If you can’t beat them…
As footnoted.org regulars know, I’m one of the last people to buy into the hype. So why did I get to the Apple (AAPL) store at the Palisades Center this morning shortly after 9 am? I’m still not sure. But since I normally spend my days reading filings at footnoted world HQ and I can easily do that here at the mall, I figured it wasn’t all that different. Michael, the guy who’s at the head of the line got here at 5:30 last night and since you’re technically not allowed to sleep in the mall, he’s been up ever since. Ah, to be young again! Or wired on something better than an iced latte!
And now here’s the interactive part of this post: I’m #20 in line and plan to buy two IPhones. The second one will be auctioned off via a blind auction with all proceeds going to a recognized charity (that’s one with a 501c designation as opposed to footnoted.org’s own non-profit work) of the winning bidder’s choice. So send your bids (no money, just what you’re willing to donate) here. Bids will be accepted until noon eastern on Monday.
If you’re at the Palisades Mall today, be sure to stop by and say hi. And, yes, I’ll still be looking through the filings today. Wouldn’t it be particularly ironic if Apple filed something interesting later today?
RSS
June 30th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Please donate to Michelle’s cause. She gives a lot of her time and effort to causes WAY beyond proxies and Ks. You can even give on behalf of Kumara and still get an iPhone. How cool is that?
Thanks all for your continued readership of footnoted.org. It’s dirt you can’t get anywhere else.
July 1st, 2007 at 4:57 pm
An Iphone update: I’m now in full-bloom regret. The phone still hasn’t activated and after speaking to the third Apple represenative, who unlike most Apple reps, seemed a bit testy (and has a distinctly Canadian accent, which seems even more puzzling since they’re usually pretty mellow) and said it could take as long as 30 hours to activate because ATT’s system was having problems processing all of the requests to activate. So while the screen promised activation in 6 minutes and Apple’s FAQs said that during the activation process, I could use other features of the phone, right now I have a very expensive piece of useless equipment attached to my computer, which has coined a new phrase: the IBrick. The Apple rep compared this to a traffic jam and said ATT was only capable of handling 100 requests a minute. Given the advanced hype and hefty cost involved, it seems like Apple and AT&T should have spent more time on the back-end.
July 2nd, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Michelle, sorry to hear of your iPhone travails, it’s nice that you’re donating proceeds raised in the auction to a good cause. Things went pretty smoothly at the Apple store at the Rockaway Mall in Rockaway NJ Friday evening and Saturday although we missed out on the communal experience of being in line, which sounds from all accounts like something akin to being at a rock concert (especially for those who waited in line in CA with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak reported here: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_6268818?source=rss ) or at least waiting in line for tickets to one. I cited your experience in a post on FEI’s blog today.
July 5th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Any update as of how you like the phone now that you PROBABLY have it activated and have had some time to play around with it?
July 5th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Well, I plan to return the Iphone tomorrow. I realize that other people love it, but after a few days of nothing but problems — basic things like it won’t ring unless I have my headphones are on, which is annoying since I don’t want to wear them all the time — and way too many calls to AppleCare, I’m convinced that it’s still not quite ready for prime-time. Earlier today, I was standing outside a store in the meatpacking district of Manhattan — not exactly a dirt road in the middle of nowhere — and couldn’t get a signal. The ATT network in phenomenally slow and counting on WiFi doesn’t seem appealing enough, given the hefty price tag. And did I mention that Safari only works intermittently? I will get my money back, but I won’t be able to get the day I wasted last Friday waiting in line. Live and learn!