The iPhone 5S Hasn't Been Officially Announced, Already Has Line

Daniel_Stuckey writes "The iPhone 5S line has already begun, despite Apple not even having made its announcement yet. From the looks of the invite to the unveiling in San Francisco on Sept. 10 (and another event the following day in Beijing, where iPhones are all the rage), the company will not only be announcing a next generation iPhone, the 5S, but also the lower-priced 5C model, in a variety of cheaper-looking colors."

Comments

reality show rejects

[jaymz666]

At this point, the only reason to line up for an iDevice is to get on TV. This is not different to survivor or Big Brother.

Re:reality show rejects

[Anonymous Coward]

This is not different to survivor or Big Brother.

Sure it is. All you can win on line at Apple is an iPhone. And by "win" I mean pay the same amount as anybody else.

Re:reality show rejects

[ackthpt]

At this point, the only reason to line up for an iDevice is to get on TV. This is not different to survivor or Big Brother.

In my line of work we take a dim view of being on the bleeding edge of technology. These people are not simply embracing it, but doing so for their own personal reasons i.e. Be first on the block to have one (which is a damn silly thing to do with a considerable investment, which most iPhones are.)

I was burned on a new car model years ago so I sit back and wait to see how things turn out before committing my own hard won dollars (and even then, as I'm a pre-paid customer, I buy the handset outright.)

Re:reality show rejects

[Anonymous Coward]

You can win an iPhone online? Sounds like a scam.

Re:reality show rejects

[tipo159]

Well, your one bad experience buying a new model car years ago should certainly keep us all away from buying new items at launch ...

I have had a lot of first model year cars and I have found them to be no more likely to have issues than subsequent model years. Actually, of the cars that I collect, I usually prefer first model year cars because they usually have quirky or interesting features that are dropped because they were judged not popular enough or cost-reduced out.

I have a first generation iPad and iPod touch from the initial launches of both products. Other than Apple abandoning iOS support for the products (and recently the battery on the iPod touch), I have had no issues with them.

But, if the rumors hold true, the products that Apple will launch tomorrow are going to evolutions (or devolutions) of products that have been out for years, not truly new products, so I don't understand how your point applies.

Re:reality show rejects

[93 Escort Wagon]

Those QuBids ads I keep getting in my spam folder tell me I can get an iPad or iPhone for only $8! It's so crazy it has to be true!

Re:reality show rejects

[ackthpt]

I'm familiar with the First Year Collector thing, but I doubt there are any collectors items among iPhones, which tend to sell quite a lot of the exact same model on the first day, before the hue and cry over defects or such result in an adjustment in production.

Cars may or may not sell a lot on first issue and generally going out and buying will result in some unhappy experiences, though your experience may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, some being much better at rolling out a truly finished product and others rushing out a model which will have a laundry list of recalls.

My car was such a dud it wasn't made for many years and resulted in one of the greatest financial setbacks for the manufacturer. The engineers did a fine job designing it, the assembly line did a terrific job of putting it together, but the bean-counters who sourced the parts and figured ways to shave costs doomed it. If they had gone with the original engineers plans it would have been a hit and my car would have been worth a small fortune for being very early off the production line.

It's a much better position to be in to watch how a new car rolls out and is met by the market. A successful launch of a quality car may mean you have to pay a little of a premium to get one of the early batch, but you avoid getting burned.

Regarding antenna issues, battery heating up issues, other shortcomings of Apples rather trendsetting iPhones should by now curb some enthusiasm for the wary. Fool me once, shame on you - fool me twice, shame on me sorta fing.

Re:reality show rejects

[geekoid]

How long do you have that Edsel?

Re:reality show rejects

[Jerslan]

Because there was absolutely no press coverage of an impending update and/or new model until just now... They've been speculating wildly about the 6/5S since the 5 came out last year. Even it's release date, which hasn't actually been announced yet, is expected to be later this month. If you bought an iPhone 5 and feel cheated because a new model came out a couple months later? You can really only blame yourself for not doing adequate market research before buying a mobile phone...

Re:reality show rejects

[SydShamino]

Sure it is. All you can win on line at Apple is an iPhone. And by "win" I mean pay the same amount as anybody else.

Actually, per TFA the first two people in line have been "bought out" by a third-party Apple reseller, and now sport the company's logo on their shirts, and, in exchange, will now have their phones (plural, two each) paid for by the company.

So... yeah, they won the advertising game and now get their phones for free.

Re:reality show rejects

[vux984]

My car, on the other hand, had great styling and the early prototypes were wowing the press with its performance and features.

Is there a reason you've got 2 posts on it now without actually naming the vehicle/model/year? :)

How about a 'duh' tag

[onyxruby]

Apple will release a new version of their phone, and another one about a year after that and will keep doing so for as long as there is money to be made doing so. This is no different from any other manufacturer releasing new versions of their products - it's what they do. Why people ever act surprised when there's a new shiny version of 'X' has got to be one of life's great mysteries.

Next years surprise, Ford releases the 2015 model of the Focus! Shocking! Who could ever see that coming? What do you mean the entire industry does this every single year?

Hmmmm ....

[gstoddart]

but also the lower-priced 5C model, in a variety of cheaper-looking colors

WTF does that even mean?

Purple used to be reserved for Royalty I think, but I'm not sure I follow what 'cheaper-looking colors' is supposed to even mean.

Do we have some sort of chart which shows which color looks more expensive than another? Because I've never heard of this.

Re:So?

[geminidomino]

thrice a day, ery day

You should probably back away from the computer when you do. Your keys are starting to stick.

Publicity Stunt, Please ignore.

[clinko]

This is a publicity stunt by a company that sells macs or something. I'm not looking up what they do.

Summary:
1) 4 guys get printed shirts with company logos and lines up crazy early.
2) Vice / Gizmodo / engadget / Slashdot talks about them, with pictures of them in their shirts. Make sure you're still there for the NBC crew shows up!
3) Profit!

Please tell me it is even taller/longer

[h4rr4r]

Please tell me this thing is even taller, I want the iPhone to end up looking like one of those satellite tv remotes.

Survey says...

[djupedal]

It's a safe bet everyone is just looking for clicks and eyeballs, /. included.

Re:Apple stagnation

[afidel]

5C is 5 China, it's their bid to gain major penetration into the worlds largest cellphone market.

Re:Apple stagnation

[mrsquid0]

The letters refer to the demographic they are being sold to.
S - suckers
C - chumps

Re:Apple stagnation

[puto]

Little revisionist history? Which is not unexpected from an Iphone fan. Siri was an app that originally worked on all iphones, then Apple bought them, integrated it into the phone, and then killed the original app and its back end so it would stop functioning, so you had to get a 4s for it. Funny, how their were no mic issues before, when it was a third party app.

Re:Apple stagnation

[_xeno_]

Funny, how their were no mic issues before, when it was a third party app.

Not to mention that some jail-breakers were able to figure out exactly how Siri was disabled on the iPhone 4 and re-enable it and - surprise surprise, Siri works just fine on the 3GS and 4.