AUS iPhone 4 Release day!
I just arrived at the Apple store in downtown Sydney joining the masses to buy the iPhone 4 when it comes out in a few hours. It’s just after 3:30AM. The apple store opens at 8. The carriers are all doing midnight launches, and apparently the Optus store is pushing 1000 people atm. The apple store line is around 200 and growing. I’ll keep you guys updated and try and snap some pics too. PS, I didn’t end up sleeping, went out and celebrated a friends birthday instead!
*UPDATE 1*: Apple employees just came by about 20 minutes ago (4AM) and brought us warm muffins and bottled water.. sweet deal!
*UPDATE 2*: Hot chocolate and pastries too! They also set up barricades and moved us to the other side of the sidewalk, away from the shops… glad I’m not too claustrophobic!
*UPDATE 3*: Sorry it took so long to update this, I got in, bought my two iPhone 4s, and went home to go to sleep. The battery on my camera was completely shot, so I couldn’t take any pictures until afterwards (I did snap a few on the way out with the shiny new iPhone though!). The line made it to about 2000 strong by the time I left the store, and more people were showing up. The outright line was moving pretty quickly, the contract line was going glacially slow. Here’s a shot of the line on York St (Which is the 3rd block around the apple store.. The line started on George St, wrapped around onto King St, and then wrapped around to York St (And then, actually, crossed the street and kept going):
I made it inside the Apple store by about 9AM, an hour after opening. I was brought upstairs to purchase, and it was a pretty painless process (Except for the fact that the receipt printer jammed, which delayed things for about 20 minutes). I activated the iPhone with my cut down AT&T sim, and swapped in my Telstra sim shortly after, which works absolutely wonderful for data (I average about 3mbps both up and down!):
By 9;45 I was out of the store and on my way home. I took the bus back, got the iPhone syncing, and passed out. All in all, a fun day!
BTW: I’ve setup a SIP client (Acrobits softphone with the G729 Codec add-on) on my new iPhone. This means that calls to either my US cell phone number or my google voice number get forwarded to me and I can talk to you here in Australia without either of us paying an extra cent! I can also use it to place calls for free too!
Glad you made it to the Apple Store! The Aussie IPhone 4 has your name on it and I hope that it’s jailbreakable.. and that you’ll be able to use it in the states in four months upon your return. In the meantime, enjoy your fellow Aussie apple iphone fanatics!!
Following- Aussie Iphone 4 press release:
The Apple iPhone 4 was launched to thousands of Australians who braved the wind and rain at midnight on July 30 with the focus shifting from last year’s “first owner in Australia” to celebrities and glitzy parties.
In Sydney, Apple fans lined the streets and back alleys of the major telecommunication stores in George Street with Optus attracting the largest crowd of around 600 people. Optus representatives said the line would take up to ten hours to clear which was of little comfort to the last person in the line, Ryan, who said he found the queue “soul-destroying”.
While Telstra trotted out the Masterchef contestants and judges, and Optus brought out Destiny’s Child’s Kelly Rowland, Vodafone took a different tack and invited people to “queue” within the confines of the swank Sydney nightclub The Ivy.
Most people that CNET Australia spoke to in line were unconcerned with the “antennagate” problems, citing Apple’s findings that apparently holding any smartphone incorrectly would lead to reception problems.
The Apple iPhone 4 is available in two different varieties, 16GB and 32GB and is available on contract or outright through Apple. For CNET Australia’s full review and more see the iPhone launch centre.
Sounds like you had success! Now that you can receive forwarded calls, I’ll call you a bit later- on your regular cell. If this call is forwarded, are you effected by the airtime, origination of call? Get some sleep!!
Nope, no extra airtime/cost on either end, comes right through to my SIP number via VOIP! Call all you want! (Just mind the time difference…)
Ok! I’ll call now!