Apparently even T-Mobile didn't expect this. As Wayne Rash reported in eWeek, the stores were unprepared for the popularity of the offer and just a bit overwhelmed. Apparently, they hadn't dealt with the passion of Apple buyers before.
What those lines proved was the Apple brand still has plenty of reach and people are still willing to wait in a long line to get the Apple product. Samsung may cleverly make fun of those lines in their ads, but the fact is people have so much brand loyalty when it comes to Apple, they are willing to do that and if the T-Mobile experience is any indication, that still hasn't changed. Samsung started running its ads poking fun at Apple in November 2011. In the US since that time, Apple's installed base has more than doubled. Comparable data isn't available for Samsung, though its smartphone share and installed base has grown strongly. Question: did the ads work?]]>