Today, Apple officially released the iPhone 4, the first major redesign of the iPhone and the iOS since the iPhone 3G. And, since Street Attack’s office is just over a football field away from Apple’s largest Apple Store, we saw it all go down.

The Customers
There were lots of them. In front of the store was two neatly organized and folding lines – one for reserved purchases and one for the brave folk. A handful had been there since the day before. While there was on average around 50 people constantly in the reserved line, the I’ll-try-to-buy-it-now line escaped well past the human-coralle and extended 400ft – all the way past our offices at the line’s peak. Nearly every customer in line was fiddling with his or her outdated iPhone 3G, waiting for the glorious upgrade.

Apple
Apple has mastered the art of the anticipated release. This was by far the most organized Apple release event to date – everything from the tidy lines to the employees passing out free SmartWater and snacks made very clear the forethought Apple had put into the Boston release. On this hot summer day, a few employees even offered sunscreen to the patiently waiting customers. Most impressive of all, even 4 hours after the doors had opened, customers were still lining up and Apple was – surprisingly – still providing devices. We estimate that Apple had several hundred devices in stock.

Everyone Else
Aside from the confused onlookers and Street Attack interns, there were a few more important attendees at the iPhone release: the street teams. Just as the Apple devices and operating systems have sparked independent product and software companies, the Apple release events now provide a forum for experiential promotion. In Boston, an iPhone case company handed out cupcakes with their logo, and walked around displaying their technology. The idea is genius: this company was able to create hundreds of impressions to an extremely defined consumer base. Every person in that line could use an iPhone 4 case (and a cupcake too!).

Clearly, the Apple phenomenon is spreading further than ever. Further down the street, yes. But it’s also paving new avenues for promotion – and that’s a whole lot more important.