Waiting in line for the Sprint Palm Pre 6/6/09
The phenomenon of waiting in line for a hot gadget has always been a point of amazement for me. The throngs of people starting to get in line for the iPhone 5 nearly a full week in advance of its release has always been healthy fodder for news cameras. Some of us will cringe at the sight and wonder why people do it at all, and the rest of us hang our head in shame knowing we'll be late to the party.
Then again, this is Apple we're talking about- they can pretty much get away with causing the same stir selling Pop-Tarts. The first adopters in us know what it's all about: being the first to own something great, no matter the consequences . Sure, we could be doing something more productive like seeing an old friend, catching up on bills, or having lunch with the family. But why? Why miss out on this one opportunity that comes along Once. Every. Year.
I've done it myself once and it was for the release of the original Palm Pre on Sprint! I got up super early on launch day and decided to go to the Sprint store at my local mall after seeing the line already forming at the standalone Sprint store nearby. I stood in line with about 15 other people waiting for Palm's very first webOS device to go on sale. Looking back at in now, it was quite the adventure (And did that really happen?). Nowadays, I prefer to pre-order my stuff online, and as a self-admitted early adopter, I'm not ashamed to say I enjoy being one of the first to order if it's something I really look forward to owning.
So, what does the rest of our staff have to say?
Have you ever camped out in a line to get your beloved gadget? Would you?
Sharon Copeland: Same with Jesse. The first phone I ever camped out for was the first Palm Pre... I still own it. It was revolutionary and so cute. I love the mirror. It never got the respect it deserved. I still love it. I live for webOS through my TouchPad and CM9. If it comes back and comes back strong I will get it. But for now, I have my Lumia 800 and (Galaxy) Note to keep me busy until Nokia releases its 920. I might camp out for that.
Marc Zeffren: I have never camped out, but I waited in line for 4 hours for the first iPhone. It was an experience, but thanks to preorders, I will never do that again.
Andrew Clausen: I haven't and I probably never will. I am really lazy so if I can preorder it I will and that'll be it. The closest I have come to camping out was for the PlayStation 3 back in 2006. I woke up at 6 a.m. and went all around the city trying to find one. I ended up at a GameStop and I saw some in the window, but it wasn't open yet. I waited at the door for maybe an hour in the rain to get it and it was the last one.
Andrew Allen: I can't say I have. I've always been hesitant to grab a device first thing. I always like to see how real world use pans out before committing a nice chunk of change. I would hate to get stuck with an extremely buggy gadget. However, I did pre-order my Nexus 7 at 4 a.m. the morning they went up for sale.
Tony Robinson: I just did so this morning for the iPhone 5 at my local Verizon Wireless corporate store. Great camaraderie amongst fellow techies and a great means of spreading the word about Tech FanatiX. The experience is so worth it. I arrived at the store at 5 a.m. and was 4th in line. Secured a 32gb, black iPhone 5 and I'm very happy with it.
Kayla Ward: Unfortunately, I have not. Perhaps I would in the future! PS4? Pre 4?! It would definitely have to be for something that just blows my shoes, socks, and toe ring off. But I haven't even BlackFriday shopped or been to the midnight opening of a movie, let alone camped out for them! The only camping out I have done is while I was camping.
Have you ever stood in line for your favorite gadget? Did you do so for the iPhone 5? Sound off in our comments!
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