iPhone 5 launch: More than 1,000 people needlessly block London's Regent Street
Summary: Another iLaunch, another queue. For my sins, I was sent down there to check out what all the fuss was about and why exactly people had been waiting there for more than a week. Ultimately, I'm not sure I got an answer.
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Early on Friday morning, I set out for Apple's former London flagship store on Regent Street to see the iPhone 5 go on sale for the first time.
It didn't go well initially; firing up Apple Maps on the new iPad placed my house as somewhere in Epsom (in Surrey, for non UK dwellers) rather than where it actually is in North London.
But no matter, I knew where I was, and where I was going.
I arrived at the Apple Store at around 7am to see the doors already opening, so I wondered if I'd missed the hulabaloo and they'd opened earlier than the already early 8am release time. But no, I was just still a little hazy from having to be in Regent Street so early.
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Talkback
For Your Sins?
Because it is the way my mind works ("There's a lyric for that!") and not a presumption or projection on you, sins and jobs reminded me of a couple of lines from Bob Dylan's Desolation Row. "Her profession's her religion, her sin is her lifelessness." The phrase itself is hardly apt, but the song in totality may illustrate these type of events. And it would be easy to imagine Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot now arguing Android and iOS. The calypso singers would still be laughing, but some of that is relief because they thought that the 60s and reggae obliterated them.
With all honesty the greatest reply for some time.
Ah to imagine a debate as trivial as the operating system of your handset, or the manufacturer of the device itself to be conducted with half the wit of such figures. To imagine a satirical publication of such an event by a writer such as Evelyn Waugh. An opportunity missed indeed.
Were we treated to a witty and satirical masterpiece, that reflects our time and society through the scope of events surrounding the most hyped technology release of the year? An event attended by over a thousand people from all over the world?
Surely this young reporter of technological news and reviews will seize the opportunity of such a media covered event to advance his career through thorough reporting, to engage with the public that read the work of his contempories?
"It seemed like a self imposed kettling"
Fear not, there's always the Windows 8 and asociated tablet releases next month Ben. Now you may find you're utter disdain for your profession proves to be a sin great enough to warrent a punishment as severe as coverage of such an event.
Should you find yourself in such dire straights, might I suggest attacking the punitive measure head on with a pincer formation; The left flank with an enthusiasm for your task, The right with balanced reporting, And a final central push combining the power of your wit with the sum of your littery technique.
It is through such a strategy that you may not only break the relentless cycle of sin and punishment, but also ascend to the great plains inhabited by such littery figures.
The mark of a great reporter lies in his ability to assess equally the failings in his own assumptions, as well as in those that oppose him.
Great Post!
Because he's British
Too funny
My favorite line from this article.
Yes very funny
For all that you disparage the cheering
Note also that it was primarily an APPLE event, not just an iPhone5 one--no crowd at all only a few hundred feet away.
I agree - that was clever...
Makes me glad I'm not in sales.
I did find it interesting that the Event drew more interest than what the Event was about. PT Barnum would have enjoyed this.
Oh, I've got a word that can solve this entire mystery.
We're all hysterically excited that now iSheep get to shell out $30 per adapter to adapt their pile-up of 5 year electronics that were "iPhone" compatible.
"Hysterical" being the key word in that sentence.
Not a word. Just saying.....
It is to sheep. Just saying
Don't think it is. It's a sound even to them.
You talk to sheep?
No I don't talk sheep. Cause they don't
Pagan jim
'fraid you're wrong there. Sheep have to be led--like by a Judas Goat
fraid you're wrong there. Really? iSheep have to be led- like you!
Android users buy Android phones because they like the freedom the OS gives them, not the same old .. same old you get buying an iPhone!
If you haven't figured out that yet, then you have been grazing in the pasture too long!
Dude, Get out of the pasture!!
fraid you are grossly misinformed
I'm confused, you think all those people would have lined up there if the iPhone 5 wasn't being released that day? Did they line up there a week before or a couple of days later?
Oh man, that was funny!!! You think that most people buy Android because they like the freedom the OS gives them. I'm still laughing, makes typing a bit hard. There are definitely people that do choose Android due to the freedom but in the overall market that percentage isminusculescue it isn't even worth mentioning. Percentage here, of course that's going to be higher due to the nature of the site. A majority of Android sales are going to people that are not tsavvysavy at all. They want a smart phone and the Android phone they picked was available on their carrier and fit their budget. Absolutely nothing wrong with that but it's far more accurate than stating the bought due to freedom. There certainlyinly iPhone owners that are sheep but unlike what you would like everyone to believe, that is also sucminusculecule percentage it's not worth mentioning. The majority buy the iPhone because they prefer it over the alternatives. Maybe they didn't give the alternatives enough of a try but they apparently didn't offer anything for them to give a longer look and went with the iPhone.
Funny apes
And
two iPhones he didn't really want
I will stick to samsung thank you... (can I say that here? Shock horror)