What's in the box?!

YouTube videos of people ‘unboxing’ their new mobile phones, games consoles, gadgets and gizmos are the latest craze amongst tech fans – it’s been dubbed ‘geek porn’, but what’s all the fuss about?!

I must admit to the butterfly feeling of taking a new box out of the City Link bag, wondering if my new phone will live up to expectations (my latest one didn’t but that’s a whole other story…Vodafone you con artists)…sorry, I digress.

Anyway, it’s exciting because it’s MY new phone, my gadget to get to grips with – have and hold all shiny and new…until the little protective plastic layer over the screen gets biscuit crumbs under the edges and you have to give in and peel it off – usually after about 24 hours.

I cannot see the fascination of watching other people unbox their new toys. You can’t have a go, have a hold or anything like that; you’ve just got to watch their enjoyment. Maybe I’m missing the point, but some clips on YouTube have hundreds of thousands of hits – how come?! Even Todd Carty’s dancing on ice spectacular received fewer, no fair!

However, it is fantastic free advertising for companies such as Sony and Blackberry when the ‘opener’ nearly pees with joy when he realises that the new iPhone has a scientific calculator. Eeek.

If you’ve never experienced ‘unboxing’ then you have to watch this clip of the Samsung Omnia. Read the text at the side of the clip though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQlzX7EyIwU

Now this one, I did enjoy.
http://i.gizmodo.com/5050076/the-most-realistic-unboxing-of-all-time

I’m off to unbox the eco friendly nappies that just arrived by Parcel Force, anyone care to join me?