heaven on earth

After months (possibly years) of waiting, Singaporeans can finally get their hands on the iPhone 3G! Being a gadget-freak, I wanted to be the first to own one too (spice that up with abit of kiasu-ism).

HENCE, I reserved my set and picked it up at SingTel Comcentre TODAY (22 Aug - the very first day of the launch ok?). Okay, they launched it at 12.01am with lots of fanfare and hoo-hah and I wasn't exactly the first one to get my iPhone - but I still got it on the first day. One of the SingTel staff told me that the first person in Singapore (rather, the first person to get his iPhone from Singtel) came at 12noon yesterday and queued for a whopping 12 hours.

I queued for about 1 hour and he commented that it was "quite good already". Some queued for 5 hours. Well I picked it up during office hours on a workday, so I'm expecting after-office hours and weekends to be a mad dash. It was a rainy day so it wasn't hot but take note that you'll have to queue outdoors (under shade though) for some time. Therefore, if the weather is hot and humid, you might want to think twice if you can't stand heat and numerous chattering souls. Out of the boredom of queueing for 1 hour, I made a new friend from NAFA - Joel. He's a Visual comms student and we had small talks about iPhone, life and what not.

I must commend SingTel for their EXCELLENT (almost flawless) planning and crowd control though. The moment I exited Somerset MRT and headed for Comcentre, LOTS (and I mean lots) of staff was on hand to guide me to the correct queue. They provided drinks (bottled water, hot coffee - good on a rainy day) and even iPhone handheld fans (see picture below - good quality one okay, quite aesthetically pleasing too). The staff were friendly enough and ready to help with whatever questions you have. The queueing goes about in "batches", so the place doesn't become overcrowded.

Here's the basic flow:

1. Queue Phase 1. Staff verify your reservation and take down your necessary details (plan, phone type, etc.)

2. Queue Phase 2. This is the queue to enter the "glass house", the rather-beautiful structure used to house the sales of all iPhones.

3. Queue Phase 3. This is where you are 5 minutes away from getting your iPhone, inside the glasshouse.

Security staff are everywhere (by security I mean externally-contracted, bouncer-looking young gentlemen and not ah-peks, so don't try anything funny) to maintain good crowd control and SingTel staff with iPhones walk around so you can play with them (the iPhones) whilst waiting.

As the queuers mentioned, getting an iPhone at the launch is all about personal ego. We can probably wait, but we wanna feel good to be the first ones to get it. Also, the iPhone isn't a super phone to begin with, it's all about the aesthetics.

You can read about a ST reporters' report on the launch at http://blogs.straitstimes.com/homeground

Pictures (taken with N95, not iPhone).

Phase 1 of the queue. Look at the crowd at 12.30pm on a Friday.

I took this picture while queueing during Phase 2. Everyone's staring "drool-ingly" inside the "glassbox" - a glass and steel cube.

Finally inside the glassbox! Very prompt, efficient yet friendly service. There must be like 50 counters.

The much coveted prize. 16GB iPhone White.



Accessories you can buy at the launch. They offer a 10% discount.

I must say I really like the paper bag. Everyone was literally STARING at my bag as I strolled towards somerset MRT (esp. those starting to join the queue) and on the way home.

This is the fan they distribute FOC to those in the queue. It really works quite well I must say.