More bad news, I’m afraid. Those of you who hoped to avoid the experience of camping out in front of AT&T Wireless stores by ordering the iPhone by phone or online are out of luck. I just spoke with a second AT&T sales rep who confirmed what a previous lackey told me; AT&T will only be selling iPhone to customers through their corporate stores on a first come, first served basis. No pre-orders, and no orders by phone or through the web.
The rep I spoke with did not know for certain how long this policy would continue, but hinted that it would go on well past June 29. So, bottom line – if you want an iPhone you must get in line, literally.
Isn’t this fun? I’m thinking of becoming an alcoholic to pass away the time. Who wants to join me in a drink?
Public iPhone sightings are becoming increasingly common, so this photo isn’t exactly shocking. It just further adds to our frustration. He has an iPhone and WE don’t!
Along with the rollout of iPhone comes new data plan pricing, according to AppleInsider.
Meanwhile, Carter hinted that iPhone “may offer cool features such as unlimited Web browsing.” However, customers should be prepared to pay extra for that luxury.
“Regardless of which device you’re using today, you pay us a certain amount for (voice) minutes, and you also pay us for data units,” he said. “That is also true on the iPhone.”
Wait, what? I already pay $19, on top of voice, for unlimited data, which includes all-you-can-eat web browsing. Is AT&T planning to further sodomize me with some form of premium iPhone-only data plan? In the words of the great Chinese philosopher, Confucius, “that’s bullshit!”.
[UPDATE:]Now AT&T is saying it will announce data pricing before launch day. Oh well, doesn’t matter. The news won’t be good. We’re still getting screwed.
I’m less concerned about making my way through lines and more worried what will happen to me once I exit the store with iPhone in hand. I don’t fancy having my new iPhone jacked by some street thug lurking around the parking lot, waiting to swoop down on unsuspecting victims as they approach their vehicles.
What AT&T needs more than anything is a constable standing outside its store to ensure that customers make it safely back to their cars.
“The way we come at this is to let the iPhone hit the market…. I don’t think it changes the game plan for how we approach the market. But we need to see the impact. The burden is on [AT&T and Apple] to prove the market will change.”
You could go and read the interview source at C|Net but it’s all business marketing speak and whatnot, so I’ve translated their plan to make it easier to understand:
put fingers in ears
close eyes
breathe in deeply
shout LA LA LA LA LA LA LA
say “I CAN’T HEAR YOU”
go back to step 3, as necessary
In other news, they have nothing to worry about with the Qualcomm chip embargo either. Everything is perfectly normal, move along quietly. Plz continue to buy ringtones at 3 bucks each and I really hope mobile TV is where it’s at, kthxbye.
This is possibly a picture of the iPhone dock that will be available at AT&T or Apple stores. There may be a variant that allows you to charge the eventual Apple Bluetooth Headset as well, details are still sketchy at this point.
Remember that mysterious unrevealed application that pushed the eleven default apps down into a nice even number, that caused such controversy? Well along with today’s announcement from Apple, the company has posted a new video demo which reveals said application. It’s YouTube.
Fresh from the PR department, Apple just sent me a release proclaiming that YouTube Live will be available on Apple TV starting today, and later on the iPhone starting this Friday. Huzzah!!!
As much as I’m glad to say that they published the extra numbers for battery life, it sounds like they did the research in the lab, so your mileage may vary; caveat emptor. The word is apparently that the battery lasts about 5 hours for talk time.
