The winner of Apple’s 10 billionth app download content initially hung up on Apple Vice President Eddy Cue, dismissing the phone call as a prank, much to the distress of her two teenage daughters who had actually downloaded the app in question. Mr. Cue was trying to call Gail Davis of Orpington, Kent, UK to tell her that she had won a US$10,000 iTunes gift card, but was told by the skeptical Mrs. Davis that she wasn’t interested.
“I thought it was a prank call,” Mrs. Gail told The Cult of Mac. “I said, ‘Thank you very much, I’m not interested’ and I hung up.”
Her daughters, however, were aware of the contest and had downloaded several apps in the early morning hours (local), including what turned out to be the winner, Paper Glider, a free app, and their mom throwing away of a gillion free downloads made the two “tense.”
“The girls came down and said it wasn’t a prank,” Mrs. Davis said. “I had a moment of panic. The more I thought about it, the more I realized it was a genuine call. The girls were getting quite tense. They never would have forgiven me. They would have held it against me for all eternity.”
Fortunately for the eternal love of her children, someone else from Apple tried the Davis household again, and this time the call was accepted as the real deal.
“I was hugely relieved,” Mrs. Davis said. “I was getting really worried.
The Davis daughters, age 14 and 17, both have iPod touches, the only iOS devices in the household capable of running apps. Mr. and Mrs. Davis both have iPods, but they’re nanos, which can’t run apps. Having roughly £6,250.88 in free apps, however, has prompted her to consider upgrading to a new device, “So we can join the party.”