as big this year as it was last year, especially in houston, and lots of people have to work. i cant find any other message boards about people who plan to camp out in this area either. does anyone have any real reason to think the galleria is a bad place to go?

I wouldn't go to there Galleria for normal shopping! As far as for the iPhone 3G on Friday, I think your better off going to a smaller out of the way ATT. Even a different mall because the Galleria has a lot of people with $$.

IMHO

[sonicwind]

My friend said he went into the Galleria at lunch last year on iDay, waited in line for 30 minutes and got one. Things are going to be slower this year because of the activation. I have no idea what the crowds will be like in terms of people wanting to purchase. Will it be more than last year because of 3G and the lower up-front cost? Or will it be less since the iPhone is a year old? I'd really just like to order one online. I'd be happy to pay the full retail price and then get a rebate after activation. That would achieve the same results without having to fall back on stone age technologies like having to interact with other humans in person.

[richardman84]

How did your friend get an iphone at lunch last year? it didnt go on sale until 6 pm. he must have had a pretty late lunch!

won't the apple store have lots more in stock? and if they will be serving 30 people at a time (according to the latest reports), it seems to me that the line may be longer but move faster. and apple employees are generally more efficient than ATT employees in my experience.

last year, i waited at an ATT store (the one off of Wesleyan and highway 59), which was a really big store, and we were only served 10 at a time. Also, my sales rep didn't know how to ring it up right and it took about 20 minutes for me to get mine.

i'm just throwing all this stuff out here to spark a little discussion b/c i have to go to work after i get the phone and im really interested in being as little late as possible. i know lots of people are planning on ATT, but if everyone plans on ATT under the belief that it will be less crowded, ATT stores will end up being too crowded and might run out of stock. also, business people have to go to ATT, so that might make their lines a bit longer.

is ATT still the general consensus (with the rare exceptions from iAttorney and a couple others)?

[sonicwind]

How did your friend get an iphone at lunch last year? it didnt go on sale until 6 pm. he must have had a pretty late lunch!

That's right. I'll ask him. Maybe he went after work. At the time we worked across the street from the Galleria.

[iconone]

If any of yall go to the Galleria let me know how long it takes to get one. If you dont camp out i bet you wont get at the galleria. Its prob one of the biggest malls in texas.

[sonicwind]

I'm probably going to stop by there at 8. If it's crowded, I will leave and come back at 11. If it's still crowded I guess I'll try to go back around 4. And then I'll go buy a Sprint Instink.

[streborhcaz]

Instead of going by the Galleria store, just call them before you head there so you don't waste a trip.

[iconone]

Instead of going by the Galleria store, just call them before you head there so you don't waste a trip.

Or go to a small at&t that sells them.

[sonicwind]

Or go to a small at&t that sells them.

So if I go to the big Apple store with 30 dedicated salespeople and 10 times the quantity of iPhones, then I should call, but if I got to an AT&T store just go, don't call? I think calling is a good idea. My money is on shorter wait at the Apple store, though.

[richardman84]

so my plan right now is to set my sights on the apple store in the galleria at around 6:45 in the morning but look at the ATT stores that i pass as i drive up there. i will pass the ATT store on kirby in the rice village area and the one on wesleyan and 59. if either of those have small lines, i'll just stop and pull over there. if they all have long lines, i wont be losing much b/c i expect the galleria to have tons of stock and be faster with long lines. what does everyone else think about this plan? am i insane for leaving so late?

[iconone]

So if I go to the big Apple store with 30 dedicated salespeople and 10 times the quantity of iPhones, then I should call, but if I got to an AT&T store just go, don't call? I think calling is a good idea. My money is on shorter wait at the Apple store, though.

Ok call both but Houston has more at&t stores than apple stores a lot more. I have like 6 or 7 at&ts within 5 miles of me and one apple store in baybrook.

[sonicwind]

If an Apple store has 30 salespeople dedicated to iPhone sales and the average time to process a sale is 5 minutes an Apple store can process 360 phones per hour. Or 180 if the average sale is 10 minutes. If an AT&T store has 5 salespeople and takes 15 minutes for each sale then 1 store can process 30 sales per hour. An AT&T salesperson has to try and upsell you services. I'm just wildly speculating here. I've never gotten out of an AT&T store in under 15 minutes. I could take the Apple store just as long, though. But even so, with 30 at a time it could service the equivalent of 6 AT&T stores each with 5 salespeople dedicated to new iPhone sales. But please, please, everyone go to AT&T. That's the place for you to go. Yes it is.

[|3are]

I am actually planning on going to Memorial City Mall as well. Maybe I will see you in line?! The Galleria is out of the question. There is no way I am going there.
I just said that because it's by far the closest Apple store to "downtown."

I could probably be persuaded to go to the Apple store in Memorial City Mall, especially considering how disorganized the AT&T people were when I went into the store on Monday. Heck, my experience wasn't even as bad as some of the others I've heard about regarding the iPhone -- someone at AT&T saying that the "opening at 8 AM" thing was "just a rumor"? LOL. That's worse than them telling me that they weren't doing credit checks in advance for the July 11th release when AT&T made an official press release telling you that you should go in before July 11th to do the credit check.

[iAttorney]

I would say this: if you currently have an iPhone (and I mean you have it in your hands right this second, since Gizmodo just posted a story about people who sold their phones not being eligible for the $199 price point (story posted in another post hereon EIC as well)), you are a brand new customer to ATT, or you went and had your eligibility/credit checked prior to Friday go to an Apple store. There is not a whole lot that Apple could do to screw up your account and there are not a ton of complications that could arise in these instances.

For all others, I would say go to an ATT store where they can provide better plan assistance. I would hate to have a problem after waiting in line for 6 hours at an Apple store, only to be told to go to an ATT store.

The only reason I said avoid the Galleria is because that place tends to be crowded all the time. Also, there has been a line at quite a few Apple product release other than iPhone. The line for Leopard was pretty long and I am sure 3g will be no different. I doubt that it is going to be as crazy as last year, but the Galleria may attract more students (no school right now) and people who work/live in the area (which could mean they have money to burn on a new iPhone).

I called the security at the Galleria to ask what time they open their doors, and they thought I was the Apple store manager (for the record I never told them that I worked for the store, so I do not know why they thought that). The head officer asked to speak with me about the opening procedure for Friday, and when I told him I was just a customer, he was not very helpful. The point of this story is that the security is still in the dark about Friday, so Apple has not made a big deal about it. Which could mean they are not expecting hugh crowds.

Honestly though, I have no idea. All I know is that waiting for this phone has consumed my life. I don't think it is healthy. My fiance is coming to camp with me (she is amazing), so she will keep me from going skitzo in line. All the best to everyone on Friday!

[sonicwind]

How did your friend get an iphone at lunch last year? it didnt go on sale until 6 pm. he must have had a pretty late lunch!

OK, this is what happened last year. My friend showed up at the Galleria Apple store at 5:45PM on iDay. He was 272nd in line. He left the store with his new iPhone at around 6:45. I don't know how many salespeople were on site, but of course the purchase procedure was much faster since there was no activation, only basically charging the credit card. He said there was some "fumbling around" during the purchase. Not sure what that meant.

[bls8195]

Does anyone know how much the new data plan is going to cost with the 3G phone? I called AT&T and they told me with 200 texted, it was 45.00 and with 1500 text it is $55 for the datas plans vs what I am paying now $20 and $30 as I have 2 iphones. thats crazy, thats a $25 per month increase for just 1 phone.

[bls8195]

I am still unsure if I am going to upgrade, but I will tell you this, I will not be out at any store the night before or ealry am hours. LOL I am thinking 7am and you know what if I get one I get one and if I don't I will not be heartbroken.

[kevlar08]

Ok nevermind the rep came back on the line and said since I already have an iphone even though I got it in April, I can upgrade for the current price, b/c I already have an iphone.

did the rep say anything about proving you still have your phone?

[iTrey.Bates]

i stay in houston and im jus gonna go to an at&t store in tha boonies...its pretty low key so if i go a couple hours before opening i will most likely be first in line haha:wink:

[bls8195]

i stay in houston and im jus gonna go to an at&t store in tha boonies...its pretty low key so if i go a couple hours before opening i will most likely be first in line haha:wink:

Which store is that?
LOL


I live out in Clear Lake, so I only have the 1 in Clear Lake and one is Pasadena

[|3are]

Honestly though, I have no idea. All I know is that waiting for this phone has consumed my life. I don't think it is healthy. My fiance is coming to camp with me (she is amazing), so she will keep me from going skitzo in line. All the best to everyone on Friday!
Hahaha my girlfriend would say that it's consumed my soul, too! She thinks it's bizarre that I've had so much to say about the iPhone on these forums o.O Needless to say, she will not be waiting in line with me. She just got a new phone with Verizon a few months ago, so she can't switch anytime soon. Although she is talking about taking the day off on Friday, so maybe I can talk her into coming with me :D

[|3are]

Any lines out there yet? o.O

[iconone]

Which store is that?
LOL


I live out in Clear Lake, so I only have the 1 in Clear Lake and one is Pasadena

Im in clear lake as well i we have more than 1

[richardman84]

will the galleria be closing at all tonight? if so, what is the earliest time we can get there and line up? are people gonna be outside the galleria waiting for the doors to open and have a massive free for all race to the apple store? b/c if that's the case, i'm pumped...i might just bring my medieval mace...

[bls8195]

Im in clear lake as well i we have more than 1

What other one do we have beside the AT&T store, on Bay area, and the Apple Store in the mall?

[iconone]

What other one do we have beside the AT&T store, on Bay area, and the Apple Store in the mall?

I know one is on el camino real and nasa rd 1

[bls8195]

I never saw it on the AT&T website, but your right I remember it's new correct?

[iconone]

I never saw it on the AT&T website, but your right I remember it's new correct?

I think so i know they have more

http://www.wireless.att.com/find-a-store/

[bls8195]

I wonder if the one out in Galveston will be busy

[|3are]

will the galleria be closing at all tonight? if so, what is the earliest time we can get there and line up? are people gonna be outside the galleria waiting for the doors to open and have a massive free for all race to the apple store? b/c if that's the case, i'm pumped...i might just bring my medieval mace...
R O F L

I'm pretty sure the Galleria will open at 6 AM tomorrow, if it closes at all. Although, you may be right that they might keep it open all night in preparation for tomorrow morning. If they open the doors at 6 AM, I have no idea how they'll moderate the line -- it may very well just be a free-for-all. Man, how fun would that be? I'd knock some b*tches down!

[bls8195]

lol now thats some funny you know what

[bls8195]

I am still not sure what store I am going to try, I am guessing the one in Clear Lake as its near the mall, so if I changed my mind and wanted to go to the Apple Store its right there.

[sonicwind]

Not all AT&T stores have the iPhone. I don't know really how you tell the difference but the one on San Felipe and Post Oak said they didn't sell the iPhone when I went to buy my first one.

[bls8195]

you can search on at&t for stores that carry the iphone

[iconone]

http://www.wireless.att.com/find-a-store/ (http://www.wireless.att.com/find-a-store/)

[richardman84]

has anyone spotted any lines anywhere yet?

[|3are]

I haven't left my office since 9 AM so I couldn't say about lines.

Does anyone know when the Apple store inside Memorial City Mall is going to open tomorrow? I've heard some stores inside malls say they haven't made any arrangements to open before the malls themselves open. As I keep deciding to get in line earlier and earlier in the morning, it's also making me think I might as well go to an Apple store as long as it's going to be open at 8 AM.

[bls8195]

I might drive by a store later tonight, to check it out, but I don't see mysefl waiting outside, and sleeping, etc.

[bls8195]

I think I will be getting up at 3am and heading out to check the lines, if not too bad I will sleep some more in my car, and wait.

[iconone]

Just talked to apple at baybrook and doors open at 8am. Its a free for all!! Get your runing shoes on and your beating sticks out it every man for him self.

[sirpumpkin]

Just got back from the Galleria. No one was in line. The employees there said they were not allowed in the back to look at the stock. He did say however that he expected a fair amount. He did not think anyone would camp out and if they did might run into trouble with security. Anyone can access the mall as it is connected to the Westin Hotel.

I'm thinking that alot of people who own the original iphone will not want to wake up early and deal with the stress of the crowds and waiting in line. One good thing about the apple store is they can input all the information into there portable kiosk so checkout might be faster as they have more employees.

I'm thinking I'll stroll in around 7:00... take a peak... if there are under 200 people then stay in line... otherwise head to work (5 minutes away).

[bls8195]

Ok maybe I won't head out so early, I am still not sure.

[|3are]

Just got back from the Galleria. No one was in line.
Wow, seriously? I called Memorial City Mall at like 6:30 PM and they said that a line was already forming. They are opening the door to the mall at 5:30 AM, but there should already be a very sizable line at that point.

I don't know what to do, other than just drive around late tonight and figure out what to do.

[bls8195]

I guess I will stick to my 3am wake up and go from there.

[sonicwind]

I hadn't realized mental illness was contagious, and transmittable by forum. At any rate I just drove by the Fondren and Chimney Rock AT&T stores. No lines. I think I'm going to try to show up at Fondren sometime after 7:30. If someone else is in the area and wants to hit up Chimney Rock we could communicate as to the shorter line if there is any. I'm really OK with waiting until the afternoon or even Saturday at the Mac store, which surely will not run out completely, but I'm a little concerned that the 16GB Black models will run out quickly. Anything else would be unacceptable to me. So PM me if you want to exchange numbers for this.

[bls8195]

I am not sure about the Apple store in the mall, or I should say outside the mall currently, but there is a small line at the AT&T store in webster, about 5 people from what I could tell, I came back home to get snacks, and movies, etc and I will head back out probaly around 1am

[|3are]

3:45 AM, I'm about to make my initial rounds to find the shortest line. GL HF, all!

[sirpumpkin]

At the apple store in the galleria in line. About 50 or so.

[sonicwind]

at&t r sold out at fondren and chimney rock. I'm about 200 in line at galleria.

Edit: 184th actually and the line is not moving too fast.

Edit: I decided to leave at 9:15. I would have expected to be in line another 2 hours. The required activation really slowed things down. That's so retarded it's making have second thoughts about using Apple products. I got a free Smart Water out of the deal though, so it was all worth it.

[streborhcaz]

For anyone in line or that bought the 3G in and around Houston post your experience. And if the store still has more, etc.

[bls8195]

I went to the AT&T store in Webster, and was number 8, and got my 16 gb white iphone, they said they had about 100 in stock, and there was about 125 or so people in line

[sonicwind]

I called the SugarLand Apple store at 11 and they said the line wait was 1 hour. I went back to Galleria first at 11:30 and the line there was at 3 hours+. So I drove to SugarLand and the line was 3+ hours an hour of which was routed outside and in the sun. My guess is there will be lines all day as people trickle in. They can't really do the transactions fast enough to actually sell out. I've decided I don't really want one that bad. I'll get one later.

[piyf420]

AT&T store on Bay Area across from the mall is sold out. But they will have more Saturday 10:00am.

[tgwinn]

I went to the store on HWY 6 in missouri city...got in line at 6am this morning and was out and on my way with my 8gig by 9:45 am...they said they only had about 8 or 10 more phones left then and would be sold out by 10am...but they sent me home without activating it because of the problems..i still am trying to get it working.. :( but at least i got one. :D

[iAttorney]

I was at the Sugarland First Colony mall Apple store today. I got there a little before 5:00 am and was 7th in line. By the time 8:00 rolled around I would say there was going on 100 people in line. I got in the store at around 8:30, and was set up with the purchase/contract side with absolutely no problems (thanks Bill, the Apple specialist who helped me!!).

I go to the genius, plug 'er in, and around 30 minutes later, the manager comes out and tells us the system is down, and we can activate from home. So I pack up my stuff and proudly walked out as the FIRST person from that store to take home a 3g. On the way out, there looked to be at least 150+ people in line, half of whom security made wait outside. It looked really bad.
Sadly, I have still been unable to activate and am stuck with a shiny new piece of nothing.

My advice to the rest of you is to go to an Apple store only. AT&T are sold out (or will be shortly). You can bet that some people will not wait in a line all day because of server outages, and the crowd may thin. If you can leave work early, it may be best to get there around lunch. I fear the after work crowd is going to be just as bad.

As far as stock, the Apple employees seemed to have no worries. One guy even told a peon to go outside and tell people that even though they would be waiting for a long time, no one would walk away empty handed. Encouraging for some I guess.....

[sonicwind]

I'm asking myself why would I or anyone else put themselves through this just to have a product a few days ahead of other people. And the only answer I can come up with is some sort of mental aberration is causing a distorted view of value in the patient. I recommend heavy medication and seclusion from society.