IPhone buzz reaches to Microsoft's back yard

As 6:00 p.m. approached Friday, the mob in front of the Apple's flagship San Francisco store counted down the seconds as if it was New Year's Eve.

Eric Eisher took in the whole scene with amusement.

"I'm here for the experience," said Eisher, of Berkeley. "I think of marketing as a form of art."

In what could be the most anticipated product launch ever, or the most diabolical marketing campaign, the iPhone arrived in San Francisco, just 44 miles from Apple Inc.'s Cupertino headquarters in Silicon Valley, where so many technological advances have been born.

Further north, in Seattle, interest in the iPhone in arch rival Microsoft’s backyard, was as high as anywhere else in the country.

Eisher was the second one in line outside the San Francisco store, having camped out in a small tent since Thursday morning. He awoke Friday, turned on his computer and used the Apple store's free wi-fi service, which extended out to the sidewalk. "I saw a picture of myself on Yahoo News," he said.

Mike Farr had his assistant wait in line for him to buy his iPhone. An active stock trader, Farr bought the iPhone in large part, for its Web browser.

"I'm terrified of being away from my computer, at least during trading hours," he said. Now, he says he can take the Web with him.

As 6:00 p.m. approached hundreds were crowded onto the sidewalk and the TV news cameras were outnumbered by scores of people holding video and cell phone cameras. Others took photos from the windows of city buses riding by. New iPhone owners who couldn't wait to get them activated, went to a cafe across the street with free wi-fi and got their iPhones functioning -- one said, in only three minutes.

But other passersby were puzzled by the iPhone mania.

"You can order it online," said Elizabeth Bassin, of Santa Barbara, as she watched the commotion from across the street. An Apple user, she is going to wait for a second generation iPhone to come along after the inevitable bugs are worked out.

The iPhone's pull was felt up north In Seattle too, home to Apple's rival, Microsoft.

Adrian, who asked that his last name not be used, was just one Microsoft employee standing in line at an Apple store. He wouldn’t point them out, but said that two other Microsofties from the Windows Mobile division were in line, planning to buy phones for competitive research.

Adrian’s friend Anna, also a Microsoft employee, agreed to come along to buy two additional phones for him. Apple set a two phones per person limit Friday. Adrian already has a couple of Windows Mobile phones but said he wanted an iPhone because he expects the user interface to be superior. They both arrived at around 5:30 in the morning when there were already around 35 people in line.

By 5 in the afternoon, Anton, another line waiter who asked that his last name not be used, was at the end of the line in position number 174. While some others nearby said they'd similarly waited for other newly released gadgets like the Play Station, Anton said the only other time he’d stood in a similar line was as a boy in Russia, waiting for eggs.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.