468

I'm #468! Hooray! Well, I assume Rogers has separate queues for each iPhone type, so if that isn't an overall position, then at least of all the Rogers customers who reserved a white 16GB 4S this morning, I'm 468. Reservations from Rogers started at 3AM local time (other companies started at midnight... I wonder why the difference?) and what do you know, I just happened to wake up in the middle of the night around 3:30 and made my reservation since I was up anyway!

Of course this doesn't mean I'll get a new iPhone on release day next Friday. Even if they get 1,000 so I get one from the first batch, I think they're going to have them go to the stores a day or two later. They'll be busy enough with people lined up, and getting a cell phone is a little more complex than popping into the store and buying any other electronics. It'll probably be better, actually, going in later when they're not swamped. Much better service when they're not focused on getting as many people through quickly as possible and dealing with a huge crowd that all wants the same thing. And I didn't reserve an iPhone 4S just to try and ensure I'd get one on release day, anyway. I got one to make sure I could easily get one without having to spend hours in lines, running around to different stores all the time, and/or waiting weeks for stores to actually have it in stock.

I, for one, am looking forward to having a new iPhone, in spite of all the hate the 4S got when it was unveiled. I'd wager that all the people who were loudly complaining about it either already owned an iPhone 4, or weren't going to buy one anyway regardless of what was changed and just like to nitpick about everything. I saw pretty much the same thing after the iPad 2 was announced—loads of “It's not good enough. No way I'm getting one to replace my iPad!” whiners. I read an article earlier this week that I think hit the nail on the head. Sure, there's no massive hardware changes between the iPhone 4 and 4S aside from it being faster and having a better camera so iPhone 4 owners will be less likely to want to upgrade. But iPhone 4 owners are not the target audience.

People with an iPhone 4 are most likely still in the middle of their contract, and would have to pay a lot extra to upgrade their phone now. Instead, it'll be owners of older models, who are no longer in a contract as is the case with me, or those who don't own one at all who are most likely to get it. Sure, there's the handful of people who would pay anything to get a new Apple product if it was a whole lot better, but the majority of people will wait for the end of their contract before getting a new phone.

True, the iPhone 4S may be physically identical on the outside to an iPhone 4. Loads of people were complaining about that. But to me, that's actually a huge plus. The second I walk out of the store with my new iPhone, I can go practically anywhere and buy one of probably hundreds of cases and/or screen protectors available for it. When I bought my iPad 2 on launch day, there was just one choice. Apple's Smart Cover. And since I did not want one of those, I had to wait weeks for the first third party case to make an appearance, and even then, there was only a handful to choose from. Fortunately the first batch of iPad cases included one that was exactly what I was looking for.

So now, I have to patiently wait for the arrival of my iPhone. Maybe a week, or maybe two. Hopefully it won't be long before Rogers starts sending out the status emails they promised. But until then I guess I can pass the time browsing the case shelves in the stores!

***BREAKING NEWS!!!***
I just checked again out of curiosity, and now I'm up to 463. I guess 5 people canceled their reservations since this morning.