A decent sized crowd lined up almost out the mall doors this morning at Edmonton’s Southgate Centre anxiously waiting in line to get in to the Apple Store and get their hands on the latest models of the iPhone – the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S.
At around 9:30 PM last night, there were already a dozen or so who were happily ready to camp out overnight, each one seemingly busy either chatting on the phone, reading, doing homework or talking to each other eagerly awaiting the Friday 8 AM Apple Store opening.
According to Abyd Mohamed and Kris Meador, the first two in line, there was a rush of arrivals just before midnight and then again at about 5-6 AM. Both were veterans of the Apple product rollout ritual, in fact, they had met before in the same lineup with the launch of the iPhone 4S. In fact, I had interviewed them both before.
As for staying up all night, the two were used to it. Mohamed, 24, above, is an IT guy – we know their job is never done and Meador, 37 is an overnight guy for a local TV station, an avid blogger and YouTuber. Both of them are used to working into the wee hours of the morning and well equipped with what they needed overnight. The Apple staff kindly provided them with power bars to keep their gadgets charged.
For Meador, who likes to be the first to get things and review them, he says, getting it on launch day is a big thing, since he fell in love with the iPhone with the launch of the 3G. Since then, he’s always got the new model on launch day, but hadn’t anticipated this time camping overnight.
“I said I would never come stand in line again, but here they go…no preorders (for the iPhone 5S), so I’m back here in line.”
As for the prize, both wanted the iPhone 5S, but as it turns out, the supply was going to be limited. Meador wanted a gold 64G 5S, but there were none to be had so he had to settle for a 32GB model, and seemed very happy nonetheless.
Mohamed, had his eyes on a silver 5S 16GB and was able to get what he came for. He previously had an iPhone 5 64GB, but opted this time for 16GB model.
“ I find if I have more space, I end up putting more junk on it.”
Mohamed planned ahead, anticipating getting the new model, he put his unlocked iPhone 5 up for sale prior to the launch and sold it within 5 days for $700.
The iPhone 5S’s enhancements and the potential it has compared to the previous model is what sold him on getting in on it early. For him, the big appeal was the fingerprint scanner- Touch ID.
“It makes things faster and the potential it has for enterprise email and on-line banking. You won’t have to enter your numbers, you’ll be able to just tap and go,” he says.
Meador, above, concurred with the Touch ID as being one of the main draws.
“I hate having to type in my password, I’m always changing it and they’re usually super long.”
He also likes the fact that he’ll be able to get through iTunes and purchase apps that much quicker and easier.
This is the first time that Apple has released two distinct phone models. Last night when I asked the first dozen people, “Who’s in line for the 5C?” all I got back were nods to the negative. Seems like the iPhone 5S is why they were there. Except Meador, who in addition to getting a gold iPhone 5S for himself, said he is buying a green 5C for his wife.
“I offered her my (old) iPhone 5,” Meador said, “but she didn’t like the feel of it.”
Of that first group, it seemed that most of them already owned an iPhone model of some sort.
If you’re still thinking of heading down, you might want to try and call ahead or call around to see if the model you want is in stock.
Apple’s on-line store is showing the iPhone 5C shipping in 1-3 business days and the iPhone 5S in 7-10 business days.
==================================================
Greg Gazin is the Real Canadian Gadget Guy.
Follow me on Twitter @gadgetgreg or Empire Avenue (e)GADGET1.
==================================================
