Who are the geeks queuing for the new iPhone?
By Hemant Verma On Thursday, September 19, 2013
Entertainment,
Gadget,
iPhone,
Technology
0 comments
Why do people queue for days to buy the latest Apple gadget? Lucy Kinder discovers discovers the pitfalls of a trip to the lavatory and why planning laws have left them without a tent over their heads.
iPhone 5s enthusiasts in Japan, left, get into the party spirit, whilst the queue in the UK was slightly more reserved Photo: REUTERS/HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY FOR THE TELEGRAPH
It annoyed Green slightly, because he could have used the publicity.
Noah Green at the front of the queue. (HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY FOR THE
TELEGRAPH)
He is being paid £300 to promote a new photo sharing app, as long as he wears their T-shirt and wristbands while queuing.
He hopes the big money will come if he is able to sell his spot in the queue for thousands of pounds. "I could probably get £8,000," he said. "I know a guy got £15,000 a few years ago. If the right offer comes I will take it."
A man has already been offering the princely sum of £7,00 for a top spot in the queue. None of the queuers know who he is but say he has promised to come back this afternoon.
Mr Green is 17 and a part time student. He spends the rest of his time building a website business with fellow queuer Max Fisher, also 17.
This is Mr Fisher's first launch and he is excited: "Every time I will look at my new iPhone, I'll remember what it was like to queue for days."
First time queuer Max Fisher. (HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY FOR THE TELEGRAPH)
Mr Green has been to every Apple launch since the iPhone 4 in June 2010 and for him the queue is strictly business: "All of the people at the front of the queue are all in the same industry. We are a community. We also love Apple. Other people in the queue do not, they are just here for the money."
Even if Mr Green does sell his spot he says he will go to the back of the line and buy two phones for business use.
The first group of people in the queue are all friends, meeting at the iPhone 4 launch and using the following launches as a chance to catch up with each other once a year.
They have set up a makeshift tent which is big enough to sleep eight. It is well stocked with beer, whiskey, cigars and plenty of food, much of it provided free by Greggs and Domino's.
However Westminster Council has now told the group that they must take the structure down because they didn't get planning permission to erect it.
A spokesperson said: "The streets of Westminster are not camp sites and we can’t allow people to block the streets days in advance."
Apple has provided the queuers with umbrellas and a free coffee each to get them through the last night before the launch.
The group look after each other's belongings if they need to go to the bathroom, shower (a nearby gym is particularly accommodating for this), or even in the case of Harry Barrington-Mountford, go to a work meeting.
Harry Barrington-Mountford. (HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY FOR THE TELEGRAPH)
Mr Barrington-Mountford, 22, is a risk manager from Upminster. He said he just couldn't wait to get his hands on the new iPhone. "I'm quite impatient. I want something first and if I see it I just have to have it straight away.
"The launch itself is actually quite uncomfortable and loud. This is the best bit. How many times would you be able to sleep out in the middle of town? I'm in a lucky enough position to be able to do it. It's just a great chance to chat with your mates. The drunk people at night are the best. They are a lot of fun."
They spend the days reading books and chatting because. says Mr Mountford-Barrington, "there is not much else to do."
They laugh when they read (On their iPhones) that die-hard Japanese fans have been queuing in Tokyo in the middle of a typhoon.
A man wears an old iMac case on his head waits for the release of Apple's
new iPhone 5S in Tokyo. (REUTERS)
Passers-by stop and stare at the queuers and some yell obscenities. One van driver winds down his window to take a photograph. He yells "You sad b*****s!".
There is some tension between the first and second group to join the queue. Apple will only allow a handful of people to queue outside their building on Regent's Street. The rest must go around the corner, and lose a coveted position.
The second group of queuers attempt to muscle in on the prime position. None of them seems particularly interested in the iPhone.
Two are Russian with poor English. When asked why they are here they shrug and smile. Alex Ricardi, 21 pulls out a Samsung device. As to why he was queuing he said: "I had some free time. It's a bit of fun."
iPhone devotees queuing in Tokyo. (REUTERS)
Mr Barrington-Mountford is frustrated by them. "This happens every year. They are probably being paid by a company to buy the phones. You can only get two each but often companies get lots of people to buy for them."
His friend Ethan Martin, a market researcher, says the group do not associate with other queuers for that very reason. "Everyone thinks we are sad but I couldn't really care less. People may think we are raving mad but they all have iPhones. You can call us geeks but we aren't nerds."
Noah Green at the front of the queue. (HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY FOR THE
TELEGRAPH)He is being paid £300 to promote a new photo sharing app, as long as he wears their T-shirt and wristbands while queuing.
He hopes the big money will come if he is able to sell his spot in the queue for thousands of pounds. "I could probably get £8,000," he said. "I know a guy got £15,000 a few years ago. If the right offer comes I will take it."
A man has already been offering the princely sum of £7,00 for a top spot in the queue. None of the queuers know who he is but say he has promised to come back this afternoon.
Mr Green is 17 and a part time student. He spends the rest of his time building a website business with fellow queuer Max Fisher, also 17.
This is Mr Fisher's first launch and he is excited: "Every time I will look at my new iPhone, I'll remember what it was like to queue for days."
First time queuer Max Fisher. (HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY FOR THE TELEGRAPH)
Mr Green has been to every Apple launch since the iPhone 4 in June 2010 and for him the queue is strictly business: "All of the people at the front of the queue are all in the same industry. We are a community. We also love Apple. Other people in the queue do not, they are just here for the money."
Even if Mr Green does sell his spot he says he will go to the back of the line and buy two phones for business use.
The first group of people in the queue are all friends, meeting at the iPhone 4 launch and using the following launches as a chance to catch up with each other once a year.
They have set up a makeshift tent which is big enough to sleep eight. It is well stocked with beer, whiskey, cigars and plenty of food, much of it provided free by Greggs and Domino's.
However Westminster Council has now told the group that they must take the structure down because they didn't get planning permission to erect it.
A spokesperson said: "The streets of Westminster are not camp sites and we can’t allow people to block the streets days in advance."
Apple has provided the queuers with umbrellas and a free coffee each to get them through the last night before the launch.
The group look after each other's belongings if they need to go to the bathroom, shower (a nearby gym is particularly accommodating for this), or even in the case of Harry Barrington-Mountford, go to a work meeting.
Harry Barrington-Mountford. (HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY FOR THE TELEGRAPH)
Mr Barrington-Mountford, 22, is a risk manager from Upminster. He said he just couldn't wait to get his hands on the new iPhone. "I'm quite impatient. I want something first and if I see it I just have to have it straight away.
"The launch itself is actually quite uncomfortable and loud. This is the best bit. How many times would you be able to sleep out in the middle of town? I'm in a lucky enough position to be able to do it. It's just a great chance to chat with your mates. The drunk people at night are the best. They are a lot of fun."
They spend the days reading books and chatting because. says Mr Mountford-Barrington, "there is not much else to do."
They laugh when they read (On their iPhones) that die-hard Japanese fans have been queuing in Tokyo in the middle of a typhoon.
A man wears an old iMac case on his head waits for the release of Apple's
new iPhone 5S in Tokyo. (REUTERS)
Passers-by stop and stare at the queuers and some yell obscenities. One van driver winds down his window to take a photograph. He yells "You sad b*****s!".
There is some tension between the first and second group to join the queue. Apple will only allow a handful of people to queue outside their building on Regent's Street. The rest must go around the corner, and lose a coveted position.
The second group of queuers attempt to muscle in on the prime position. None of them seems particularly interested in the iPhone.
Two are Russian with poor English. When asked why they are here they shrug and smile. Alex Ricardi, 21 pulls out a Samsung device. As to why he was queuing he said: "I had some free time. It's a bit of fun."
iPhone devotees queuing in Tokyo. (REUTERS)
Mr Barrington-Mountford is frustrated by them. "This happens every year. They are probably being paid by a company to buy the phones. You can only get two each but often companies get lots of people to buy for them."
His friend Ethan Martin, a market researcher, says the group do not associate with other queuers for that very reason. "Everyone thinks we are sad but I couldn't really care less. People may think we are raving mad but they all have iPhones. You can call us geeks but we aren't nerds."
No comments: