Shaq: I Called Steve Jobs Every Other Day to Ask for an iPhone

Fast Company has an interesting article that details how Apple treats celebrities just like everybody else when it comes to getting an early release on new products. It doesn’t matter who you are, you’re going to have to wait in line like the rest of us.

Shaq commented on how he used to call Steve Jobs every other day to get an original iPhone back in the day:

“I’ve always wanted to be the one that’s on the edge of technological curve. I always wanted to be ahead of everybody else. The great Steve Jobs, rest in peace, when the iPhone was first coming out, I used to call him every other day. Can I please get one first? Can I please get one first? He never gave me one. He said, ‘Shaq, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.’ He was a great guy.”

The Big Aristotle is awesome. Other tidbits in the article mentions how Apple also keeps it sets locked down, such as the time when they happened to be filming an iPad 2 campaign in the next studio as Old Spice. When the Old Spice guys tried to visit the set, they noted “it was like dealing with the CIA”.

It’s incredible the amount of secrecy Apple is able to uphold when it comes to their new products. Check out the fun little article here.