“It’s basically a mini Burning Man. People with shared values hang out together and have something to talk about.”
— Kit Yarrow, a consumer psychologist, on the customary camping out to wait for the new iPhone. What are those “shared values”? In some cases, says Yarrow, it’s about being first. In other cases, what some campers have in common is the love of money: They’re being sponsored by companies who want publicity. Newsweek caught up with people who are already in line at the Apple Store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, including two cousins who have done the big iPhone wait for five years. Their sponsor: Buybackworld.com, a platform for buying used electronics. They arrived Aug. 31 and expect to be in line for 20 days. (Apple is expected to announce the iPhone Tuesday; the device is expected to go on sale on the 19th.)
Photo: People wait in line to buy the new iPhone 4 at the University Avenue Apple Store in Palo Alto on Thursday, June 24, 2010. (Kirstina Sangsahachart/Daily News)
