So it’s official, SUBWAYblogger sweats the new Apple iPhone, and isn’t even out yet!

The New York City subway will truely be the testing ground for the device. Down here is where you’ll probably see the highest concentration of them once the hit the market.

Look at what’s here already. The iPod dominates the transit portable electronic device category. Within 43 seconds of a new iPod version hitting the shelf, dozens of people are using them on the subway. The PSP and Gameboys are everywhere too.

Straphangers love their techno gadgets, and the iPhone will be the master of them all.

Email, Internet (when there’s a signal), games, phone, music, movies…this thing screams subway user.

Do you think if SUBWAYblogger make the iPhone our official device they’ll give us one? Yeah…me neither.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

What the hell is that sound? You know the little two tone chime that the doors make as they are closing? Well, I’m on a car that’s making a sound you rarely ever hear.

There’s basically two main chimes that you will find on the subway. The older lines have one sound, and the new express trains play a slightly different version.

Every now and then, there must be a bug in the “chime system” of the older trains. For some reason, the familiar two tone is replaced with some random chime. It’s not even like it is a subtle difference. It is waaaay off.

So how does that happen? Somewhere on this train is a device who’s only job is to play “bing-bong.” That’s it. It only has one purpose in this world. Out of nowhere, it decide to play a different tune. Kinda makes you wonder what else on the train does what ever the hell it wants.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

WTF? Did it snow for 30 seconds today? Yeah, yeah it did.

Ok, so it was 73 in Central park 4 days ago, and today it snowed.

This is how January should be in New York. Cold. This is the time of year that makes you appreciate the subway.

How relieved are you to finally make it to the stairs for the subway when it’s 30 degrees out? That’s a good feeling.

Unlike the summer, the platforms are even comfortable. At New York’s coldest, all you need underground is a light jacket. At street level, you’ll need foul weather gear. So screw waiting for the bus. Those shelters don’t help a damn bit. No matter what, the wind always comes from the open side!

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

WTF was up with that stink today, huh? That was crazy. Now the conspiracy nuts come out of the wood work. Everyone claims they are the expert.

Personally, SUBWAYblogger thinks someone spilled a chemical stink by accident, but is affraid of being labeled a terrorist.

Anyway, the stink shut down the PATH train and the F train for a little while. Not a major disruption in the middle of the day though.

It was funny to see people “panic” and evacuate their offices. In reality, I think we all know that people will use any excuse they can to get out of work. Employees at their desks were thinking the same thing as the kids in the schools…and that was how to milk this for everything it’s worth!

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

Just think, if it was cold (like January should be), this would all be snow! It has rained over 1.5 inches so far. That could potentially translate into a couple FEET of snow.

I was once told by a meteorologist that in very general terms, an inch of rain equals a foot of snow. Sometimes much more, sometimes less, but generally speaking.

So we could have been slammed by quite the winter storm had it been cooler. I have to say, it would have been nice. It doesn’t feel right to be walking around the city without a coat on in January.

It feels like spring in the subway. Some of the trains needed to turn the air conditioning back on! The other day, it was just plain hot on the trains.

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

So what do you do to pass the time on the subway? Obviously, SUBWAYblogger blogs on the train. What do you do?

As I look around, it seems that a lot of people got PSP’s (Play Station Portable) for Christmas. The increase in videogamers on the train is noticable.

Looks like there are a bunch of new iPods aound too, but that’s nothing new.

I could never get into reading on the train. It’s a motion sickness thing I guess like reading in the car. Makes me dizzy.

I know, I know. If I can’t read on the subway, how can I manage to type a blog? Easy, I really don’t look at the screen much. I’ve gotten pretty good at typing on this little keyboard so I don’t even need to look anymore. It’s like typing on a regular keyboard. You don’t really watch the whole time.

Some people “people watch.” Some sleep. Others stand there like zombies.

So what do you do?

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…

There’s a lot of people that sleep on the subway. Every day, you see people passed out on the trains.

Personally, SUBWAYblogger says BAD IDEA. A little doze here and there is ok, but an all out nap is dangerous. You’ll wake up, and all your stuff is gone!

How about the people that wear a big coat or sweatshirt and pull it over their heads. You might as well put a sign on your head that’s says “Mug Me.”

Granted, many of these character are homeless. And we’ve all had a “fun” ride home from a bar after a few too many. So sleeping on the train is just a given. If you’re gonna do it though, don’t do it during rush hour. Accidentally slumping over on the lady next to you isn’t very “attractive.”

Live from the subway, back to you in studio…