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Watch The iPhone Alley Guys Wait In Line & Purchase an iPhone; Chat Live [Updated x2]

Submitted by Michael Johnston on July 10, 2008 - 4:17pm.
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As Thursday comes to an end, the guys from iPhone Alley are heading down to the local Apple Store to wait in line for the iPhone 3G. Thanks to the fantastic folks at Qik, we'll be streaming much of our experience live over the web. You'll be able to watch and interact with us as we lose our minds waiting in line, buy our iPhones, and touch them for the first time. We're also going to try our best to drill the Apple employees with questions about the activation and setup process. We may even get some video of it going down.

So hit the jump to see our live stream. We'll jump on around 5:30 CST to waive goodbye before we hop into the car. At around 7PM, we'll start streaming from the Apple Store in Deer Park, IL. Come chat!

You can also follow me on twitter to be notified whenever we start up the stream. Find me at twitter.com/MichaelJohnston

Update: We've made it to the Deer Park Apple Store. Currently the store has no Wi-Fi, but they say they're working on it. If you're interested in watching when we finally do stream, you can simply keep the window open and it will come in when the stream starts.

And yes, the weather is terrible. We're hoping that it clears up soon. :-)

Update 2: The folks at the store got WiFi going again. We should be able to stream the purchase, activation, and everything in between.

Submitted by Michael DeLisi on July 10, 2008 - 4:27pm.
That's pretty cool. So you guys are camping out? Which iPhoneAlley members are going to be there? I hate to ruin your fun... but make sure to bring umbrellas (check out www.weather.com).

Submitted by Snoop1990 on July 10, 2008 - 4:39pm.
I would love to stand with you but I can not ...

oops

Submitted by anonner (not verified) on July 10, 2008 - 5:42pm.
ya spelled wave wrong - have fun in line!

Submitted by nevon (not verified) on July 10, 2008 - 7:45pm.
yeah, hopefully you don't get the storms we're getting out here in RFD. Yall are crazy, even for my Wii I only waited about 6 hours

Submitted by EdKirkatapplestore (not verified) on July 10, 2008 - 8:32pm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nevon View Post
yeah, hopefully you don't get the storms we're getting out here in RFD. Yall are crazy, even for my Wii I only waited about 6 hours
Oh we really really are. Looks like the end of the world outside. Driving through it was terrifying fun. Hopefully it'll clear up by 9:00.

Submitted by Michael DeLisi on July 10, 2008 - 8:40pm.
Good luck out there, guys. Which # are you in line? Which iPhone Alley members came? I wonder how many people lined up out there. Even if the weather stays shitty all night, remember: you guys will be the first members at iPhone Alley to get iPhone 3Gs .

Submitted by Stephen Eyer on July 10, 2008 - 8:48pm.
Just stumbled across your site and joined. Looking forward to picking up my iPhone tomorrow in SF. Have fun and stay dry!

Submitted by Michael DeLisi on July 10, 2008 - 8:55pm.
Hey Stephen, welcome to iPhoneAlley! iPhoneAlley is really going all out with the iPhone 3G launch with their contest and live video stream.

Submitted by Stephen Eyer on July 10, 2008 - 9:14pm.
Thanks for the welcome. Looking forward to getting to know everyone on the site. Should be a crazy day tomorrow!

Submitted by Peter000 on July 10, 2008 - 9:26pm.
They're probably getting the same storm we got here earlier this afternoon. (Twin Cities area)

Submitted by nevon (not verified) on July 10, 2008 - 9:48pm.
So they're eating now... I saw the video, but where's the chat?

Submitted by Michael DeLisi on July 10, 2008 - 9:52pm.
Click on Mike's Twitter, then the video stream, then you'll see the chat (that has no one in it...).

Submitted by fazeizme on July 10, 2008 - 9:59pm.
seems like the i phone 3g is the next big thing i have the regular i phone when someone get's it let me know if it's worth getting

Submitted by Michael DeLisi on July 10, 2008 - 10:05pm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fazeizme View Post
seems like the i phone 3g is the next big thing i have the regular i phone when someone get's it let me know if it's worth getting
Well, 3G is around 3-6 times faster and growing. Sweet for web browsing, streaming video apps, and any apps or web sites in general. GPS will be really cool for location-based apps and Google Maps. Plus, it feels better in your hand, looks nicer, gets better reception, has a better screen (one reviewer siad it the screen was BETTER, yes in caps like that, and one reviewer called it much better than the first-gen iPhone), much better mic/speaker, and you can use data and the phone at the same time. That sums up what to expect from the iPhone 3G. If you think that's worthwhile, then definitely get it. Unlock and sell your first one on eBay if you decide to get the iPhone 3G, they're going for prices high enough to buy a 16GB iPhone 3G and make extra cash.

Jordan Hoffmann not Camping

Submitted by Jordan Hoffmann on July 10, 2008 - 10:08pm.
Hello, Mike, Ed, Zak, and Ben are all camping out- the big four (Well, four of five- Chris is not there).

Hope everyone is doing well,

Jordan Hoffmann

Submitted by WatersWest on July 11, 2008 - 12:04am.
Waiting in line ... what a waste of time!

Submitted by xxx on July 11, 2008 - 1:34am.
Howdy to the guys in line! The stream up and running yet?

Submitted by Michael Johnston on July 11, 2008 - 5:19am.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WatersWest View Post
Waiting in line ... what a waste of time!
It's good clean fun, Waters.

Update?

Submitted by James Blond on July 11, 2008 - 8:09am.
So it looks like you're with a salesman there Mike....

Got your phone yet? How long did you have to wait in line? How many people are there? How fast is it all moving?

I just stopped by the ATT store in lower Manhattan at 8:30 and there was a crowd of about 100 people waiting -- by 8:30 they said only 3 people had come back out with phones!