iPhone uncensored.

The sight of humans in all shapes and sizes camping in front of an AT&T store for days , waiting for their beloved iPhone, was as amusing as I have ever seen in recent times. It reminded me of queues that Indians are ( or were ) quite familiar with - ration shops, community taps and voting. But few Indians would queue up for what is essentially a luxury item. And to buy luxury items, people (all over the world) typically want a luxurious experience. With one exception. If you a self-professed cool dude/junkie/geek/tech analyst , you will walk over hot charcoal to get first to that next bleeding edge technology product.

But wait, is iPhone really a bleeding edge technology product? People have their opinions on this but largely the answer is no. Still , People will buy iPhone because it is made by Apple and it has a catchy name which rhymes with iPod which most of them would already have. Some of them would even have iMacs. Or Powerbooks. Or some such expensive , sleek looking accessories. This is yet another feather in the marketing acumen ( some call it gimmickry) of Steve Jobs and Apple. They have perfected the classic art of mass marketing in the guise of niche marketing.