Live in the USA and want an iPhone 3G? Better get up early! We already told you how AT&T stores would be opening up at 8am sharp, and now Apple Stores will be following their lead. (And if you’re in NYC and want to get it at the giant glass cube flagship, the line-up has already started, so hurry up and get your spot behind the hippies!)
As to what you’ll pay for an iPhone 3G, we’ve already covered how taking the contract price and then canceling may well be cheaper than trying to buy it unsubsidized, but now there’s word that even if you don’t qualify for the new or upgrade price, there may just be some dirty tricks a way around it (provided you don’t mind playing fast and loose with the rules, and have a friend with an iPhone SIM card and the will to let you active with it…)
Either way, make sure you’re iReady, figure out what you’re going to do with your old iPhone 2G, and get ready for Friday!
You knew it was coming, inevitable as the rise of Old Glory on July 4th — the first iPhone 3G line up has begun at the NYC Apple Flagship Store!
Or should we say… Tailgate Party!
(iPhone launches are the Superbowl of consumer electronics, aren’t they?)
The line began forming today, the Friday before the Friday of launch, just 1 week (and a few hours) before the first iPhone 3G goes on sale at 8am (and, if an AT&T estimate of 30 min. per activation is anywhere near accurate, likely 7 days and many hours before the second one will be up for sale!)
Geardiary reports there are almost a dozen people lined up already, with security being very obliging, and Apple Store employees playing nice.
So, here’s to the USA, and to the few, the ultra-devoted — those who dare to phone different first. We’re with you in spirit.
Save some for the rest of us!
Read
Sister site WMExperts brings word that T-Mobile is raising the a la carte price of SMS text messages to an exorbitant $.20 per 160 characters (sadly, an industry average…) While they have their theories as to why tiny text qualifies for thousands of dollars per meg of data charges, others only really care about one thing:
A change in the terms of service may — just may — be a way for those of you stuck on contract with T-Mobile to get out of jail and into a sexay new iPhone 3G.
Whether T-Mobile lets you out or not will likely depend on who you talk to and how much you scream, but a chance is a chance. And could T-Mobile have had worse timing in providing that chance?
Nope.
On the Canadian front, GSM monopoly Rogers is still amending their iPhone info, after correcting the embarrassing typo that made it seem like the early termination fee was $1100 ($100 turned out to be correct). Now it’s info on non-iPhone specific plans, and warnings galore on off-plan data usage ($0.05/KB!) and roaming ($3/MB on plan). Clarified, however, is that using Visual Voice Mail won’t count towards your minutes or your miserly data cap.
Also interesting is the inclusion of anti-Jailbreak/Unlock verbiage:
Your iPhone is restricted to use on the Rogers network, unless you are roaming. If you attempt to unlock your iPhone and use it on another network, it may become permanently unusable. Making unauthorized modifications to the software on your iPhone violates the iPhone software license agreement, and any resulting inability to use your iPhone is not covered under your iPhone’s warranty.
Last year Apple Stores and AT&T owned retail outlets closed early, handed out water to the throngs of people lined up around their blocks, and then re-opened at 6pm local time to dispense the first generation iPhone to screams, cheers, and web-wide coverage.
This year, it looks like we’ll all have to come just a little bit earlier:
We just got a tip that AT&T store managers received emails stating that the iPhone launch would be at 8:00 AM
More, as they say, as this develops…
Read
While confusion still looms over who is eligible and at what price for iPhone 3G upgrades, never mind how high the unsubsidized price will eventually soar, AT&T may have clarified what families have to look forward to:
Family Talk plans ARE available. Voice plans start at $39.99 a month (same as the regular one-line starting plan) and additional lines will be $9.99 a month. AT&T’s expecting lots of Family Talk Plans this time around because of the $199 price point.
Makes sense. But howsabouta family data? $30 a pop still per phone?
Read
Representative Ed Mackey (D-Mass) wants to make Apple & ATT (and all other US providers) cry. How? By copying the French. Well, technically, by adopting a law similar to France’s which mandates that cell companies “shall offer to consumers the opportunity to purchase subsidy-free wireless customer equipment.”
Under this proposal, Apple & ATT would likely be forced to offer an unlocked (and unsubsidized) version of the iPhone. (Bidding to start at US$999?)
Potentially worse for the telcos, it would mandate a level of clarity, detail, and (gasp!) understandability for rate plans, including itemization and disclosure of taxes and early termination fees.
Hit up news.com for the details…
