Apple
5 of the Craziest Things to Happen During the iPhone 5s Release
Apple’s iPhone 5s isn’t made of gold but that didn’t stop many die-hard Apple fans and iPhone lovers from sitting in line and waiting for Apple’s latest flagship device. If the spectacles, lines and rabid excitement over the device was an accurate indication, it’s TouchID fingerprint reader, speedy 64GB processor and new gold color option was just enough for users to get excited about the arrival of the new handset.
Unfortunately, as with other Apple product releases, it was also a perfect recipe from some of the oddest behavior we’ve seen at an Apple launch day in some time. Here are 5 of the craziest things to happen during the iPhone 5s release.
Samsung sends spies to uncover Apple’s iPhone line Phenom
Samsung Videographer celebrates with the first person to get the iPhone 5S in New York City, Brian Ceballo.
Casual observers have questioned the mental stability of those standing in line for the company’s products going all the way back to the original iPhone. Apparently, that crowd includes Apple rival Samsung, who sent a camera crew and photographers to document the entire spectacle. According to CNET, Samsung didn’t make a scene. Instead it spent it’s time asking users about why they were in line for Apple’s latest and greatest smartphone.
The camera crew wasn’t actually from Samsung’s mobile communications arm, but Samsung Broadcasting, the marketing and communications company also owned by the Galaxy S4 maker. A producer for the shoot noted that video and information from the visit to the flagship Apple Store in New York City would stay inside the company for internal use only.
Resellers from as Far Away As Sweden
Samsung wasn’t the only one in today’s lines capitalizing on the iPhone 5s release fever. The Wall Street Journal reports that two small businessmen also attempted to get in on the action at an Apple Store in Pasadena, California. One of the gentlemen hoped to get an iPhone 5s to show off to shoppers in his novelty gadget store, while the other owned a gadget reselling business in Sweden and wanted a device he could show to customers before they order it. The shopper who owns the gadget store also made sure he picked up two devices to resell to a couple Russian clients.
Robbers Target iPhone 5s Buyers
The iPhone 5S release date supplies look low at Apple Stores and at carriers.
Chron reports that two men at a Houston area iPhone 5s launch were actually robbed while waiting to buy the device at an AT&T store. Around 4 AM this morning three men pulled up in an early 2000s car and robbed the pair at gunpoint. The two robbers and one getaway driver fled the scene with the men’s wallets and cellphones. AT&T was kind enough to grant both men the credit they would have received for trading in their devices.
Man Recruits Homeless in Attempt to Resell iPhone 5s
One enterprising would-be iPhone reseller was left with nothing after he fed, coached, trained and volunteered to pay off the homeless in exchange for them standing in line and purchasing an iPhone 5s at the Apple Store in Pasadena, California. Unfortunately, Apple required users purchasing the device to activate them right there in the store, so many hired to take part in the scam weren’t actually able to get their hands on the coveted devices.
YouTube videographer, Rich Demuro, interviewed one of the homeless gentlemen caught up in the plot. The gentleman who set up the whole thing nixed the bargain in the end, and stiffed those who had tickets but couldn’t the devices the $40 he’d originally been promised them.
The man who came up with the scam was escorted away by police for his own safety.
Fights Break Out
A Picture shared by the LA Times, shows one man being arrested at the Apple Store in Pasadena California.
It seems two line waiters were detained by police at the Apple Store in Pasadena, California after a small fist fight broke up between two gentleman waiting in line for the device. While both were arrested and charged with misdemeanor citations for the scuffle, no one there were no injuries according to the MercuryNews.
Recent reports have pegged supply for the iPhone 5s as being seriously constrained due to production yields of the fingerprint reader built into every device. Though most users who lined up early have managed to get their hands on the device.
