Unfortunately, due to a fair bit of rain last night in Copenhagen and a lack of an umbrella I was not in a position to attend the launch. However, in the limited local coverage that I have been able to source, people waited up to 26 hours to get their hands on the device at some of the stores of the local mobile carriers.
Certainly, the people waiting in line in Copenhagen would have created their own buzz and excitement but it certainly didn’t stack up against what was going on down under with celebrities, free drinks, food, massages and entertainment being wheeled out for the Apple faithful. Having said that, in the local context it was still quite popular with over two hundred people lining up at one store.
As one may expect, limited quantities have been made available and it seems the carriers have first bite of the cherry in terms of distribution. Due to the lack of an Apple Store in Denmark, third party resellers, such as Humac, fill the void. However, it seems that they are being shafted at least in the short term with no devices set aside for them apart from a solitary display device and no information on when they will receive stock (which I find worrying).
This is particularly a bit of a negative for me as I could not purchase an iPhone 4 from a carrier outright as they would only sell one on postpaid contract. Whilst this may be possible through an Apple reseller when the reseller is being treated like a malnourished mushroom (i.e. kept in the dark and fed very little) it certainly doesn’t instill confidence in potential customers.
I still have an opportunity to pick up a grey import in Thailand so long as it isn’t too expensive otherwise I may just exercise some patience and get one later in the year.
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