It lives up to every bit of hype
Amazing device. Amazing line. Steve Jobs showed up, unfortunately that was after we had left the store but we saw him arrive and walk into the store (he walked to the store from his home). — Also joining us in line was Andy Hertzfeld in addition to Bill Atkinson, who I talked about earlier.
Context & Ripple Effects
Two days ago Scobleizer documented being first in line for the iPhone launch, and Engadget ran a video interview with Steve Wozniak on launch eve; this post is the payoff — the verdict from someone who waited. The claim that the device 'lives up to every bit of hype' matters because it comes from an independent early buyer, not Apple marketing.
The scene around the purchase is itself the story: Steve Jobs walked from his home into the store (after Scoble had left), and original Mac team members Andy Hertzfeld and Bill Atkinson queued alongside customers. That the same first-impressions piece was picked up the same day by The Unofficial Apple Weblog and Daring Fireball shows how far one blogger's launch-day account traveled.
First-order effects
- Apple gets its strongest possible launch-day asset — unpaid, detailed validation from early adopters whose queue vigil was already public via Scobleizer's own 'First in line' posts.
- The store visit turns retail staff and waiting customers into witnesses of a founder-level appearance, reinforcing the launch as an event rather than a product drop.
Second-order effects
- Independent blogs like TUAW and Daring Fireball amplify the same first-impressions narrative the same day, meaning Apple's word-of-mouth loop runs faster than any ad campaign could.
- Every future Apple hardware launch inherits this template — press camping in line days ahead — raising the bar competitors must clear just to match the attention.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, product launches consolidate into consumer-cultural spectacles where the queue, the founder cameo, and the veteran-engineer pilgrims are part of the product's story, and coverage of the line becomes free distribution.
The trend: Consumer-tech launches are becoming staged public events where the line outside the store generates as much coverage as the device itself.