Yesterday's iPhone craze and the days leading up to it were quite unique and amazing. Only Steve Jobs could pull of something of this magnitude. Back in the day we camped out for hours, even days, to get our hot little hands on a pair of Rolling Stones concert tickets, but a mobile phone? Albeit, it's not just any phone, but nonetheless, it's still a tech gadget.

Apple has always been synonymous with brand evangelism. Apple followers from the beginning have always been loyal and crazy for the brand. But the latest iPhone craze raised the bar and took it to new heights by catapulting Apple to true "rock star" status.

I think it's because Steve Jobs has accomplished something that no other tech company, or any company for that matter, has been able to do. When he opened the Apple stores, he changed the retail experience. It was no longer about going into a store and buying a product off the shelf. He created a brand experience where we go in and play, learn, experience and interact with the products like never before. The design of Apple stores are all about having an experience with the brand. It's brilliant!

And now, we line up for a mobile phone (that cost a half "g") the way we once did for Rolling Stones concert tickets. That's quite remarkable! My hat is off to Steve Jobs. Maybe I should pull out my lighter (if I had one) for the encore! Or more appropriately, I should pull out my iPhone (if I had one...my Treo will have to do) since mobile phones have now replaced the encore lighter ritual of concert goers of the past.

All joking aside, this week's iPhone craze was of rock star proportions. Even Apple Co-founder Steve Wozniak got in line for an iPhone at my hometown shopping mall, Valley Fair in San Jose. Of course we all know he didn't really need to line up for one, but it sure was nice of him to add to the buzz.

Famed blogger and former Microsoft employee Robert Scoble and his son were "the first two idiots in line" (as he put it in his Scobleizer blog) at the Palo Alto, CA Apple store, which not only gave Apple great PR, but Scoble himself as well.

Nonetheless, the iPhone buzz, the faithful Apple groupies in line, and even Steve Jobs, who joined Scoble at the Palo Alto Apple store yesterday, had a rock star day!

If you were not one of the faithful in line yesterday and have $500 to spend on a new iPhone, you are still in luck. According to Apple's Web site and others who have been out to the Apple stores today, the phones are still available, so get out to your local Apple store and experience the iPhone for yourself.