iSheep is not a far fetched word

If the lines witnessed today are anything to go by, then iSheep is not a far fetched description of Apple followers. It is the seventh time Apple fanatics are lining for more than twenty four weeks hours to get the latest Apple’s top notch phone. No, Apple phones are not relief food. They do not fit any category of basic commodities neither can they be classified as necessities. As for luxury, they offer close to half what other smartphones have already offered earlier on in the year. It is no wonder that Apple fans were celebrating the inclusion of “Add to reject list” feature that has been available on Samsung devices before the debut of smartphones. Actually, ever since the first iPhone was introduced for the first time, subsequent releases have been close to the same metal cased electronic circuitry differentiated from the previous releases only by higher pricing. And the same higher prices differentiates Apple’s top notch phones from cheap plastic alternatives like Samsung Galaxy S series. The prices of Apple devices are so high that only those who cannot normally line up usually line up for anything.

So I have been wondering why a sane person should line up in order to be reaped off of more than Kshs. 75,000. Any time I have to spend more than Kshs. 30,000 at once, I must in turn receive services that befit a King. No, its not just the Americans lining up, but some sane and rich iSheep also flew all the way from Europe and other parts of the world to join the long queues with intention of getting the iPhone before anyone else! “We can’t buy the phone in Turkey yet and we don’t want to miss getting it here,” “And we are just crazy” reports Joanna Stern at Yahoo News.

If you listened to the reasons the iSheep give for lining up you wonder why they who are technologically  advanced cannot use the same technology to avoid the lines. Their major reason for lining up? The iPhones will be out of stock. Didn’t they do any basic economics of demand and supply? Don’t they know that Apple is in business of supplying goods and services whenever there is demand or else it will be out of business? Ok others are used by advertisers and others just want to be the first so that they can resell the iPhones a few weeks later for $100 or thereabout margin.

The truth is, Apple has just managed to turn a bunch of insane people into iSheep.