All stories about "Apple Soho"

Today marks a month of iPhone 3G line coverage. Pure insanity. Thankfully, the waits for the phone keep getting shorter, and the supply seems to be steady (though stores are still selling out by midday). Your morning availability report:

Apple Midtown
Line length: No line
Availability: Have all the models
Color: Which models will sell out earliest? "Don't know. It's hard to tell."

Apple Soho
Line length: One to two hours
Availability: Everything is in stock
Color: The genius wouldn't speculate as to when the lines would disappear completely.

Apple Meatpacking
Line length: One to two hours
Availability: Have everything in stock
Color: Are you going to run out? "By the middle of the day, yeah."

It kind of feels like everyone and their mother has an iPhone 3G at this point. But that can't be true, because people are still (still!) queuing up for the gadget. Your morning availability report:

Apple Midtown
Line length: No line
Availability: Have 'em all
Color: Regarding the voucher system, now customers can pick a time to come back. Previously, you just took whatever was assigned to you.

Apple Soho
Line length: Two hours
Availability: All models in stock
Color: "We usually run out by the early afternoon."

Apple Meatpacking
Line length: 30 minutes to an hour
Availability: It's all in stock
Color: Still doing vouchers

The iPhrenzy really is petering out, friends. Waits for the new iPhone 3G, once upwards of four hours, have shrunk to about an hour. Supply seems strong. And soon, hopefully, there will be no lines. Until then, we'll keep bringing you availability reports. This morning's:

Apple Midtown
Line length: No line
Availability: Have all the models in right now
Color: "We're low on the 8 gig"

Apple Soho
Line length: One to two hours
Availability: They've got all models
Color: When's the best time to come if you want to buy a phone? "Probably now," says Apple staffer, laughing.

Apple MePa
Line length: One and a half hours
Availability: All phones in stock
Color: Come by "right now, as we'll probably be sold out by the end of the morning."

Could it be? Is the iPhrenzy finally abating? Fingers crossed. In the meantime, here's your morning iPhone 3G availability report:

Apple Midtown
Line length: No line
Availability: "We have all three models"
Color: What's the latest someone should stop by to pick up a voucher? "I'd say by 1 or 2PM, to be safe."

Apple Soho
Line length: At most, an hour
Availability: Everything is in stock
Color: The line has shrunk such that the Genius hadn't even noticed it when she came in

Apple MePa
Line length: No line
Availability: "We're pretty much out, Ma'am."

Sick of the iPhone 3G yet? Not us! Well, actually, we are just a tiny bit sick of it. Nonetheless, we soldier on. Your morning report on lines and phone availability:

Apple Midtown
Line length: None, thanks to the voucher system
Availability: They only have the 16 gig in white
Color: There are no deliveries on the weekends, which is why they're out. More will probably come in after noon today.

Apple Soho
Line length: Two to three hours
Availability: Do you have all the phones in stock? "Right now, yes we do."
Color: What is the best time to show up to get a voucher? "Early in the morning. Definitely before 10am."

We're still on iPhone 3G watch this morning, but there's really nothing new to relay. People are still waiting for hours at the downtown stores, and the Cube seems to be successfully running it's voucher system uptown, eliminating lines. The report:

Apple Midtown
Line length: Voucher system has taken care of the line
Availability: Have all phones in stock
Color: "Right now, we're still giving out vouchers for 11am and noon."

Apple Soho
Line length: One to two hours
Availability: Fully stocked
Color: "Come on the early side" for vouchers, as "they do run out."

Apple Meatpacking
Line length: Four hours
Availability: Have all models in stock
Color: "Get here as early as possible" if you want a voucher.

It's officially been three weeks since Apple unveiled the iPhone 3G. It feels like a year. Sadly, people are still forced to stand outside in the summer heat for hours to buy one. Your Friday report:

Apple Midtown
Line: No real line because of the vouchers.
Availability: Right now, everything's in stock.
Color: Come before 1 PM if you want to get a voucher today.

Apple Soho
Line length: Three to four hours
Availability: "We're fully stocked"
Color: Nothing new to report. Just another day at the Apple store in Soho.

Line outside the Soho store at 10am today

One of these things is not like the others: You can get an iPhone voucher in Soho, MePa, or Midtown, but only in Midtown will it be pegged to a specific time, thereby eliminating the wait. In Soho and MePa, on the other hand, vouchers are pegged to stock, which means you'll get the phone of your choice, but you might have to wait for hours. Today's report:

Apple Midtown
Line length: Vouchers have all but eliminated the line. You might "wait two minutes" to pick one up, but that's about it.
Availability: They only have the 16 gig in white.
Color: Will you run out of iPhones today? "No, but it might be less busy today because we only have white ones."

Apple Soho
Line length: Three hours
Availability: All models are in stock.
Color: Yesterday, a commenter pointed out that the voucher system "might guarantee you the phone of your choice but it doesn't cut out the waiting. Was told there was no line last night, so grabbed a voucher this morning at 8:30am after waiting 5mins and headed back at 5:45pm hoping for no line. Ended up getting out of there with my new iPhone 3G a few minutes before 9pm."

After three weeks straight of iPhone 3G insanity, it seems like things are finally starting to calm down. Vouchers are the norm at all three Manhattan stores, reducing (or eliminating) lines. That doesn't mean that getting a phone is easy, though—no, you still have to work for it. The report:

Apple Midtown
Line length: None, thanks to the handy voucher system
Availability: They're out of the 16 gig in black
Color: There is a slight wait (15-30 min) for vouchers

Apple Soho
Line: One to two hours
Availability: All models in stock
Color: The way the voucher system works here, as explained to us this morning by a patient salesperson: Apple staffers hand out vouchers to people in line until they run out of them. You are then guaranteed a phone of your choice if you return with that voucher in hand before 6pm. Yes, you might have to wait in line again. No, the vouchers are not transferable. Does this make the whole experience less painful? Debatable.

Friends, Apple fanatics: Pictured here is a real, honest-to-goodness iPhone 3G voucher procured by a Racked operative earlier today at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store. As you can see, it features a timestamp indicating when its owner should return to the store to pick up one of those glorious, magical, in-demand gadgets. Does it look like something issued by a library in the 60's? Yes, but they've had precious little time to design anything high-tech. We should note here that this piece of paper does not, repeat, does not guarantee you a specific model. But with this slip, you will be able to buy whatever type they have left in stock without an insane wait. (Which is, to our understanding, not the case with the vouchers that Soho and Meatpacking are handing out.)

Line outside Apple Soho at 8:55AM yesterday

Apple Stores are still using a voucher system to try to mitigate iPhone 3G lines, which seems to be working to varying effects at the company's three Manhattan locations. Ordering a phone from AT&T is looking better and better, right?

Apple Midtown
Line: "Oh, we're not doing a line anymore. We're doing a voucher system. Come down, pick up a voucher and it'll be time-stamped for when you can return to pick up your phone."
Availability: They've got them all, but "it's a mixed bag."
Color: The voucher guarantees you a phone, but not a specific model. So some people will walk away with the coveted 16 gig in black, and others...won't.

Apple Soho
Line: Two to three hours
Availability: Have all models in stock
Color: Come "as early as possible" to get a voucher for the phone of your choice. Once you have that, you will be able to get a phone if you return to the store before 6pm that day.

Line at the Meatpacking District Apple store at 9AM

On this, the third week straight of iPhrenzy, Apple execs have finally taken steps to reduce the massive lines of shoppers waiting patiently for iPhone 3Gs. Staffers are now handing out vouchers at all Manhattan stores, which can be redeemed later on in the day (say, if you need to go to the bathroom—or god-forbid, go to work). The full report:

Apple Soho
Line Length: It's unclear, though it looks to be about three hours
Availability: Currently, they're stocked will all models
Color: The voucher system is in full swing in Soho. One staffer works the line with what looks like a portable POS gadget, entering info and "pre-qualifying" folks, while another hands out vouchers for the phone of each shoppers' choice. Asked how many vouchers were on hand, an Apple salesperson said that that info was confidential but that they "usually run out around 3pm."

Apple Meatpacking
Line length: One to two hours
Availability: Right now, everything is in.
Color: They've also started a voucher system, but there's no time on the vouchers. If you get a voucher, you can come back at any time before 6 and get in (although they can't guarantee there won't be a line then too.). AT&T customers must pre-qualify—basically prove there are no red flags on their accounts—to get a voucher. Non-AT&T customers don't have to prequalify.

The Soho line on Friday

Here's a new twist in the iPhone saga: At the Fifth Avenue store, they've eliminated the line completely by giving out vouchers for a specific time. Customers show up, get their scheduled time, and then come back to pick up the phone then. The Soho and MePa stores are still relying on old-school line fortitude, though.

Apple Midtown
Line length: Since they implemented the voucher system yesterday, there is no line for phones.
Availability: They'll probably run out before tomorrow, which is why the vouchers are today only.
Color: The phone line might be gone, but now there's a small line for vouchers.

Apple MePa
Line length: Two hours
Availability: It's all in stock
Color: Does the line get shorter towards the end of the day? "I think it'll stay a solid wait time of two hours."

Apple Soho
Line length: An hour to an hour and a half
Availability: Everything is in stock
Color: "The earlier you get here, the better!"

iPhone line in Midtown [Femia, 07/24/2008]

Are Apple techies trying to discourage iPhone 3G shoppers from flocking to their stores this weekend? When we checked the gadget's availability on Apple.com last night, the site reported that every single store in NYC was sold out. Not the case, friends. The rundown:

Apple Midtown
Line length: "It's down to the corner." You mean, 58th and Madison? "Yeah, it's going to be a few hours."
Availability: "We've got every phone in stock"
Color: Are you going to sell out? "I doubt it."

Apple Meatpacking
Line length: Four hours
Availability: 8 gig, 16 gig in white
Color: Stock doesn't seem like it's going to run out anytime soon.

Apple SoHo
Line length: Two to three hours
Availability: We have everything in stock
Color: They're not sure if they'll run out of phones or not, but from the tone of the salesperson we spoke with, it sounded like they'd be dry by noon.