On June 29 amid much hoopla the iPhone was launched. So what is the iPhone? It is simply a gorgeous combination computer, cellphone, music player, camera and Internet gadget. Apple cult members had been waiting for it since January. Talk about hype. In the past six months the iPhone has been the subject of 11,000 print articles and over 70 million hits on Google! It turns out the hype is justified. It’s sleek and thin, fast and beautiful, menu free and dead simple to operate. Bloggers are calling it the Jesus Phone.
At the Apple flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York, people began to form a line five days before the launch, determined to get the device at any cost. Some enterprising folks saw the hoopla surrounding the launch as a business opportunity. The plan. Charge a fee to create a diversion so unbearable that customers at the front of the line give up in despair. Allowing people at the end of the line a better shot at getting an iPhone before they sold out.
For many the iPhone is a must have device. According to a Craigslist.com ad, a company called Over Here, Jerks Inc., includes a dozen stuntmen, a few chinchillas, bearded-dragon lizards and goats. A desperate would-be iPhone owner could pay $50 for three antics - possibly the release of noxious fumes, piercing sounds or wild animals near the line - whatever it takes to get customers to abandon their quest for the coveted iPhone.
Craigslist was brimming with offers from people willing to wait in line for up to three days, if necessary, for commissions ranging from $125 to more than $1,000. Some pitched tents under trees, eating snacks and watching DVDs on their laptops. The camped–out entrepreneurs were getting offers of $300 to wait in line. Others used the opportunity to raise funds for a good cause. One fellow said he would buy two phones, they cost $500 to $600 apiece depending on the model; and auction one for $5,000 to raise money for a charitable organization. To help his efforts he asked New Yorkers to bring him food, preferably turnips, carrots and radishes.
BetUS.com, an online gambling site based in Costa Rica, has invited people to place wagers on the iPhone. A few predictions: odds of 5 to 6 that Apple will sell 12 million iPhones in 2008, and 20 to 1 odds that someone will get trampled trying to get an iPhone. On the first day of the launch Apple sold 525,000 phones. More than half the Apple stores on the US west coast ran out of phones on the first day. Early iPhone owners are overwhelmingly happy with their devices according to a prompt survey just out and Apple are luring customers away from rivals as a result.
The iPhone will come to Britain, Germany and France in October and follow elsewhere in Europe and in Asia next year. And now we hear the Mobile phone company O2 is reportedly on the verge of signing an exclusive deal with Apple to distribute its new iPhone in the UK. The Financial Times, citing undisclosed sources familiar with the matter, said that O2 was set to become the first European mobile operator to be named as an exclusive network partner to Apple over the sale of the new product. O2 is owned by Telefonica. Well done Telefonica!
Scum Report
My email has been running off the hook since I deflated the intellectual pretensions of the Euro Weekly clown Mrs. Ed. Most messages said I was way too kind, even affectionate. I know I mustn’t allow my longstanding fondness for Lenox Napier to cloud my judgment, but her prejudice, parochial ignorance and self-delusion border on derangement. She’s a toxic drip. And more kinder than that I cannot be! Actually at times her stuff can be hilarious and entertaining, like her blinding brilliance from the July 12 issue. “Well, Frances, first of all The Euro Weekly News doesn’t have rivals – there are merely “other publications”... I’ve nothing against tree-huggers but Maddie arouses such strong emotions that the arguments fly backwards and forwards. I don’t know about pulling pints… but doesn’t it discriminate against non-bisexuals?” Arguments at the Euro Weekly/ “other publications” fight club, fly backwards and forwards indeed! More at:
Ozzy Back in the News
Last month I mentioned Ozzy Osbourne’s OZZFEST this summer in Holmdel, New Jersey and elsewhere. For those of you who don’t know, Ozzy Osbourne, a native of England, is the satanic-themed rocker who famously fronted Black Sabbath and is known for biting heads off bats on stage. Well, after 14 failed attempts at joining the United Nations using media campaigns and presidential appeals, Taiwan is turning to a goth-style rock band backed by Ozzy Osbourne in its quest for membership to the world body.
The band, named ChthoniC (pronounced Thonick), is a Taiwanese melodic black metal band that incorporates influences from traditional Taiwanese music including instruments such as the Hena, a string instrument similar to a violin. The monster metal band's stated goal is to use their music to bring ancient history and mythology into the modern era, especially the tragic history and unique myths of Taiwan.
ChthoniC has recorded a song urging the United Nations to let Taiwan join, even though its bid for membership keeps getting knocked down because of objections from Beijing. Taiwan's leadership came up with the idea as it prepares to reapply for U.N. membership later this year. China blocks self-ruled Taiwan's applications every year because it sees the island as part of its territory and not a separate country. The two sides split after the civil war in 1949, and Taiwan left the United Nations in 1971 under Chinese pressure.
The band will travel to at least 80 cities in four countries by the end of the year, supported by the Taiwan government, which is providing pro-U.N. literature and a slogan-painted truck. They will visit Britain, Canada, and Germany and tour the US. Ozzy is helping set up 20 of the U.S. gigs, paying transport costs and letting the band promote U.N. membership as it wishes. As I also mentioned last month Chthonic will perform at the OZZFEST along with other black metal legends such as Lordi, the music ambassadors from Finland. For more info about Ozzfest, check: and the ChthoniC official website: .
After Words
Not all Gins are created equal. Until after the fourth martini….
