The iPhone 5 is due to be released in September in the United States and then October in other markets, although one eager Apple fanatic has taken it upon himself to start lining up for the new phone a full two months before it is to make an appearance in stores across the globe. Rob Shoesmith is already camping outside an Apple store on Covent Garden in London in the hope of being the first UK citizen to get the latest Apple gadget.
All is not what it seems though. Shoesmith is an employee of US app development company MEDL Mobile and is spending the next two months living in the gutter as part of an experiment. Enduring a fair amount of rain and the possibility of being stolen by lawless rioters, Shoesmith is attempting to see whether he can survive for the next two months purely on ‘Apple’s marketing influence’.
The crazy Apple fanatic will live solely on donations, either left over pieces of sandwiches from passing strangers or, he hopes, more valuable contributions being made through his website. Shoesmith has already received several thousand pounds worth of contributions and promises that at least some of these proceeds will go to good causes.
No doubt Shoesmith is going to get a lot in return for this, aside from the contributions made on his website it will also garner a lot of publicity for his employer, but it will be interesting to see whether other people are spurred on by his presence and start to camp out themselves. The iPhone 5 will feature some big new hardware changes including a larger screen, improved 8 megapixel camera with 1080p video and a speedier dual core processor powering it all. The new iOS interface will also incorporate some excellent new features like the Android inspired notification tray.
Of course Rob Shoesmith could just save himself all the bother and pre-order some iPhone 5 deals from online comparison sites. He will save a great deal of money compared to purchasing directly from Apple and won’t run the risk of being mistaken for a 42inch plasma television by frenzied looters.
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