iPhone wait reduced to 30 minutes in New York City
There were only four customers in the queue to buy an iPhone 3GS when I showed up at Apple's (AAPL) flagship Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan Tuesday afternoon for what I'd been told would be the lunch-hour crush.
This is where I'd hoped to see iPhone demand collide with iPhone supply. I saw nothing of the sort.
Although Apple's availability widget shows red "sold out" lights for selected models in every state where Apple has retail outlets (see here), there seemed to be plenty of product on hand today.
Less than three weeks after the launch of the iPhone 3GS, the lines that once snaked in front of the big glass cube had dwindled to the point where the customers that showed up could fit comfortably between a few retractable belt posts within the store itself.
Justin, one of the teal-shirted Apple employees manning the stanchions Tuesday, said that the big lines had disappeared within a week or so and that what crowds there were now didn't start to gather until later in the day — around 4 p.m. As I watched for a half-hour, the queue grew until it held a dozen people. At that point it seemed to reach a steady state, with customers leaving with their new iPhones in hand at roughly the same rate as new ones joined the line.
The rest of the store, meanwhile, was hopping with its usual mix of office workers, tourists, foreign visitors flush with Euros, parents with kids in tow, and out-of-school students hunched over the laptops on display. I estimated the crowd at between 200 and 300.
There were no lines in front of the nearest Sprint (S) store, 10 blocks down Fifth Ave, and no crowd inside, either. It’s not a fair comparison because there are thousands of Sprint outlets and only 240 Apple Stores, but this Sprint store was very quiet. Of the two staff on duty, one was dealing with the sole customer, and the other was reading a book. She looked up to confirm that yes, they did have the Palm (PALM) Pre in stock.
See, by contrast:
[NOTE: An earlier version of this story confused Sprint with T-Mobile. Apologies to anyone who was mystified by the switch.]
PED, I am a regular reader, and consider you to be one of the better commentators on things Apple. But this piece is just not up to your standard.
The comparisons with last year are invalid without an explanation of the different circumstances (pre-ordering for example). And implying any conclusions from observations at a single store is specious.
I guess my primary complaint though is you took up a lot a space for nothing.
Where I live in southern California, I saw lines still formed in front of Apple Stores this weekend of people eagerly waiting to purchase an iPhone. I spoke to Apple Store reps who told me the phones are flying out of the stores. "What recession?" was one of things I was told. "We're not laying off people – in fact, I've had more hours added to my schedule, and we're hiring more people to handle the demand."
I personally saw at least three Apple Stores packed with customers over the weekend, and everywhere I looked, people were buying iPhones and Macs. Apple is certainly doing something right, especially in a terrible economy.
Although I wud commend PED's level-headed report,as usual, there is the temptation in the Apple-licking media to halo-fy anything about Apple:
Long lines and shortages of iPhone/iPods? Great for Apple – a sign of white-hot demand!
Short lines or no lines at all? Great for Apple – a sign of wisdom in their supply chain and improved profits i th next quarter.
@ Truthseeker
"Anyone who would wait in line for this ridiculous toy when they could buy the vastly superior Palm Pre needs to have his head examined."
Well there you have it TS. The Palm Pre the Betamax of mobile phones.
"US based companies are laying off, going bankrupt, outsourcing Us jobs and Economy continues to fall to the new lows every week. And all we keep hearing about are: Made in China: iphones… Who cares?!"
Notably, Apple is NOT laying off workers and has just announced plans to open a billion dollar data center in North Carolina, USA.
Please list all cell phones made completely in the USA.
US based companies are laying off, going bankrupt, outsourcing Us jobs and Economy continues to fall to the new lows every week. And all we keep hearing about are: Made in China: iphones… Who cares?!
Just like every other launch sales will just be baseline and fall. I expect another jump when the next group is elidible to upgrade later this year.
Why do Apple people have this fixation with how well their products sell? There could be 1000 people wandering an Apple store but if only 100 buy anything what is the point? It's called window shopping.
The fact that the Pre even sold as many as the claim from such vacant stores is a story in itself.
The problem is AT&T. They won't let all existing users to upgrade at advertised prices. I had to pay $500 for it as I wasn't eligible for a "standard" upgrade. BTW… I have had the 3G version since October of 2008.
Those short lines won't do. The customers that should have been there are all buying Pres. Apple is in big trouble because those lines should have been snaking outside and around the block. There is almost no demand for iPhones anymore. Any bright analyst can tell you that much.
I would chuck this up to a much smoother process. Last year, from what I read, you had to activate at the store for the first time, and the process wasn't that good.
This year, you could pre-order, which I did. You could order from AT&T and it is sent to your home. Or you could visit the Apple store having pre-filled information, leaving only the purchase and activation.
My wife got her phone on 7/3 and there was a constant line of about 10-20 people, but it was a pretty painless experience.
I bought a 32GB at the Santa Rosa, CA location last week while on vacation. The rep told me it had the distinction of being the "smallest Apple Retail Store in the world". A far cry from the "cube" in NYC, both in size and distance. There was a line to get in and the store itself was packed, they would not let more than a certain number of people in at a time. I went in at 10AM and then went back at 5PM as the AM line was too long. They handed out water bottles to us in line. What impressed me was we got handed off to a Apple Rep who walked us through the purchase of 2 iPhone 32GB GS models. He was really helpful and the process was smooth. The number ported over in about 15 minutes (that is super fast) and even the Apple rep was amazed. 3G service is fast, this is coming from an ex-T-mobile EDGE Blackberry Curve User. I bought the Mophie Juice Pack along with it and it was really worth it. It does need a charge at about noon if you ar using the GPS and browsing, especially with 3G.
Anyone who would wait in line for this ridiculous toy when they could buy the vastly superior Palm Pre needs to have his head examined.
What's the point of this article? It does not provide any relevant or intelligent information. I want my 30 sec back.
Well everybody expected this to be a lower demand upgrade. Additionally, they have online purchases and I have heard that the time required to purchase and sign up has been greatly reduced.
It seems to me they are doing great.
If you did your research you would know that iPhone is also available at any at&t store, Best Buy Walmart or online. You did get the 240 Apple stores correct. So it looks like you were wrong, more places to buy an iPhone than a Pre.