![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
OK, maybe I am obsessed…
I am interested in getting a new iPhone. My existing one is a couple of
years old, my contract is up for a discount new one and I cracked it
dropping it out of a giant robot freezer in The Hague two weeks ago.
I know there is a lot of hype about this new iPhone. And I’ve probably
picked up more of it than I should have. But, if I’m going to get a new
phone and want to keep the several years of apps I’ve already paid for, a
new iPhone is the best choice.
And, if I’m going to get a new one, I want to get the good one.
(I don’t really care about that fingerprint thing the hype talks about.
I’m more interested in the 64bit processor.)
I knew they’d be hard to get and figured if I got one by my birthday (just
over a month away) I’d still be doing fine.
But then they updated their website to allow you to track which stores have
them in stock within 200 miles (320km) of you.
Now it has become more of a game of “Where’s Waldo” for me. I plug random
zip codes from around the country into the search engine and find out where
in the country these phones are located.
And, they aren’t.
They aren’t out there.
From Maine to New Jersey? Zero.
Chicago and the northern Midwest? Zero.
Texas? Zero.
Atlanta? Zero.
Oregon? Zero.
North Dakota? One. Yes. North Dakota has one.
California? One. Somewhere in south LA.
So, as far as I can tell, there are only two of them in the whole country.
That is somewhat unfair as I have seen others pop up over the last week
since they put this tool online. At one point last week there were at
least ten in the northeast of the country.
I did not drive off to check on this in person, so I can’t really verify
the information.
And, all the folks who ordered on online and have it shipped to them don’t
show up on this. It is only extra stock in stores. I assume most people
who want one order them on line and have it shipped to them.
But, it still strikes me as very strange to have so few of them in stock.
I’m not sure if it is bad planning on their part, or great marketing.
Two years ago when my wife and I got our current phones, we showed up the
day after they went on sale and 30 minutes later had our phones. No big
deal.
http://www.fbhjr.livejournal.com/496741.html
It seems to me like if they wanted to sell more, they should have some to
sell.
But, I’m told sometimes I don’t understand how these things work because
I’m an engineer and think about them wrong.
But, it is fun for me to plug in different zip codes and see what I get.
Someday I may even buy a phone…
no subject
no subject
They should be rare, not nonexistent.
They've been out a few weeks now. They should have more than two in the country for sale.
no subject
no subject
The idea there is one in Omaha Nebraska, but not New York says to me they don't have their distribution set up right.
If it was the other way around, it would make sense to me. I'd say "of course they have them in NYC...".
But it really seems like they weren't ready to sell this one yet.
I understand keeping a tight supply is part of the marketing campaign. But, if you don't have any that won't do.
Don't get me wrong, if they said "if you want one you have to go to the big store in NYC", I would say "I'm going to wait a while".
But, having the premier phone only on 5th avenue, I'd understand.
It would also make sense to me if folks bid on them. If there were only two in the country and people got into a bidding war and paid thousands or more for the first few phones, I"d understand that.
But, they're fixed price.
All it is really saying to me is Apple wasn't ready.
It is still fun, for me anyhow, plugging random zip codes into the program and seeing what comes up.
Some day, when they get their supply chain fixed, I will probably get a new phone.