(Unboxing the MacBook Air at SlashGear)

When the physical opening of a product stirs up an Internet event called an unboxing, then you can understand how much people love products and their package design. Unboxing is the new geek porn, shown through images or video of the slow unveiling of a product's outer layer of protection. The point of showing an unboxing is to share with others how a product is packaged. Some unboxing images show every little detail of the packaging, others show what is included in the package and where it's placed in the package.

The package design is an integral part of a brand story. It's the prologue to the product experience. When you package beautifully, you show your customers you care for your product.

For the consumer, the initial experience of opening the box adds to the excitement of having the product. The more creative, beautiful, and intricate the packaging is, the more buzz seems to follow (take Apple for example, Google "unboxing" and you'll see over half of the results are Apple products).

I still think the unboxing of Apple products is an uncomparable experience. Each detail of the product is covered and wrapped in delicate and easy-to-remove layers. It's quite exciting.

Here are some of the first Apple iPhone unboxing images.

Apple's iTV unboxing.

The unboxing video of an Apple MacBook Air.

Unboxing images of a Nokia N81 phone.

The unboxing of a Creative Zen Vision W.

Xbox 360 Elite unboxing.

Here is a great Flickr photoset of the unboxing of an Apple IIc.