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Frenzied iPhone Hype

Even Steve Jobs must be surprised at the media frenzy around the soon-to-be released iPhone.  The electric current running through the press and Apple fans is being likened in intensity to, well, the discovery of electricity.

Some early reviews are in from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today and others giving the iPhone a thumbs up although the reviewers point to a few flaws such as the spotty service of the AT&T network, and the lack of games and chat software on the phone. Overall it was declared a breakthrough device, at the same time that the first early adopters began forming lines in front of Apple stores three or more days before the 6pm, June 29 launch date.

Gizmodo spotted two blokes standing in front of the NYC Apple Store 100 hours before D-Day and declared it a record for “lead time on a gadget queue.” But it’s possible that the media are far more frenzied than Apple fans.  The Apple file on my desk from three days of news is thicker than Sirius/XM file of several weeks.

College students are offering to wait on line for anyone wanting to buy an iPhone for a fee of $250.

The media is tracking the U.S. landing of the iPhone so closely that AppleInsider reported the first shipments hit U.S. soil over the weekend, and noted that the freight was watched by armed guards—a status usually reserved for shipments of precious metals and gems.

Forbes.com reported the launch is so closely monitored that Apple’s share price fell more than 4 percent within minutes of a rumor last month that the iPhone might be delayed. When the report was corrected by Apple, the stock recovered by the end of the day.

Media members are scrambling for one of the precious few review units and some are reportedly planning to line up in the NYC queue.

And truly, with blogging, the lines of distinction between Apple fans and press is ever more blurred as the first guys waiting on line in front of the NYC Apple Store started their own blog. They are asking for donations through Pay Pal. And they are inviting the public to send messages to help pass the hours, or to even stop by and chat.

Larry Reich, a former Apple buyer for J&R Computer World who now runs Digital Age, snapped the photos below of the iPhone displays at the Apple 5th Avenue store in N.Y. City. We were talking of those inevitable post-launch reviews where someone will take apart the iPhone to analyze its every part.  I wondered, at least in this case, how someone could destroy such a coveted piece of machinery.

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