On Line at Apple: iPhonies

Rarely in the history of gadgetry has there been this much hype around a product launch. The Apple iPhone will go on sale this Friday, weeks after the company first tempted us with its sleek advertising campaign.

Techno-geeks, corporate executives, housewives, and teens alike are all falling prey to Apple's seduction.

On Wednesday, Walt Mossberg, the esteemed personal technology columnist for the Wall Street Journal, only fueled the lovefest with his glowing review.

After testing the device for two weeks, he had this to say: "It is certainly the most beautiful and the most radical smartphone or handheld computer I've ever tested." (For another experts take on the iPhone, see Ten Things You Didn't Know About the iPhone.

When Mossberg calls something a "breakthrough," people tend to listen.

And when word got out on Wednesday that some diehards had already started lining up outside of Apple stores to be the first iPhone buyers on Friday, the media flocked. But the line, which formed at 5 a.m. on Monday, failed to gather much steam by midweek.

The eight people in line by Wednesday afternoon were far outnumbered by the visiting press. And the waiters were not wholly Apple fans.

At the front of the line was Greg Packer, a Huntington, New York, man whose hobby is being the first person to wait in lines. When asked what he plans to do on Friday night after he gets his iPhone, he said he plans to hold it up at a news conference. Naturally.

His neighbor two spots down, Frances Rodriguez, had figured out a good way to capitalize on the media attention. Behind her chair were posters for something called iToors.com and she was equipped with an iPhone line "survival kit" from Rocketboom. She said iToors was giving her an iPod for the ad space.

No. 5 in line had obviously been reading the headlines about Paris Hilton and the controversial network battle to get her first post-jail interview. He asked for a quarter in exchange for answering questions. When the offer was declined, he gladly took the microphone without payment.

The hype around the lines, or rather, the anticipation of the lines, piqued the interest of unemployed entrepreneurs who saw a way to make a quick buck.

On Craigslist, the search for "iPhone" returned 130 entries by Wednesday evening. "IPHONE -- I will wait in line for you on Friday! $350," the headlines screamed.

There was even a market developing for services for those sitting in line: "Attention all iPhone linesitters: Do you need a break? Gotta go to the bathroom? What about food?" For $20, the SoHo campers can take a half hour break.

For all the hype, the inside of the Apple store remained remarkably calm. And the eight characters camped outside of it had less enthusiasm collectively than the gaggle of reporters eager to interview them.

But what about AT&T? Where is its share of the craziness? The iPhone goes on sale at all Apple and AT&T stores at precisely the same time on Friday.

At a Times Square cellular store on Wednesday afternoon, the only evidence that a storm was brewing was a piece of paper taped to the front door announcing it would close for an hour and a half before the 6 p.m. sale time on Friday.

Inside, a store clerk hadn't heard a thing about the possibility that people might line up outside days in advance. He looked as if the very notion was crazy.

And we'd have to agree.

by Megan Barnett

A publicity seeker camped outside the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

VIDEO FEATURES

Apple's iPhone is the first of a new wave of gadgets using touch-sensitive screens that react to taps, swishes or flicks of a finger. To see others, click here.

The iPhone hype machine is shifting into overdrive. To see some of the silliness, click here.