There are only 2 kinds of people in this world — People who know how to get it and who don’t.
I recently wrote a short story about “AirPods “Hearable” — the future of IoT computing” about the importance and potential of the product.
AirPods “Hearable” — the future of IoT computing_AirPods have more computing power than the first iPhone does_hackernoon.com
AirPods are sold out worldwide.
As I mentioned in the story, I went to an Apple store and I was told AirPods are sold out worldwide and suggested to go Apple online store and order.
AirPods ships in 6 weeks.
So I did just that. According to Apple store site, it will be delivered by 13 Jun, 2017… in 6 weeks.
I do not easily give up what I want.
So I start searching for the authorized resellers; Best Buy, Target, B&H, GameStop, FRYS, and even AT&T… well, no one seems to have it. It looks like the stores get small amount every now and then, but AirPads are gone in a matter of few minutes.
People are watching for the re-stock.
But how? Then I come across, this entry “Best way to buy a set of AirPods — and quickly” written by Serenity Caldwell. Caldwell suggests few options. Apple Store, authorized resellers and carriers. Very logical, that is exactly what I went through, then eBay with a premium price. Right, it was my next move. But wait, Caldwell also mentioned about this site: “Is in Stock”.
The site notifies you when the item is re-stocked
I do not know how they do this. But the interface and navigation is pretty good. You enter the zip code and create a search radius to set up a notification. Notification is a one time email by default. If you pay $5.00, you get priority and the SMS text message.
According to the stock history of Apple Stanford, it looks like the item get restocked once or twice in a week and sold out within few minutes mostly —
It is important to notice first and act fast.
I probably need to set up a notification on my phone in order to win this quick pull. So I went to “IFTTT” to trigger for an email from isinstock.com.
Wait for the moment.
After short time (actually just 15 mins), I got a notification. I quickly open the link, it is AT&T got the re-stock.
I went to the online store and navigate through the site, within a minute from the initiation.
The order was completed.
Since it happened an hour ago, the order was not processed by AT&T yet. Therefore, I cannot confirm this actually worked or not.
But I hope this helps someone out there screamed like I did for the “6 weeks” wait.
(Source: GIPTHY)
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
I will let you know how this goes and once I receive it, I will put a review here.
See you shortly,Tack T.
[Update as of May 1st]
I have received a confirmation from AT&T for the shipment.
By the way, you will receive this type of email notification when re-stock happens on one of the Apple Store from IsInStock.com.
[Update as of May 5th]
Thanks to IsInStock.com, I received the package on May 3rd. It took only 5 business day after I start looking for the re-stock alert.
I now canceled the original order from Apple Online Store which could have taken me 6 weeks to receive it (scheduled at Jun 13th).
I start using the mighty AirPods with my iPhone 6 plus (I have an old phone). It connects very easily to iOS devices as advertised. However, I had a little trouble connecting back and forth between iPhone and my Windows Razer Laptop.
Seri integration of AirPods are great, but slow in response (it takes 1.5 sec for Siri to wake up). It will definitely make me call Siri more for sure.
The earphone fit is great. My ears do not fits so well with other in-ear devices, but I always liked the fit of the apple ear pieces and this one fits well as well. The bottom line, it does not fall down.
Purchasing AirPods also meant for me to listen more music on AirPods, which lead me to subscribe iTune Music ($10/month).
I already have Amazon Eco at home and pay Amazon Music subscription fee. Since Alexa and Siri lives in different world they do not share their contents and this is by design.
The subscription fee is not much. However, eventually I will decide one source for the better user experience to avoid maintaining two separate music libraries.
Do I see the potential for AirPods for the next generation computing? — Yes, and the future will tell how it will impact.