Macworld’s Rob Griffiths reports from a line in Portland, Oregon:
So what’s it like? Well, unlike those poor folks in New York City, I’m sitting inside, not outside. (I may be crazy, but it’s cool and rainy in Oregon today; no way I’m sitting outside for six hours!) I’m at the Apple Store in the Washington Square Mall, and we’ve got a nicely cordoned off area where we can sit and watch the mall traffic without fear of being trampled. I arrived around noon, and I’m 41st in line. So as long as they’ve got at least 81 phones here at 6:00 p.m.—limit two per customer!—I should get one.
To find out more, including how Rob became a major iPhone-line trendsetter, read the story on Macworld.com.
(Update: Macworld Online Managing Editor Curt Poff relays a report that Rob has now been served with the famous free Starbucks as well.)
3:40 p.m. PT Update: Three hours down, three hours to go. As we reach the halfway point, the line has swelled to about 75 people, and more are trickling in on a regular basis. Interestingly, there’s an AT&T store in this same mall, no more than 200 feet away, and when I last checked, they had all of five people in line! I’m not sure if people think the Apple store will have more inventory, or if everyone in front of me is buying two, but it’s quite the disparity.
As I’ve sat here for the last few hours, I realize now what zoo animals must experience. As we sit here in our fenced-off area, there’s a constant stream of mall shoppers streaming past us. Almost without exception, they all take a look at us sitting here, with a mix of expressions on their faces—bemusement, wonder, amazement, surprise, etc. Sometimes they talk to us, you can hear parents explaining to their kids about the people behind the ropes. Every so often, a worker comes buy an offers us water (Apple store employees) or coffee drinks (iced cappuccinos from the fine folks at Starbucks). And to complete the zoo analogy, we’ve even been asked to perform: the Apple employees sometimes pop out and ask us to cheer if we’re excited about the impending iPhone purchase, or to clap loudly if we’re having a good time. About the only thing missing is someone to come buy and throw some food into the area… and I’m not betting against that happening before 6pm arrives!
The Apple Store has been closed for an hour now, and the front is completely covered by black shades. Given the color of the iPhone and Steve’s personal preference in clothing colors, I wouldn’t be too surprised to find that black is also the dominant color when they open the doors at 6:00pm.
As you’re reading this of course, those on the east coast already have their iPhones, so the iPhone era has officially begun!
The correct way to end that story is "Begun, the iPhone era has." I suppose tags wouldn't hurt :)
Technically, Rob is not in Portland at Washington Square. He's in Tigard. :-) I'm waiting in Portland Oregon--at Pioneer Place. We got here about 2:15 and I think we are about 70th in line. It is like being in the zoo, though. At least it's air-conditioned!
Unfortunately I don't think anyone outside of Oregon has ever heard of Tigard. So we went with the more commonly known "Portland."
Don't make this Portland State Viking go all Garden Home on you. ;)
Washington Square Mall
9585 SW Washington Square Road
Portland, OR 97223
Or take it straight from the horse's mouth:
http://www.shopwashingtonsquare.com/directions.asp
- cp
As Rob pointed out, the mall's website actually lists both cities.
And Apple lists that store as Tigard, but perhaps that's to keep geeks from getting it confused with the one up in Pioneer Square.
I was worried all day about getting an iPhone. I waited for 5 minutes and I was last in line. I bought mine and there were at least 200 left to be bought. I'm glad I avoided any lines......sweet.........Oh, This was in San Antonio......
Ah...waiting at the Washington Square Mall. I lived in Beaverton during my 4 years in grad school, and left around this time last year for my internship in Monterey, CA. Monterey's great and beautiful, but seeing those photos does make me miss good ol' Oregon.
P.S. Too bad I have to drive all the way up to San Jose to find an Apple store. Oh well, I didn't plan on getting an iPhone anyway...at least not a 1st generation one.