Comments on: AT&T Store Plots Against iPhone 3G With Help From Crackberry.com

By: Shreeya Raju

Shreeya Raju — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:24:22 +0000

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By: Nathan

Nathan — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 04:41:49 +0000

As an authorized retailer of AT&T, I do not sell the iPhone, and frankly, I don’t care. The iPhone has created so much buzz and foot traffic into my store I have doubled my sales. Sure I tell people to buy the Blackberry over the Iphone all day. My first question, “Have you ever dropped your phone before?” Yes. “Have you ever dropped anything made out of glass?” Yes. Do you have $250 to spend every time that happens? No. I could go on for days about the lack of video camera, the inability to send MMS, the inability to Bluetooth tether, the childlike UI, the fact that 3G won’t be in our area for another 6 months, the “A-GPS”. The iPhone was Apple’s first attempt at a phone, and hey, they tried. All the people complaining about sales reps making huge commissions are ridiculous. The guy down at a COR store is making a percentage off of ever $30 package(which is required for two years even if you break, lose, get rid of the phone). Think about this. Your paying $200, $300 an iPhone. Then you pay $30 a month for 2 years = $760. Now $200 plus your $760 is $960. The same price I paid for my Macbook. I can understand why iPhone owners get so defensive about their $1000 Mp3 players.

By: Justin

Justin — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:12:26 +0000

It's so funny how so many people are using the "no insurance on the iPhone 3G" as a point to sell against.

There are places (www.gadgetguard.com) to get it insured for just as cheap or cheaper than other smart phones.

I hate it when wireless sales rep's give us all a bad name with their lame sales tactics!

By: Gman8

Gman8 — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:40:05 +0000

That discussion can go on for a while. I'm sure there's a Blackberry blog somewhere doing the same ! Fact is the iphone has a much better UI and is consumer oriented. As iphone 1G user, the new iphone 3G looks quite similar and I'm not convinced it's worth the money (CPU, apps) just a new tool App Store which I got with the 2.0 upgrade. I'm missing a keyboard to type faster despite the word corrector on the iphone which makes a lot of misinterpretations, and I'm missing office tools ! A primitive notepad does not cut it. So in summary, iphone: excellent UI, video, music, internet surfing no office tools, medium email app blackberry: fast network, excellent email, Documents toGo primitive OS, sad UI, primitive internet browser Next blackberries will partially remedy defects

How about AT&T working on extending their 3G nationwide coverage instead of their sales people pushing their opinions on consumers ? Given the low availability of iphone 3Gs, I might just wait to see how blackberries bold and thunder (touchscreen) turn out.

By: Justin N

Justin N — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 22:21:43 +0000

Actually, This isn’t uncommon, at least where I live. Every store I’ve gone in has tried to dissuade me when I expressed interest in the iPhone. I don’t know what the deal is but it has happened to me in 4 different stores and they all recommended a Curve. In the end I didn’t get an iPhone, not because I don’t like the phone or Macs (Mac is the only computer I own – two iMacs and my trusty PowerBook) but because they are exclusive to AT&T. In my area at least, AT&T has terribly spotty service and they’re rates don’t compare well to other carriers’ so I’ll with my non-Apple phone until they become available to other carriers.

By: Badmofo63

Badmofo63 — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:02:00 +0000

Can I just tell them that I am the consumer and I’ll buy whatever the heck suits me? I research things before I buy (thank you TiPb), so I’m not really looking for an opinion from some frigtard at the counter.

By: Bob

Bob — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:01:55 +0000

Put it in context.

The AT&T stores were all sold out of iPhones by Friday evening (day of release).

They've got no iPhones in stock and they know you're probably heading off to the Apple store to buy one there -- unless they can convince you to stay and buy what they've got in stock, which is a blackberry.

They're just trying to make a sale. Most likely, if they had any iPhones to sell, they wouldn't have been so dismissive.

By: iPhoneMilk

iPhoneMilk — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:37:41 +0000

@Thomas – dude that’s a horrible story… which ATT store was this?? that’s insane… god some people can be so ignorant you know? I gotta say Hats off to us iPhone owners for not making total a$$es out of ourselves. I know that blackberry fanboy’s have done it to themselves.

By: iPhoneMilk

iPhoneMilk — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:35:33 +0000

this is @Blackberry-

You do realize this is a Business right? and one that Steve Jobs happens to do VERY well in. There will always be people who do not agree with or may not be happy with 100% of what he/apple does, but the point is it's a business that he is running very well. To speak on that, yes apple wants for things to be their way, this has always been the case. Personally i like that. Some others may not but i love it. I know that things will be more standardized then most.

Consider this with the iPhone.

Steve is setting himself up for the next 5-6 years alone up for this current iPhone technology.

Why do you think we don't have a video camera? or how we did not have GPS at first release?

It's because if he THREW everything at the first iPhone at release we would not have anything new or exciting for the next one. It's smart business. I have no complaints about giving him my money either because the device has changed my Mobile Life.

The one thing that is most amazing compared to other devices about the iPhone is the software platform. Yeah you can make complaints all you want about itunes and how they are forcing us to use it. I think it's brilliant. Keep it all in one solutions. I can get my Music, Movies, Podcasts, SOFTWARE, Sync data... Restore, Backup... heck do EVERYTHING from itunes..

The software platform differs from any other because of the ease of change.

Look at copy at paste? All they need to do is Finish that code, finalize it and push it out to us. and us the simply user will simply receive it via itunes. DONE.

Just the other day i was watching my buddy reinstall all of his applications on his blackberry. The process is redick! Me? i was riding the train home yesterday and saw a new application i liked, I clicked on it, downloaded it and then used it. Nothing compares.

For steve jobs, you are always going to be hated by a select few when you try to make things stick close to your vision. You have to respect that, that he doesn't let others sway him away from what he wants.

I would do the same.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:19:25 +0000

I experienced the same thing on release day. I got to one of our local at&t stores about an hour after opening and there was a line of about 30 people still outside. So I figured cool, still have some in stock. Well, after standing in line for about 45 minutes, an at&t rep got to me trying to pedal the new blackberry. I simply told her no thanks, I'm getting the iphone. Then she started to spout about how I'll regret going with the iphone and the blackberry is the only way to go. I politely told her I wasn't interested and she moved onto the next person. If that wasn't bad enough, when I finally got into the store, it turned out they sold out 1/2 hour after opening (a half hour before I got there) and were perposfully keeping the people in the line in the dark about it. Now I know why they were making everyone exit the building on the side entrance. It was so the customers coming out, wouldn't run into the customers standing in line. In fact, the CSR's in the store also failed to mention they were taking back orders for the iPhone (I didn't learn about that until later in the day) It took all the self control I had to contain my rage. No one in that store will EVER make any commission off of me.

On the way out, I made sure everyone in line knew they were sold out.

I ended up visiting another store later that afternoon on the way home and ordered my iphone which I picked up yesterday.