'new york'

It's official: 'iDay' has dawned

At the 5th Avenue Apple store in Manhattan, which recently passed 100 people in line for the iPhone's release, there was a countdown at midnight to mark the official start of what's being referred to as "iDay." The rain has passed, and it's a surprisingly tolerable night; some people have set up tents and are asleep, while others have set up board games and are planning to stay up all night, or are engaging in guessing games to figure out other line-waiters' occupations. Still others, recently arrived and looking better outfitted for the beach than … Read more

Media, marketing opportunists flood Fifth Avenue iPhone line

Twenty-twenty-twenty-four hours to go, I want my freaking iPhone. The line of people waiting for the iPhone at New York's Fifth Avenue store was, at last count, still fewer than 40 people long with 24 hours to go, and the sky was looking like a downpour might start any second. But that didn't stop camera crews (including comedian Mo Rocca, now a Daily Show-style reporter for AOL News), journalists, and photographers from clogging the sidewalk to get the scoop on the spectacle.

Plenty of them wanted to talk to first-in-liner Greg Packer, despite the fact that he's … Read more

Manhattan iPhone Watch: T minus 1.25 days

High noon. The rain's stopped, thankfully, but now it's sunny and sweltering in New York. I stopped by the downtown Apple Store in SoHo right around midday, and the dozen or so people waiting in line for the iPhone were now using their umbrellas as parasols. Luckily, Apple Store representatives were walking around handing out free bottles of SmartWater (is that what they feed them at the Genius Bar?) to the queuers.

At the front of the line, as previously reported, is a group of volunteers from Keep a Child Alive, the foundation that had staked out the … Read more

Manhattan iPhone Watch: T minus 1.5 days

On Wednesday, as predicted, the rain came. I must say I don't think I've sported this much Gore-Tex outside of hiking trips. Thunderstorms had been on the horizon for New York, and despite rampant rumors that Steve Jobs can control the weather, they still came. Around the 5th Avenue Apple Store, drainage isn't too good, so parts of the stone courtyard outside the Early Show studios were half an inch deep in water. (Note to self: don't wear flip-flops next time!)

But that didn't do anything to break up the line of enthusiasts waiting for … Read more

Power outage knocks out NYC subway line

A power outage, possibly related to the sweltering heat, has knocked out one of New York City's most heavily trafficked subway lines as well as some lights in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. The outage, which apparently began around 3:40 PM EDT, affected the 4, 5, and 6 subway lines (the green line), the D line, and power in nearby areas of Manhattan and the Bronx near Yankee Stadium. There's no word on when power will be restored yet.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority's Web site, meanwhile, is timing out, probably due to the overload … Read more

Manhattan iPhone Watch: T minus 2.5 days

11 PM Eastern time, and the iPhone's just over two days away. The latest news from the NYC iPhone front is that a line has begun to form in front of Manhattan's "other Apple Store"--the smaller, less glamorous, not-open-24-7 downtown location in the shopping-heavy SoHo neighborhood. There are only three people in line, however, and they're all together so they're taking shifts (two were present when I got there). All three are from advertising agency Anomaly, which represents the nonprofit organization Keep a Child Alive. The two Anomalists I met, Lindsey Lanpher and … Read more

Manhattan iPhone Watch: T minus 3 days

We're up to six people in line, folks. Unfortunately, only two of them were present when I stopped by iPhone Central (also known as the 5th Avenue Apple Store) around 4:00 PM EDT. One of them was Greg Packer, the proverbial "first guy in line." The other was Jessica Rodriguez, who showed up at about 10:00 AM and is hoping to score an iPhone for her sister's birthday--and one for herself if she can nab two.

What was the weather like today? "Hot," they both said. The best item to bring along … Read more

Manhattan iPhone Watch: T minus 3.5 days

NEW YORK--They're heeeeeee-ere.

Actually, I owe you all an apology. When I first showed up at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store earlier this afternoon, I didn't spot anyone waiting in line yet. That's because I didn't spot the one person in line, who'd gotten there at 5 a.m. EDT. Security personnel for the building, however, have mandated that Camp iPhone be located off to the side of the building, out of sight of people who are approaching the Apple Store from 59th Street (the nearest subway stop). The Craigslist crowd was assuming that people … Read more

Manhattan iPhone Watch: T minus 4 days

No, nobody's waiting yet. A trip over to the iconic 5th Avenue Apple Store in midtown Manhattan at about 2:00 PM ET yielded the usual out-of-town shoppers (us locals typically prefer the only-slightly-less-mobbed SoHo location) and the new iPhone-shaped video displays in the windows, but no tents or crazed Apple fans. I did spot a couple of security-ish guys in suits walking around.

I'm guessing that if people showed up this early, desperate to be the first people in the States to get their hands on the iPhone, they'd be shooed away. We saw this with … Read more

The New York Observer on the New York Times on News Corp.

There's something kind of funny about a blog entry around a recent article in one outlet indicating that another newspaper is working on an expose about yet another media outlet, but that really is what this post is about. According to Michael Calderone at the New York Observer, "The New York Times is currently undertaking a major news investigation, led by managing editor Jill Abramson, into News Corp.'s business dealings throughout the world, according to a source with knowledge of the project."

Amidst the heavily hyped negotiations between Murdoch's minions and the Bancroft family who currently own the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times has apparently decided to mount their own investigation in an effort to examine what should be expected from the possible merger. While there is no clear indication what spin the Times will put on the story, it seems unlikely that the paper will conclude that Rupert Murdoch is the patron saint of news media. The New York times is one of the last major independent media outlets (along with the Wall Street Journal - for now), and it's altogether possible that News Corp. may eventually set it's sites on the Times, so I think it is safe to anticipate that this article won't be a puff piece.