World+Dog goes bonkers for iPhone 4S
Sales well up on iPhone 4 launch, says O2
O2 has claimed it sold more iPhone 4S handsets in the first hour the gadget has been on sale than the number of iPhone 4s it shifted in 2010.
The new version of the smartphone went on sale in the UK at 8am this morning to the inevitable fan fanfare despite the grumblings of many a pundit over Apple's unwillingness to launch an iPhone 5.
The inevitable queues - some estimated to contain more than 1000 panting fanboys and girls - formed outside Apple shops in the early hours of the morning. However, one guy, Rob Shoesmith, a former binman from Coventry, camping outside the Covent Garden store for ten days in order to be the first to hand over 500 quid for the new phone.
Long lines formed outside Apple shops globally, seemingly with many more punters than last time round. Japanese telly reported a headcount 60 per cent up on the iPhone 4 debut's 500-strong Tokyo queue.
In Perth, Australia it's claimed that so many folk turned up they flooded out into the road and disrupted traffic.
Over in the States, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is first in the line for a 4S at the Los Gatos, California Apple Store. Couldn't the company send its "employee number one" a gratis handset?
Maybe not, if it's trying to push product into retail to meet demand. Bullish analysts are forecasting weekend sales of up to 4m units, though on average expectations are for 2-3m sales.
Apple sold 1.7m iPhone 4 units at that handset's launch last year, and most market watchers believe it will top that figure this time round. O2's initial feedback suggests that will indeed happen.
Apple's initial allocation has been sold. The phone maker's website now says fresh orders for the handset in ts 16, 32 and 64GB forms, in either black or white livery, won't ship for one to two weeks. ®
COMMENTS
Impressive - no, really.
As with previous stories of huge queues for iProducts, these comment pages will soon be awash with folk going on about how sad Apple Fanbois are and how pathetic it is that people will camp for up to 10 days to get their hands on one. They might be correct. Personally, I wouldn't, but I can't bemoan another man for his passion. However, you can't deny the evidence that these products are hitting the mark. I wish I could invent and market a product that gets this sort of following.
Now, where's the envy icon......
re: What?
Christ, chill out, in a 'former binman' wants to spend his hard earned on a popular consumer item who are you to say otherwise?
What a fucking disappointment
Seriously. What is it with Apple and their maddening habit of releasing things that *actual* people want, instead of the fevered ramblings of the pundit cult who cry shame when Apple mysteriously fails to release the made-up shit that these idiots have been short-stroking for the previous six months in order to satisfy their overblown egos?
@Richard 81: You might want to wipe some of the rabid foam from your chin and actually do a little bit of research. Rob Shoesmith is a 'former binman' because - wait for it - he's now an iOS developer who won a design competition! It's apparently possible for someone to change jobs in this country! Who knew??
http://www.macworld.co.uk/blogs/index.cfm?blogId=8&entryId=746
You're welcome.
Pillock.
Commentard rules state I must ensure I use the words 'cult', 'secrecy', 'Jobisan', 'fanboi' and/or 'mactard' at least once each in this post.
@Richard81
Blimey! Has this chap upset you? I'm with you on your first statement, but the rest of your post is having an unprovoked pop at an individual. Bit unfair. So, here's a retort on his behalf (well, it's a quiet day today).
1. Maybe he saved up. Maybe he won the lottery. Maybe he worked lots of overtime. Maybe binmen in the company he worked for do, actually, earn more money than you think.
2. Because he wants to? I know some folk who spend days sat by a fugging river, watching a coloured bit of wood bobbing about. Maybe he REALLY wants an iPhone4S...?
3. Maybe he's retired and got a big handshake and pension. Maybe he no longer needs to work any more and doesn't need a job. Maybe he thinks you should just mind your own business!
There. (ho-hum)
I've heard this a few times now
Siri is not just a voice control for a mobile phone. My ancient Nokia had that, my iPhone(s) have had that for ages too.
Siri is a deal more clever than that. Whether it will be anything more than a gimmick time will tell but stop comparing it to shouting "Call home" 20 times at your phone and being put through to your ex girlfriend. That is not the same tech.
