Camping Out

[bulls6pack]

Sorry if this has been brought up before. When the previous iPhones went on sale, everywhere you turned you heard about people camping out at At&t Stores and Apple Stores in anticipation for the phone. Did anyone here partake in these festivities? Was it worth it? Make any friends, or have fun doing it? Call me crazy, but Im considering it this time around. Kind of sounds fun!

[seanwes]

I camped out for the 3G with a few friends that also wanted to get the new iPhone. it was mostly for the fun of it. I was 8th in a line that ended up being about 200. made some new friends, watched movies on our old iphones hooked up to battery power speakers. it was definitely an experience. practical? not really. would I do it again? probably lol

[impaler]

Sorry if this has been brought up before. When the previous iPhones went on sale, everywhere you turned you heard about people camping out at At&t Stores and Apple Stores in anticipation for the phone. Did anyone here partake in these festivities? Was it worth it? Make any friends, or have fun doing it? Call me crazy, but Im considering it this time around. Kind of sounds fun!

Nope. Waste of time. Ordered next day through AT&T via direct fulfillment. Got it in 7 days.

[psylichon]

I'm only 31, but I'm already hardened. Waste of my time. I'll wait it out until it's convenient to go pick one up... a day or two :)

[Napoleon_PhoneApart]

I'm only 31, but I'm already hardened. Waste of my time. I'll wait it out until it's convenient to go pick one up... a day or two :)

Until iDay actually arrives, right? :tounge:

[Youngbinks]

I "camped out" for both iPhone releases and was first in line for each. It was pretty cool. Just get a group of friends together you want to go with and the time passes quickly.

[styfle]

I barely even waited for the dark knight on opening night. I went like 30 minutes before (11:30) and didn't actually get into the midnight showing since it was sold out but they had the 12:10 showing still available. I can't really wait a full day for the new iphone.

[Europa]

I got in line at an AT&T store in Vegas two hours before they opened on 3G iDay. I was #30 in line. I was in line for a total of about 3 and a half hours. It was well worth it. I just wish they handed out 3G T-Shirts instead of water.

[adnurahs]

I did not camp out, didn't even consider it. We went on July 15th early in the morning and were like 20th in line and it was GREAT!! It was uneventful and we got our phones. Simple, easy. When we were leaving the line was down the street and around the corner. There was a guy who looked like Russel Brand ushering people in wearing an orange iphone shirt. (Of course that had nothing to do with anything. I just remembered that guy) We didn't have him going in.

[JWiPhone]

No way will I camp out for this new iPhone, no matter how badly I want it. One of my pet peeves is long lines. :) I will probably do most of the credit processing online and then show up a few weeks later and get the new iPhone at my local Apple Store.

[psylichon]

As much as I enjoy the Apple Store experience, I'll probably get mine at the AT&T store right down the street.

[dturner]

I'm sure the camping out thing can be as fun as you make it, but not for me. I got the V1 about 2 days after release. I swore up and down I wasn't getting the 3G, so it was about 2 months after release before I got that one.

[Europa]

As much as I enjoy the Apple Store experience, I'll probably get mine at the AT&T store right down the street.
Yep, me too. The lines are a lot shorter. I don't mind waiting in line for a few hours, but all night would suck.

[We Beat U]

My wife and I didn't wait in line for V1. We won't this time either. We'll probably wait and buy the new one about a week before they drop the price by $200....just like we did last time. :angry:

I'm still waiting to spend my gift certificate though

[reas0n]

i camped out for both V1 and 3G it was worth it both times i was the 2nd Person in line on iDay 1.0 and 5th in line on iDay 2.0 but ended up being the first person to get one cause nobody in front of me had credit cards lol i waited 9 hours the first time around and 6 hours the second time around and i think it was worth it ive met alot of cool people i still see from time to time and had ALOT of laughs it was a cool experience to say the least i'll definitely being doing it this time around just to be one of the first to have it you know... im one of those impatient people who would die if i had to wait 7 days for my phone to come in the mail lol:2cool:

[billnye97]

I was 6th in line for V1 and waited probably 8 hours in line. For the 3G I was 2nd in line and waited about 3 hours. I'll do the same for the new one whenever it comes out. Waiting for the original was much more exciting because people were much more pumped.

[iNinja]

Here in the UK, you can get one with no queue 2-3 days later, completely not worth the 10 hour queue in the cold! lol

[SikShift]

I went to my local AT&T store at 8 a.m. and was 13th in line on iDay 2.0, and walked out with iPhone 3G in hand an hour and 10 minutes later :laugh2:

[JWiPhone]

Remember that big fiasco last year though, when people waited in line for many hours and then couldn't activate their new iPhone 3G? I wonder how that will play out this year?

[Hawk]

I think it would scare the crap out of Apple if no one showed up on i-Day 3.0

[jptolife]

I camped out for both iPhones in the 5th ave store in Manhattan. Hundreds and hundreds of people around the block! It was so much fun and time passes quickly when you have someone to talk to. I would do it again and again!

[Napoleon_PhoneApart]

I camped out for both iPhones in the 5th ave store in Manhattan. Hundreds and hundreds of people around the block! It was so much fun and time passes quickly when you have someone to talk to. I would do it again and again!

Apple must love you!

[Bitewound]

For V1, i let all of YOU camp out and test them for 2 weeks and then i just walked in to the 5th Ave. store and bought one. For the 3G I walked by the 5th Ave. store and just laughed and went to Lex and 61st and had one in an hour.:laugh2:

[Phxblue]

I have never camped out for anything. However with the abundance of awesome rumors startin to trickle out, I have started to consider it for what seems to a beast in the making.

[Hawk]

As much as I am sure that the camping out experience is great, I also see it as pointless. I mean, you can wait a couple days longer and get one without the wait, or go to an at&t store and get pretty much hassel free.

[kevlar08]

As much as I am sure that the camping out experience is great, I also see it as pointless. I mean, you can wait a couple days longer and get one without the wait, or go to an at&t store and get pretty much hassel free.

if you wait a couple days longer your trading a few hours for a few days. Id rather camp out and have my new phone asap

[iHuman]

I camped out for both iPhones in the 5th ave store in Manhattan. Hundreds and hundreds of people around the block! It was so much fun and time passes quickly when you have someone to talk to. I would do it again and again!


I went to the 5th ave store @ 7:50 on original iDay, and it took me all of 3 minutes to walk in and buy one. This is after checking AT&T in Union Sq, and Times Sq (all sold out) I couldn't believe how fast I got through.
Probably do the same this time... no camping for me, unless it involves the woods

[Saiko]

For the first version, I camped outside for a full 24 hours and I was STILL 4th in line (though, it was a group of 3 people who got there right before I did). I got there at roughly 6 pm June 28th and made some friends and bummed around until 6 pm the 29th.

In fact, the guy behind me was an airborne ranger with a lot of interesting things to say. We became friends and ended up going to a movie together at around noon on the 29th, there's a theater about 3 minutes away from the apple store in my area - just had the nice group in front of us watch our spots. (I actually left my gear with them too, a bag which had a powerbook in it at the time... which was probably a stupid idea in hindsight :gasp: )

Media came and interviewed us.. All in all a good time. Damn tired afterwards though, must have been awake for about 30+ hours before the whole waiting game was done.

I didn't bother upgrading to the 3G, so this time around I might have to do it again!

[Europa]

I think it would scare the crap out of Apple if no one showed up on i-Day 3.0
Seriously, in what Universe or dimension is an occurrence like that even possible? iDay lines will always be a reality on my planet ;)

[|3are]

I camped out for iDay v2 for a few hours. I scoped out an AT&T store I thought would be more low-key, slept for a few hours the night before and got out to the store at about 4 AM. I was the first person in line and the first person in the Central time zone to walk out of a store with an iPhone 3G (though thousands of others can probably make the same claim).

As people came up to get in line, we would all chat about this or that. The time went by very quickly just getting to know the people around me.

It does seem that the impatient ones are actually the ones willing to wait in long lines. I would not have been able to get any work done that day knowing that there were people out there buying and getting to use their new iPhones.

The thing that made it most worthwhile for me was walking by AT&T and Apple stores in the weeks after the release. I went to the most high-profile Apple store in my area (in a large mall) the day after the release and flaunted my new iPhone as I walked by the hundreds of people in line. Any other time I saw an Apple or AT&T store in the next few weeks, they always had that sign out in the front of the store that said, "Sorry, we do not have any iPhone 3Gs today." I would take pictures of this sign with my iPhone 3G :D

Anyway, it was a great experience and I will most likely be doing the exact same thing when the next iPhone comes out.

Remember that big fiasco last year though, when people waited in line for many hours and then couldn't activate their new iPhone 3G? I wonder how that will play out this year?
As I recall, a lot of that was caused by the fact that software version 2.0 was released on the same day as the 3G iPhone. It seems like Apple is planning to release 3.0 to current iPhone users before the new iPhone goes on sale this year.

[psylichon]

I camped out for iDay v2 for a few hours. I scoped out an AT&T store I thought would be more low-key....

Anyway, it was a great experience and I will most likely be doing the exact same thing when the next iPhone comes out.

Ditto, minus the camping out.

Everyone around here still seems to be buying 3Gs as though there's nothing coming. I'm expecting not nearly the hype and backordering that we experienced with the 3G launch. I fully expect to mosey in to my local AT&T store and pick one up on iDay3 without any camping necessary.

I may be completely naive in this assumption, but we'll see...

[Bitewound]

I expect everyone to be camped out at the 3 Apple stores here in Manhattan - the AT&T stores -not so much - same as last year. I went to AT&T around 11 am and waited 40 minutes because they had only one salesman working with the 3G .

[amendolaro]

so gay dont do that

[styfle]

so gay dont do that
You are? What are you not doing? I'm lost

[Londonrockz568]

Dave you may have trouble getting one during iDay3 lol.

When the 3G's came out, alot of people got them on the first week of iDay. Hell, i decided to avoid the lines and "outa stock sorry" and waited for almost a month after it came out. I went to the Apple Store in Aventura and still had to wait in a line for around 45min to get a White one.

This is a major overhaul (white plastic to Aluminum proportions) not just a little few tweaks here and there. Demand for this thing is going to be insane.

I plan on getting to the Mall at around 6am... waiting for security to open the doors. Then im going to sprint to the store to wait for it to open. (hopefully ill get everyone/everything on video with Cycorder lol but im not sure if i should do that because ill be pissed if the store denies me in any way because my 3g is jailbroken).

[Europa]

I plan on getting to the Mall at around 6am... waiting for security to open the doors. Then im going to sprint to the store to wait for it to open. (hopefully ill get everyone/everything on video with Cycorder lol but im not sure if i should do that because ill be pissed if the store denies me in any way because my 3g is jailbroken).
Sprint?? lol, you won't be doing any running that day. It will be nothing but standing and baby steps for hours.
I'm not sure where you live, but in Vegas, it doesn't work like that at all. I was told by security in advance that they wouldn't even let people wait in line outside the Apple Store at an outdoor mall. They had to wait in the parking lot until a certain time and then they would form the line to the Apple store.

I decided to go to an AT&T store and I'm very glad that I did, I drove by that Apple store after I got mine and the line was insane.

[Phxblue]

I will get up nice and early IF I can get my other iPhone freak fanatic buddy to go with me.

[Wizmoney99]

I camped out for the first Iphone and I had a great time doing it. I was #11 in line with about 350 people out there with me even the mayor of my city he was getting bashed by all of the media for waiting in line... Anyway when ever the new Iphone is realesed I'll do it again.

[2white2fight]

iam not about to camp out, can you buy the new iphone online? hahaa and like how many days would you non campers wait until getting the phone like 3 or 4 days?

[iNinja]

London, any ideas what the queues were like in the UK on Iday for the 3g? im thinking if the new Iphone is announced on Monday in the USA, then that will be around 8pm here. So if they will be ready "immediately" then we should be able to pick one up on tuesday?

Ill be checking o2's website and if it announces that we can upgrade early, ill be waiting in line for one!

[iphonewarrior]

London, any ideas what the queues were like in the UK on Iday for the 3g? im thinking if the new Iphone is announced on Monday in the USA, then that will be around 8pm here. So if they will be ready "immediately" then we should be able to pick one up on tuesday?

Ill be checking o2's website and if it announces that we can upgrade early, ill be waiting in line for one!

I'm gutted. If a new iphone was to come out on Monday night/Tuesday Morning- my closest store would be 1 hour 30 mins away :angry:

I'll be on the phone to o2 i think and i'll pre-order one. I'm going to have to wait ages to get mines :(

[iNinja]

I'm gutted. If a new iphone was to come out on Monday night/Tuesday Morning- my closest store would be 1 hour 30 mins away :angry:

I'll be on the phone to o2 i think and i'll pre-order one. I'm going to have to wait ages to get mines :(

You are in Manchester like me right? The nearest Apple store cant be 1 1/2 hours away, theres one in the city centre, and carphone warehouses are everywhere!?

[iphonewarrior]

You are in Manchester like me right? The nearest Apple store cant be 1 1/2 hours away, theres one in the city centre, and carphone warehouses are everywhere!?

I won't be in Manchester :( I'll be in the middle of nowhere- probably won't even have signal. So if you do get one don't email me teasing me about it lol

[Cantwait4iPhone]

I didn't camp out on iDay 1.0, I just waited in line a few hours. Overall, I had a really good time and met new people, talked for a while, etc.

I don't plan on camping out, and I never have for an electronic or any other item. Depending on the day of release, I might go early just because it was a great time last time.

I bet Apple will do pretty well in stocking the stores as they did with iPhone 1.0, so I'm not too worried. I live near two Apple stores and a few AT&T stores, so I should be covered.

Edit: Just released my post number is 942. 9:42. Creepy? I think so. :)

[iNinja]

I won't be in Manchester :( I'll be in the middle of nowhere- probably won't even have signal. So if you do get one don't email me teasing me about it lol

haha ok, IPW, ill email you on Tues when i pick it up....hopefully!! ;)

[iphonewarrior]

haha ok, IPW, ill email you on Tues when i pick it up....hopefully!! ;)

lol.

If you trust another mans promises- then get me one as well. I'll even give you £50 for getting it me... :tounge:

(on a serious note.. I do hope they have a decent stock pile as the mrs wants one as well :) )

[Radis]

I got in line at an AT&T store in Vegas two hours before they opened on 3G iDay. I was #30 in line. I was in line for a total of about 3 and a half hours. It was well worth it. I just wish they handed out 3G T-Shirts instead of water.

Haha, it would be tight if apple and at&t handed out some sort of a shirt for being there on iDay.