Thanks to Apple we have a story about how elegent product design drives intense desire in consumers. This Friday at 6:00 pm Apple’s latest communications device goes on sale and people are already lined up in the heat of the summer to buy one, or more than one.
According to Info World, one man from Long Island is going to spend five days in line to be the first person in New York to own an iPhone. Greg Packer, a 43-year-old retired highway maintenance worker from Huntington, says, “I’m not really a technology person, but I’m doing the best I can to keep up with technology.”
Packer isn’t the only one consumed with iPhone fever. At 2 p.m. Tuesday, there were three people with chairs in line behind him, and a fifth person said he was joining the queue while Packer was being interviewed.
The Apple Store on Fifth Avenue is open 24 hours. Packer and others said they are taking breaks and using the store’s restroom when needed. They’re also getting help on their mission from friendly New Yorkers, who are bringing them food, water, and other items they might need for their long wait.
At Apple’s Soho store another line has formed and this one is fronted by ad man Johnny Vulkan of Anomaly. Vulkan, like any great promoter, is using the occasion to highlight a cause (bigger than his own desire for the device).
In a totally unrelated note, Vulkan is also active in the t-shirt business.