Apple iPhone 3G S: Deja Vu All Over Again

For the third consecutive year, crowds came out in droves to buy the latest iPhone model. It's estimated that Apple's flagship store in New York City had 250 or so iPhone faithful lined up to be among the first to get their mitts on the coveted smartphone, which went on sale in Apple and AT&T stores at 7 a.m. in each respective time zone. Appleheads also lined up around the world, with long queues reported in Paris and London too.

Sounds a lot like previous iPhone releases, doesn't it?

To be honest, I was little surprised. I was expecting a smaller turnout for this smartphone rollout, maybe due to iPhone fatigue or lack of interest. Or, maybe, some potential buyers would come to their senses and say "Hey, wait a minute, I just bought an iPhone 3G last year. Why do I need a new one?"

But Apple, with all of its innovation and marketing prowess, has built a device similar to a drug: Once users get a taste, they come back for more. And they're willing to wait in line to get it.

"I got on line at 2 a.m.," Luis Palcios told CNN. Palcios was one of the first to emerge from the New York Apple Store with a new iPhone. "It was really early, but it was worth it for the video."

It surely says something about the iPhone's draw if for three years straight droves of people line up to buy a smartphone. It happened in June 2007 when the first Apple iPhone was released. It happened again in July 2008 with the release of the Apple iPhone 3G. Now, here we are in 2009, and folks are gathered around to pick up the Apple iPhone 3G S.

But is a new iPhone really worth lining up for again? That's open for interpretation.

Yes, the iPhone 3G S adds video recording. That's pretty neat. Oh, and a compass. Wow. The Apple iPhone 3G S also promises faster 3G speeds, up to 7.2 Mbps, but you'll likely never reach speeds that high. Actual speeds will be much lower. New iPhone buyers also get a better camera, longer battery life and voice-command control.

So why is everyone lining up and fighting the crowds to drop $199 on a 16 GB iPhone 3G S or $299 on its monstrous 32 GB counterpart? Your guess is as good as mine. Me, I'd rather wait to buy an iPhone 3G S until the crowds die down and I can stroll into the store casually and pick one up. Or, even better, buy one online and not have to even go outside.

Some analysts predicted that Apple will sell about 500,000 Apple iPhone 3G S handsets this weekend alone. That's about half of what the Apple iPhone 3G sold in its first weekend last year, but, dang, is it impressive, considering the iPhone 3G S's rival in the clash of the touch screen-titans, the Palm Pre, sold an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 in its first few days on store shelves.

But there's no doubt the lines will grow longer as the day goes on, proving once and for all that Apple has indeed cemented its place as the cream of the smartphone crop. The iPhone 3G S is just Apple's latest crack at smartphone dominance.