Sources: Best Buy to sell Apple's iPhone 3G nationwide

[AppleInsider]

Best Buy Co., Inc. is expected to announce as early as Wednesday plans to begin selling the iPhone 3G next month, making it the first independent U.S. reseller to offer the the coveted touchscreen handset outside of Apple and AT&T.

People familiar with the matter say the electronics retailer has reached an agreement with Cupertino-based Apple that will see the iPhone sold at 970 Best Buy stores in addition to 16 Best Buy Mobile specialty outlets beginning September 7th.

Best Buy already offers Apple's complete line of iPod digital music players at all its stores and recently expanded sales of the company's Mac computer line to more than 600 of its larger footprint locations.

Word of the move comes just one week after Best Buy announced that it has completed upgrading its Best Buy Mobile departments inside each of the company's U.S.-based stores -- a factor which may have been instrumental to the iPhone deal.

Every facility now has a dedicated cellphone section with similarly committed staff who are trained 80 hours each to help customers buy mobile devices. *The focus and reach of the program may have swayed Apple, according to people with knowledge of the situation. *Before, at least some of these phone sales would have been handled by more superficially knowledgeable floor workers.

The program is already credited by Best Buy as having sparked interest in premium, media-savvy devices like the Samsung Instinct, which is one of iPhone 3G's most direct rivals and is only available through Best Buy and Sprint. *Sales of this class of device have grown tenfold year over year at each store that has a Best Buy Mobile presence, according to the retailer.

Appropriately, Carphone Warehouse -- which itself is the exclusive third-party reseller for iPhones in the UK -- has been coordinating the rollout of Best Buy Mobile ever since the effort began in 2006.

Best Buy is known to have been angling for its share of iPhone sales a full year ago with the initial goal of carrying the touchscreen device itself by that fall, capitalizing on a surge in holiday demand. Those people knowledgeable of the earlier plans now tell AppleInsider that the store chain was set aside by Apple after rampant unlocking became a concern, even with purchases from Apple's own stores.

The rejuvenated expansion plans could be essential for Apple, which has seen long lineups at U.S. stores ever since iPhone 3G first went on sale. Best Buy's existence as a third source will expand the number of distribution points just as the holiday shopping season begins and demand increases, potentially giving customers more places to buy the phone while dodging lengthy queues that would otherwise get worse without more points of sale.

Representatives for Best Buy did not return calls requesting comment by press time. [ View this article at AppleInsider.com ] (http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=4483)

[SpamSandwich]

Maybe the estimated 5 year agreement between Apple and at&t is not actually 5 years.... this could be a good sign.

[Guartho]

*Before, at least some of these phone sales would have been handled by more superficially knowledgeable floor workers.


That's one way to put it. Fucking clueless retards would probably be more accurate, but I understand the need to be PC.

[sergiobevi]

Can you please find out if the Best Buys in Puerto Rico will also be selling the iPhones? We have been totally forgotten here by AT&T and by Apple... Although Puerto Rico falls in the United States iTunes market, and AT&T considers us part of the U.S. as far as the Nation Plan goes, we have not been blessed with the iPhone's presence in local stores... Will Best Buy be able to carry them? Local AT&T customers had been able to buy and activate 1st gen iPhones without a problem through AT&T...

[justflybob]

That's one way to put it. Fucking clueless retards would probably be more accurate, but I understand the need to be PC.

Ya think! :lol:

Last Christmas I couldn't help myself, and I ended up helping sell a young yuppie couple on both an iMac and Macbook Pro. The supposed BestBuy "Apple" person was telling them it might be difficult to be compatible with Windows.

I walked out to my car, brought back my MBP 17 with VMware Fusion running XP Pro SP3 (sorry, folks, but is a requirement for work) and fired it up in the store. I had a crowd around the Apple display until some dork of a clueless "manager" told me to pack up and leave.

Unbelievable! I just sold two systems for this clown and his associate! WTF? :wow:

[amac4me]

This would be a huge benefit to Apple. This deal would cause iPhone sales to spike and would be a strategic move ahead of the holiday season.

[TenoBell]

Maybe the estimated 5 year agreement between Apple and at&t is not actually 5 years.... this could be a good sign.

AT&T has said it has the iPhone until 2010. The contract was renegotiated so presumably they had it until 2009 under the old contract.

[PowerMackrb]

Ya think! :lol:

Last Christmas I couldn't help myself, and I ended up helping sell a young yuppie couple on both an iMac and Macbook Pro. The supposed BestBuy "Apple" person was telling them it might be difficult to be compatible with Windows.

I walked out to my car, brought back my MBP 17 with VMware Fusion running XP Pro SP3 (sorry, folks, but is a requirement for work) and fired it up in the store. I had a crowd around the Apple display until some dork of a clueless "manager" told me to pack up and leave.

Unbelievable! I just sold two systems for this clown and his associate! WTF? :wow:

Because they are told to push the PCs. Or are a PC user that just got assigned there for the day. I frequently go into the bust Buy and listen to the junk they tell people to get them to go look at PCs instead. Have been told to leave for interfering with them before. ( Correcting them on the junk they were spewing out)

[city]

Apple should limit its involvement with Best Buy to only what benefits Apple to strategically increase market share. I like the store in so many ways, but:

I purchased a expensive Kitchen Aid oven from them months ago. It is still missing a part. Geek Squad hold time frequently is about an hour to schedule a service call. That's when they are calling you to say the part is in. You don't get a time window until the morning of the service. They then forget to bring the part they ordered on the previous two visits, but there are 21 in stock. Apparently, everyone is a supervisor, but no one takes responsibility. They only have first names and they are at places all over the country. They never express an apology because that's just how business is done! I have tried to have the part mailed to me to put it on myself-just two screws, I can handle it. This isn't Apple customer service reputation.

[paxman]

That's one way to put it. Fucking clueless retards would probably be more accurate, but I understand the need to be PC.

They can't be as bad as Staples. I went to get a bluetooth mouse to replace my ailing mighty one. I asked a sales guy if they had any (why waste time looking at each and every box when they have capable staff, right?) 'Sure, let's see' was his reply and I then stood next to him as he began reading the schpiel at back of each box, one at the time! :no: I don't think he understood why I just walked away.

But I always wonder about the effectiveness of having Apple products at Best Buy. There is a wall of LCD's all lit up with the Windows logo. There is at least one full isle of Windows machines and one with Windows Laptops. The Apple stand looks kind of measly. An Apple Store on the other hand gives you the impression that Apple is everywhere and in plentiful supply. People even stop outside just to gaze inside. But if BestBuy sell Macs... I guess its OK.

[Dlux]

Will this likely continue the silly requirement for in-store activation, or has AT&T finally figured out that pirates outside the US now have lower-hanging fruits available elsewhere?

I can only imagine the damage done to your brand-new iPhone by the Best Buy monkeys when they pull it out of the box and plug it into some virus-infested floor model PC while attempting to 'install AT&T' on it...

[amac4me]

Will this likely continue the silly requirement for in-store activation, or has AT&T finally figured out that pirates outside the US now have lower-hanging fruits available elsewhere?

Also, I wonder if people will be able to make a purchase with a Best Buy gift card. If so, expect a lot of iPhone 3G sales after Christmas.

[satchmo]

Maybe the estimated 5 year agreement between Apple and at&t is not actually 5 years.... this could be a good sign.

It would actually be beneficial to AT&T to have more phones sold regardless of outlet. As long as they're still the only cell phone provider, it just means more activations and more $ for them.

[walshbj]

This would be a huge benefit to Apple. This deal would cause iPhone sales to spike and would be a strategic move ahead of the holiday season.

It also explains the stock climb the last couple days. I wish I was an insider trader, obviously there are plenty of them out there.

[webfrasse]

Maybe the estimated 5 year agreement between Apple and at&t is not actually 5 years.... this could be a good sign.

What does Bestbuy have todo with the Apple / AT& agreement? Bestbuy sells phones, AT&T sells service....

[JeffDM]

What does Bestbuy have todo with the Apple / AT& agreement? Bestbuy sells phones, AT&T sells service....

I agree. Carrier exclusivity isn't the same as chain exclusivity.

[Rot'nApple]

Will this likely continue the silly requirement for in-store activation, or has AT&T finally figured out that pirates outside the US now have lower-hanging fruits available elsewhere?

I can only imagine the damage done to your brand-new iPhone by the Best Buy monkeys when they pull it out of the box and plug it into some virus-infested floor model PC while attempting to 'install AT&T' on it...

Sorry to burst your bubble, but it looks like you still have to deal with in-store activation...

"Last week, Best Buy announced it had completed a two-year conversion of its stores to include upgraded cell-phone departments under the Best Buy Mobile brand. It has upgraded its computer systems to handle cell-phone activation and spent 250,000 hours training its employees."

Let's hope those employees that had 250,000 hours of training, didn't need 250,001 hours...

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080812/tec_best_buy_iphone.html?.v=2

[Dickprinter]

Seem like Sept. 7 is the date. It's just been announced as an update to the article on MacRumors, which credits AI for the original story. C'mon AI, you post the rumor story and MacRumors scoops you with the official announcement??:wow::no:

[Bageljoey]

The rejuvenated expansion plans could be essential for Apple, which has seen long lineups at U.S. stores ever since iPhone 3G first went on sale. Best Buy's existence as a third source will expand the number of distribution points just as the holiday shopping season begins and demand increases, potentially giving customers more places to buy the phone while dodging lengthy queues that would otherwise get worse without more points of sale.


So the long lines are because there just arn't that many places to buy the iPhone? :???:
I thought it was short supply.

[aaka]

This is funny. Just a few days ago a Best (sic) Buy employee told me how bad the iPhone was and how I had wasted my money on crap. As someone commented at least in the AT&T Stores and Apple Stores the people selling the iPhone were knowledgeable. Well best buys staff sucks and they are likely to do a bad job of selling the iPhone.

[teckstud]

This is funny. Just a few days ago a Best (sic) Buy employee told me how bad the iPhone was and how I had wasted my money on crap. As someone commented at least in the AT&T Stores and Apple Stores the people selling the iPhone were knowledgeable. Well best buys staff sucks and they are likely to do a bad job of selling the iPhone.

You should see them try to sell an AppleTV- what a frk'n mess!

[wraithofwonder]

Apple should limit its involvement with Best Buy to only what benefits Apple to strategically increase market share. I like the store in so many ways, but:

I purchased a expensive Kitchen Aid oven from them months ago. It is still missing a part. Geek Squad hold time frequently is about an hour to schedule a service call. That's when they are calling you to say the part is in. You don't get a time window until the morning of the service. They then forget to bring the part they ordered on the previous two visits, but there are 21 in stock. Apparently, everyone is a supervisor, but no one takes responsibility. They only have first names and they are at places all over the country. They never express an apology because that's just how business is done! I have tried to have the part mailed to me to put it on myself-just two screws, I can handle it. This isn't Apple customer service reputation.

Apple should send in secret shoppers from local Mac user groups to Best Buys across the country, and test their Mac people.

[melgross]

Apple should limit its involvement with Best Buy to only what benefits Apple to strategically increase market share. I like the store in so many ways, but:

I purchased a expensive Kitchen Aid oven from them months ago. It is still missing a part. Geek Squad hold time frequently is about an hour to schedule a service call. That's when they are calling you to say the part is in. You don't get a time window until the morning of the service. They then forget to bring the part they ordered on the previous two visits, but there are 21 in stock. Apparently, everyone is a supervisor, but no one takes responsibility. They only have first names and they are at places all over the country. They never express an apology because that's just how business is done! I have tried to have the part mailed to me to put it on myself-just two screws, I can handle it. This isn't Apple customer service reputation.

Apple services their products no matter where you buy them.

[melgross]

[QUOTE=city;1292857]

Wow! I've got several posts in a row, as I see that I'm not alone. Last night, I had a lot of problems trying to get this post posted. Apparently, even though the site kept telling me to try again, it actually did post each time, until I finally gave up.

[SpamSandwich]

You should see them try to sell an AppleTV- what a frk'n mess!

Just try to buy a GPS unit from Best Buy, Office Depot, etc. Talk abut taking a ride on the 'clue train'.

[Hutcho]

Maybe the estimated 5 year agreement between Apple and at&t is not actually 5 years.... this could be a good sign.

If you think this agreement means that you will be able to buy a iPhone at Best Buy without an AT&T contract, or on another provider, then you are mistaken. If you already have an iPhone, this news means nothing to you. If you want to get an iPhone, this news still means basically nothing to you. In fact, other than Best Buy shareholders, this news means nothing to almost everyone.

[winterspan]

ugh. "Best Buy" is the lowest of low. Why not just go all the way and strike up a distribution deal with WalMart?? You could give away a 30oz bag of free pork rinds with each purchase! :lol:

[ncee]

They'll be selling them, but you'll have to go to AT&T to get it activated?

Skip

[Joseph_xxl]

I get a kick out of listening to some of the misinformation the crack staff at best buy gives to it's customers.
You get what you pay for and as long as the best buy salary is just above minimum wage, turn over will be high and the staff will be clueless.:no:

Only unlocked iphones for sale would get me to purchase from B.B but THAT is just a fantasy.

[cdnalsi]

How will they activate the phones in-store? In a Bestbuy store?

[Hutcho]

If you read the article, it explains that they have just completed an upgrade process so they are now able to activate in store.

[Techboy]

With all the mishaps during launch, oddly the hype on iPhone is still going strong. Am I the only person to think Apple and their phone carriers are charging wayyyyy to much for service?

I always like Apple products, until they slapped a glossy screen on to iMacs. They released sloppy 10.5 with frequent updates to resemble MS. Now, they managing to convince mass consumers their phone is revolutionary when the truth is just their competitor are not thinking creatively enough!

Don't get me wrong, I think Apple still produce good above-average products, but the hype is really overkill.

[TenoBell]

With all the mishaps during launch, oddly the hype on iPhone is still going strong. Am I the only person to think Apple and their phone carriers are charging wayyyyy to much for service?

Do you currently own a smartphone with unlimited data?

[resnyc]

With all the mishaps during launch, oddly the hype on iPhone is still going strong. Am I the only person to think Apple and their phone carriers are charging wayyyyy to much for service?

I always like Apple products, until they slapped a glossy screen on to iMacs. They released sloppy 10.5 with frequent updates to resemble MS. Now, they managing to convince mass consumers their phone is revolutionary when the truth is just their competitor are not thinking creatively enough!

Don't get me wrong, I think Apple still produce good above-average products, but the hype is really overkill.

They are charging too much for service, but they are getting away with it because the competitors haven't caught up in the gee-whiz dept. It's the "elegance" of the UI that really sways people, especially those who aren't comfortable with the relatively tech-y UIs of, say, Blackberrys. But RIM isn't going to just roll over and die - BB has been a huge success and I'll bet the next model will be competitive with the iPhone's UI. And there are still lots of people who prefer buttons when typing, over the touch-screen. I've yet to see anyone using an iPhone who can type any near as fast as I can on my Pearl.

There is some hype, although iPhone is a great product for sure. This may be changing with the 3G, but the 1st (i.e., most important) impression of the original iPhone, in corporate IT/telecom depts., was that it's more of a fun appliance for personal use rather than a serious business tool. That is BB's market, and RIM will fight to keep it. Maybe that will mean competition for iPhone, to some extent, and that can only be good for consumers...

[teckstud]

How will they activate the phones in-store? In a Bestbuy store?

Is that a joke?
And why no Circuit Chitty? Let's see how low can we go!

[wbrasington]

With all the mishaps during launch, oddly the hype on iPhone is still going strong. Am I the only person to think Apple and their phone carriers are charging wayyyyy to much for service?


Yes....

[melgross]

If you think this agreement means that you will be able to buy a iPhone at Best Buy without an AT&T contract, or on another provider, then you are mistaken. If you already have an iPhone, this news means nothing to you. If you want to get an iPhone, this news still means basically nothing to you. In fact, other than Best Buy shareholders, this news means nothing to almost everyone.

Of course. This has nothing to do with the arrangement between Apple and AT&T. As long as the account is going to AT&T, which it will, AT&T is only too happy to have more retailers sell the phones. The more places it's sold, the more accounts AT&T gets from it.

[melgross]

It also explains the stock climb the last couple days. I wish I was an insider trader, obviously there are plenty of them out there.

No. Not at all. The markets have been going up because the price of oil has kept falling. Apple's price is just following that trend.

[JeffDM]

How will they activate the phones in-store? In a Bestbuy store?

A couple things come to mind.

For one, It's not actually required to activate the store that I can tell. What is required is that you sign a contract and associate the phone with the account, which is retrieved by scanning the bar code on the box. When I bought mine, they couldn't get the activation working right then, the guy said to just take it home and hook it up to iTunes. iTunes will take care of the rest.

Another, all that's needed is a cut-down version of iTunes to activate it, a version was made just for retail activation. I don't know if the Best Buy point of sale system can run iTunes, all it takes is a small notebook computer.

[melgross]

So the long lines are because there just arn't that many places to buy the iPhone? :???:
I thought it was short supply.

It's a little of both. The bigger stores seem to have the phones, or so I've been told, but it's the time it takes to process each order that's holding sales back as well. If a sale takes a half hour to complete with the work on the account (having to explain service options to people etc.), activating the phone (or phones), then 95 sales equals 47.5 hours of sales time for the phones per store on average, per day. Thats a lot of time, and there are only so many people in each store who can do that at once.

[wbrasington]

So the long lines are because there just arn't that many places to buy the iPhone? :???:
I thought it was short supply.

I think you can assume where there are long lines...... there is not short supply.

In other words, the stores that are out of them have either really short lines or long lines of really stupid people.

:lol:

[wbrasington]

It's a little of both. The bigger stores seem to have the phones, or so I've been told, but it's the time it takes to process each order that's holding sales back as well. If a sale takes a half hour to complete with the work on the account (having to explain service options to people etc.), activating the phone (or phones), then 95 sales equals 47.5 hours of sales time for the phones per store on average, per day. Thats a lot of time, and there are only so many people in each store who can do that at once.

Good points.
I see one other thing happening with this.
I've been in a lot of AT-T stores, and it's almost like they don't want to sell the iPhone.
Either it isn't even in the big white display case, or the rep doesn't really want to talk about it.
Apple is going to fix it so there are a lot of local stores to go visit if the Apple store is too far away or too busy for you. And these are not AT-T stores so if the AT-T people don't want to push it...... Best Buy will be happy to do it. A little competition.

[city]

Apple services their products no matter where they were bought.UpDate: The part is now locked in Buy Buys' Geek Squad van as the technician went on vacation. But Best Buy already had a back-up plan. About 10 days ago they "over-nighted" a duplicate part that hasn't arrived yet. I am in a major U.S. city. They promise to "overnight" another one. That should leave 19 in inventory. Best buy?

[melgross]

A lot of guys seem to love knocking BB, but it's not that simple.

If Apple is happy with the results of their new relationship with BB, because they are selling a lot of Macs there, as by accounts they are doing, and if BB is happy with Apple to the point of expanding the number of Apple stores within the premises at a faster rate than was expected, then it means that things are working out well.

I've been to a number of BB's, and have looked at the Apple stores. They are anywhere from not too busy, to very busy. I see sales people helping people, showing them the machines and software, answering questions. I haven't seen any problems.

The few salespeople working in the Apple stores there that I have spoken to have told me that the stores are doing well, and that they were trained, and that some actually work for Apple itself.

As BB likely makes more money from selling Apple products, because of the average selling price at least, there is no way that they will push PC's instead. This store within a store concept that Apple first did with CompUsa costs a lot of money to both Apple and BB. There's no way they will allow that money to be thrown away.

The world has changed. People who used to ride me hard for having Macs are now interested, or have already switched themselves. Because of that, when walking into a BB, you no longer get that "Apple what?" look.

Even when I'm in a PC only computer store buying something, and I'm asked which computer I have, I now get an interested look, or an "ah!", rather than the disdainful look, or disparaging remark that was common until a couple of years ago. I find the same thing to be true at BB.

[TenoBell]

I'm not him, but fuck you. It is too much by any sensible measure. 3G or some form of cellular data should be in everything that moves, and the only reason it isn't is because of artificial constraints by monopolies, nothing natural.

That said, it wouldn't be so bad if... THE DATA WERE ACTUALLY UNLIMITED.

I'm not sure what merited the harsh language. But yes that is a lot to ask for because the telecommunications companies have to pay multiple-billions in spectrum fees, towers set up, and software maintenance to spread a 3G signal. So yes they are going to charge a premium for its use.

Anyone is free to set up their own 3G service and charge less for it, if they are so inclined.

On AT&T the data is unlimited.

[melgross]

UpDate: The part is now locked in Buy Buys' Geek Squad van as the technician went on vacation. But Best Buy already had a back-up plan. About 10 days ago they "over-nighted" a duplicate part that hasn't arrived yet. I am in a major U.S. city. They promise to "overnight" another one. That should leave 19 in inventory. Best buy?

That's why, after you buy your phone, if you have a problem, you bring it to an Apple store, assuming you can get to one of course.

I bought a DCS range about 6 years ago. Apparently, from shipping this (it weighs 650 pounds) one of the silicon carbide gas starters broke. I didn't even bother with the place where I bought it. I called DCS up directly. They sent me the part, I removed the front panel, and replaced it myself.

Not everyone can do that, but if it's a choice, I always choose it first.

[Blah64]

It's not like I need to increase my post count.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Blah64]

A lot of guys seem to love knocking BB, but it's not that simple.

If Apple is happy with the results of their new relationship with BB, because they are selling a lot of Macs there, as by accounts they are doing, and if BB is happy with Apple to the point of expanding the number of Apple stores within the premises at a faster rate than was expected, then it means that things are working out well.

I've been to a number of BB's, and have looked at the Apple stores. They are anywhere from not too busy, to very busy. I see sales people helping people, showing them the machines and software, answering questions. I haven't seen any problems.

The few salespeople working in the Apple stores there that I have spoken to have told me that the stores are doing well, and that they were trained, and that some actually work for Apple itself.

As BB likely makes more money from selling Apple products, because of the average selling price at least, there is no way that they will push PC's instead. This store within a store concept that Apple first did with CompUsa costs a lot of money to both Apple and BB. There's no way they will allow that money to be thrown away.

The world has changed. People who used to ride me hard for having Macs are now interested, or have already switched themselves. Because of that, when walking into a BB, you no longer get that "Apple what?" look.

Even when I'm in a PC only computer store buying something, and I'm asked which computer I have, I now get an interested look, or an "ah!", rather than the disdainful look, or disparaging remark that was common until a couple of years ago. I find the same thing to be true at BB.

I don't usually quote an entire long post to reference, but every word of this is golden. I could have written it myself.

I have helped a couple times recently at the Apple Table in our local Best Buy, and the response was fine. More like "Oh really? It can do that? Cool." They weren't particularly knowledgeable about Macs, but not disdainful either, which was often the case in big box stores just a few years back.

And these days, so many self-proclaimed 'techie' folks (knowledgeable or not ;-) ) think the iPhone is golden that I think there's a good shot the sales people may actually encourage people to buy it. At a store that carries many brands and services, this could be a very good thing. We'll see.

[Bageljoey]

It's a little of both. The bigger stores seem to have the phones, or so I've been told, but it's the time it takes to process each order that's holding sales back as well. If a sale takes a half hour to complete with the work on the account (having to explain service options to people etc.), activating the phone (or phones), then 95 sales equals 47.5 hours of sales time for the phones per store on average, per day. Thats a lot of time, and there are only so many people in each store who can do that at once.

Thanks, Mel. I did not realize that the bottleneck was in the setting up of the account.
I wonder if these problems are there with the at&t stores too? Or if they have full availability. I suspect that I would rather buy from an Apple Store all things being considered--but not if there was a 2 hour wait!

I think you can assume where there are long lines...... there is not short supply.
Well, that is far from the only possibility. People could line up in the morning to be sure to get one before the day's allotment is sold out or something like that.

In other words, the stores that are out of them have either really short lines or long lines of really stupid people.

:lol:
Maybe or maybe not, but still a funny image.

[wbrasington]

Maybe or maybe not, but still a funny image.

The one thing learned from The Soviet System, the longer the line the better the item you get when you get to the front of the line. So if you walk by an Apple store and see a long line out in front and the AT&T store has no line, then OBVIOUSLY the iPhone you get at the Apple store must be better! :???:

Reminds me, when Mcdonalds opened their first store in Moscow, they had to keep an employee out in front at the end of the lines for the cash registers. If they had 5 registers open and each had 5 people in line, and by general movement if you ever ended up with 7 or 8 in one of the lines, people would start going to THAT line thinking somehow that it must have something better at the counter because it was a longer line. So they needed to dedicate an employee at lunch time to explain... "No, really! Every line has the same stuff. You can get anything you want at any of the lines! Really!"

So if you see a long line at the Apple store, the store probably has iPhones.
(unless you hear a lot of Russian being spoken by the people in line and maybe they're waiting for toilet paper......)

[Bageljoey]

I think you can assume where there are long lines...... there is not short supply.



I'm sorry. I just read this line in isolation quoted in my previous post and it just seemed so much more absurd. One of the surest ways to generate long lines is constrain supply.

Go back to some of the most enduring images of the end of the Soviet Union and that was all you would see--long lines at stores with bare shelves.

[Bageljoey]

The one thing learned from The Soviet System, the longer the line the better the item you get when you get to the front of the line.

Wow, we went for the same reference at the same time.
Problem is, it sounds like you have personal experience with it so I better tread carefully! :embarrass

[wbrasington]

I'm sorry. I just read this line in isolation quoted in my previous post and it just seemed so much more absurd. One of the surest ways to generate long lines is constrain supply.

Go back to some of the most enduring images of the end of the Soviet Union and that was all you would see--long lines at stores with bare shelves.

Yes, but at the Apple store it's simple.
When the iPhone is gone..... so is the line.

The line is caused less by low supply as it is by slow activations and high demand.
There are stores that have had a line from the minute they open in the morning until the minute they close, without running out of product. The supply is contrained mostly by the activation times in that case. If Apple really could have 25 people in the store dedicated to signing up iPhone customers they could probably eliminate the lines. But I think the bottleneck is caused by the time it takes to activate and not by the lack of supply.
There are contrained by supply, I know and agree.
But if they plunked down another 5 million phones this weekend, the lines would keep plugging away slowly even though they had the product.
Does show just how good last years approach worked compared to the AT&T approach.

[Bageljoey]

Reminds me, when Mcdonalds opened their first store in Moscow, they had to keep an employee out in front at the end of the lines for the cash registers. If they had 5 registers open and each had 5 people in line, and by general movement if you ever ended up with 7 or 8 in one of the lines, people would start going to THAT line thinking somehow that it must have something better at the counter because it was a longer line. So they needed to dedicate an employee at lunch time to explain... "No, really! Every line has the same stuff. You can get anything you want at any of the lines! Really!"


This is a great image as well. To someone whose culture has always shown them stores will ample supply, their actions seem ridiculous. But they were simply following the logic of a different system--not being stupid.

I fail to believe that there are many people in the US these days who would make the same mistake...

[edit]
Sorry trying to type with a fussy baby--killing my typing and my thinking.
Rest assured, I get that the iPhone's lines at Apple stores are due to the activation process. You and Mel have cleared it up for me. I was getting sidetracked by ancillary issues...

[Elephant]

Best Buy Co., Inc. is expected to announce as early as Wednesday plans to begin selling the iPhone 3G next month, making it the first independent U.S. reseller to offer the the coveted touchscreen handset outside of Apple and AT&T.

People familiar with the matter say the electronics retailer has reached an agreement with Cupertino-based Apple that will see the iPhone sold at 970 Best Buy stores in addition to 16 Best Buy Mobile specialty outlets beginning September 7th.

Best Buy already offers Apple's complete line of iPod digital music players at all its stores and recently expanded sales of the company's Mac computer line to more than 600 of its larger footprint locations.

Word of the move comes just one week after Best Buy announced that it has completed upgrading its Best Buy Mobile departments inside each of the company's U.S.-based stores -- a factor which may have been instrumental to the iPhone deal.

Every facility now has a dedicated cellphone section with similarly committed staff who are trained 80 hours each to help customers buy mobile devices. *The focus and reach of the program may have swayed Apple, according to people with knowledge of the situation. *Before, at least some of these phone sales would have been handled by more superficially knowledgeable floor workers.

The program is already credited by Best Buy as having sparked interest in premium, media-savvy devices like the Samsung Instinct, which is one of iPhone 3G's most direct rivals and is only available through Best Buy and Sprint. *Sales of this class of device have grown tenfold year over year at each store that has a Best Buy Mobile presence, according to the retailer.

Appropriately, Carphone Warehouse -- which itself is the exclusive third-party reseller for iPhones in the UK -- has been coordinating the rollout of Best Buy Mobile ever since the effort began in 2006.

Best Buy is known to have been angling for its share of iPhone sales a full year ago with the initial goal of carrying the touchscreen device itself by that fall, capitalizing on a surge in holiday demand. Those people knowledgeable of the earlier plans now tell AppleInsider that the store chain was set aside by Apple after rampant unlocking became a concern, even with purchases from Apple's own stores.

The rejuvenated expansion plans could be essential for Apple, which has seen long lineups at U.S. stores ever since iPhone 3G first went on sale. Best Buy's existence as a third source will expand the number of distribution points just as the holiday shopping season begins and demand increases, potentially giving customers more places to buy the phone while dodging lengthy queues that would otherwise get worse without more points of sale.

Representatives for Best Buy did not return calls requesting comment by press time. [ View this article at AppleInsider.com ] (http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=4483)
My impression is that Best Buy doesn't know Apple at all and that any advice they give is more or less worthless. The next time you are in Best Buy ask one the sales person if they own or use a Mac. Try it. See what happens.

[JeffDM]

There's no need to quote the entire story.

My impression is that Best Buy doesn't know Apple at all and that any advice they give is more or less worthless. The next time you are in Best Buy ask one the sales person if they own or use a Mac. Try it. See what happens.

It's not special to Apple products. People at Best Buy (and same for most other chain stores) generally don't know anything about most of what they are selling. For me, what they can do is do is check stock for an item, a register check-out and process a return. They generally can't do anything other than that.

[brclark82]

A lot of guys seem to love knocking BB, but it's not that simple.

If Apple is happy with the results of their new relationship with BB, because they are selling a lot of Macs there, as by accounts they are doing, and if BB is happy with Apple to the point of expanding the number of Apple stores within the premises at a faster rate than was expected, then it means that things are working out well.

I've been to a number of BB's, and have looked at the Apple stores. They are anywhere from not too busy, to very busy. I see sales people helping people, showing them the machines and software, answering questions. I haven't seen any problems.

The few salespeople working in the Apple stores there that I have spoken to have told me that the stores are doing well, and that they were trained, and that some actually work for Apple itself.

As BB likely makes more money from selling Apple products, because of the average selling price at least, there is no way that they will push PC's instead. This store within a store concept that Apple first did with CompUsa costs a lot of money to both Apple and BB. There's no way they will allow that money to be thrown away.

The world has changed. People who used to ride me hard for having Macs are now interested, or have already switched themselves. Because of that, when walking into a BB, you no longer get that "Apple what?" look.

Even when I'm in a PC only computer store buying something, and I'm asked which computer I have, I now get an interested look, or an "ah!", rather than the disdainful look, or disparaging remark that was common until a couple of years ago. I find the same thing to be true at BB.

i agree, this is one of the few actually intelligent posts in this whole thread. I know it may be difficult for people who decide to call others fucking idiots and retarded to actually read, but if they would have they would have noticed in multiple posts that activations (new or upgrade) can be done in Best Buy now. I am planning on getting a new iPhone as soon as my contract expires in October and am very excited to hear that BBY will be carrying them since an AT&T store around me is much more difficult to find. Apple is a very smart company and the partnership with BBY must be working out pretty well for them to expand their Mac sales and now allow them to sell the iPhone.

[melgross]

Thanks, Mel. I did not realize that the bottleneck was in the setting up of the account.
I wonder if these problems are there with the at&t stores too? Or if they have full availability. I suspect that I would rather buy from an Apple Store all things being considered--but not if there was a 2 hour wait!


Well, that is far from the only possibility. People could line up in the morning to be sure to get one before the day's allotment is sold out or something like that.


Of course, there are stores that are sold out as well, but I was told by a salesperson at Apple that the stores get re-stocked on a regular basis, whatever that is, as she didn't know the schedules.

I'm not sure that AT&T would be any faster. They supposedly have much lower stock to begin with.

I was also told something by the sales person at Apple that concerned me before.

At first, we were all told that in order to retain the same phone numbers we have from a different carrier, we would need to go to AT&T as Apple couldn't do that. I figured that I might end up giving up our numbers in order to buy the phones at Apple, in case of the case cracking problem, which AT&T isn't handling as well as Apple (the salesperson said that she hadn't known of a single phone being brought back to their store because of that).

But she told me that Apple can transfer the numbers, and that it normally takes no more than 60 minutes. Good news.

[melgross]

Wow, we went for the same reference at the same time.
Problem is, it sounds like you have personal experience with it so I better tread carefully! :embarrass

Ah, I have a story about that, but it's about Bulgaria.

This is true.

I had hired a fellow that emigrated from there in the mid '90's.

After he was at my company for a few weeks, I asked him how everything was working out.

He said - "Perfect".

I asked what he meant.

He told me this:

"Mel, I walk in street, and want food—I buy food! I needed apartment—I rent apartment! I need car—I buy car! Perfect!

[melgross]

My impression is that Best Buy doesn't know Apple at all and that any advice they give is more or less worthless. The next time you are in Best Buy ask one the sales person if they own or use a Mac. Try it. See what happens.

Well, you are totally wrong in this, and you obviously have not gone to the Apple store within a BB.

[melgross]

There's no need to quote the entire story.



It's not special to Apple products. People at Best Buy (and same for most other chain stores) generally don't know anything about most of what they are selling. For me, what they can do is do is check stock for an item, a register check-out and process a return. They generally can't do anything other than that.

Unless they are people working in the Apple store.

[justflybob]

UpDate: The part is now locked in Buy Buys' Geek Squad van as the technician went on vacation. But Best Buy already had a back-up plan. About 10 days ago they "over-nighted" a duplicate part that hasn't arrived yet. I am in a major U.S. city. They promise to "overnight" another one. That should leave 19 in inventory. Best buy?

You problem reminded me of another issue I have with them.

Several months ago I rearranged my office furniture. As a result, I needed to find a decent quality extender for the DIN cable to go from my MBP to my Altec Lansing speaker setup (it plugs into the subwoofer on the floor).

Anyway, I went in and asked for the same type of cable connection, as I figured no one would know that they make an extension version (ie female on one end and male on the other). Well, that wasn't the problem at all. I had to go through three different departments before someone knew what I was talking about (keep in mind that this is a very standard cable for computer sound).

But the part that really irked me was that they did actually carry the extension version that I was looking for, but that depending on what department I was in, the pricing was higher or lower FOR THE SAME FRIGGIN' ITEM! Brand, model # etc, all identical. I found it outrageous that the highest price was naturally in the Magnolia Home Theatre section. What a joke!

[JeffDM]

You problem reminded me of another issue I have with them.

Several months ago I rearranged my office furniture. As a result, I needed to find a decent quality extender for the DIN cable to go from my MBP to my Altec Lansing speaker setup (it plugs into the subwoofer on the floor).

Anyway, I went in and asked for the same type of cable connection, as I figured no one would know that they make an extension version (ie female on one end and male on the other). Well, that wasn't the problem at all. I had to go through three different departments before someone knew what I was talking about (keep in mind that this is a very standard cable for computer sound).

You lost me, is there some other description for what kind of connector you used? I'm not aware of any DIN connector on a modern Mac, audio or otherwise, nor anything that's in common use for computer audio, consumer or not.

[melgross]

You problem reminded me of another issue I have with them.

Several months ago I rearranged my office furniture. As a result, I needed to find a decent quality extender for the DIN cable to go from my MBP to my Altec Lansing speaker setup (it plugs into the subwoofer on the floor).

Anyway, I went in and asked for the same type of cable connection, as I figured no one would know that they make an extension version (ie female on one end and male on the other). Well, that wasn't the problem at all. I had to go through three different departments before someone knew what I was talking about (keep in mind that this is a very standard cable for computer sound).

But the part that really irked me was that they did actually carry the extension version that I was looking for, but that depending on what department I was in, the pricing was higher or lower FOR THE SAME FRIGGIN' ITEM! Brand, model # etc, all identical. I found it outrageous that the highest price was naturally in the Magnolia Home Theatre section. What a joke!

What DIN connector?

[Elephant]

Well, you are totally wrong in this, and you obviously have not gone to the Apple store within a BB.

No, I don't think so. The last time I was in the local Best Buy was two months ago. At that time, the Apple "store" was one table, repeat, one table, with two iMacs on it and maybe a laptop. Potential customers, I guess that's what they were, were poking at the keyboard with some curiosity but little understanding. There was no Best Buy person at hand. None.

Oh, there were Best Buy people near other brands and in nearby areas. But no Best Buy person at the Apple display to explain it, to show it, to sell it.

In my opinion, the sales people at Best Buy do not want to sell Apple. When I am in Best Buy, which is infrequently, the impression is always that the sales people are more or less ignorant of the products and have no interest in them.

[ferni69]

Can somebody confirm if the Puerto Rico store wil carry it????

[melgross]

No, I don't think so. The last time I was in the local Best Buy was two months ago. At that time, the Apple "store" was one table, repeat, one table, with two iMacs on it and maybe a laptop. Potential customers, I guess that's what they were, were poking at the keyboard with some curiosity but little understanding. There was no Best Buy person at hand. None.

Oh, there were Best Buy people near other brands and in nearby areas. But no Best Buy person at the Apple display to explain it, to show it, to sell it.

In my opinion, the sales people at Best Buy do not want to sell Apple. When I am in Best Buy, which is infrequently, the impression is always that the sales people are more or less ignorant of the products and have no interest in them.

Well then, that's unusual. I've now been in over a couple of dozen BB's around the East coast, and I haven't seen that kind of situation at any of them.

One thing I don't expect is to see salespeople like flies if one person is poking about. That wouldn't be normal anywhere.

[earthen]

On AT&T the data is unlimited.

Shows what you know. The data is limited to 5GB under their "unlimited plan". As for your other nonsense, they're milking a relatively small investment in infrastructure. The failing here is there are people like you who just accept it, when the rest of the world benefits from forcing telecommunications companies to actually provide a real service along with their fees. 3G is old news.

[earthen]

Do you currently own a smartphone with unlimited data?

If you're an iPhone owner, you don't.

[melgross]

If you're an iPhone owner, you don't.

That has nothing to do with his question. Your post is a non sequitur.

[earthen]

That has nothing to do with his question. Your post is a non sequitur.

It is a non sequitur only if you haven't been paying attention. Were you to read the entire thread, you might actually understand where I am coming from. Indeed, were you to use a little time to infer, you may find the implication clear without doing so.

Heck, my post above this one would do enough explaining for the average person. So you see my good friend, the only non sequitur here is this post of yours.

[TenoBell]

Shows what you know. The data is limited to 5GB under their "unlimited plan". As for your other nonsense, they're milking a relatively small investment in infrastructure. The failing here is there are people like you who just accept it, when the rest of the world benefits from forcing telecommunications companies to actually provide a real service along with their fees. 3G is old news.

The 5GB is a soft cap. They do not charge you extra for going over 5GB. AT&T wants to discourage people from consistently going over 5GB. Someone would have to be making extreme use of their phone to consistently use 5GB a month.

You think multiple billions is relatively small investment in infrastructure. Do you understand how much a billion dollars is?

Anyone is free to open their own telecommunication service and compete with cheaper prices. If 3G is old news what is the viable and usable new news?

[melgross]

It is a non sequitur only if you haven't been paying attention. Were you to read the entire thread, you might actually understand where I am coming from. Indeed, were you to use a little time to infer, you may find the implication clear without doing so.

Heck, my post above this one would do enough explaining for the average person. So you see my good friend, the only non sequitur here is this post of yours.

I have been here the entire thread as you couldn't tell as you weren't here the entire thread.

And, no, your post isn't related, and tells us nothing as to what you mean. It isn't related to his post at all, even though you may think it is.

[SpamSandwich]

If you think this agreement means that you will be able to buy a iPhone at Best Buy without an AT&T contract, or on another provider, then you are mistaken. If you already have an iPhone, this news means nothing to you. If you want to get an iPhone, this news still means basically nothing to you. In fact, other than Best Buy shareholders, this news means nothing to almost everyone.

If you are an AAPL shareholder, this is nothing but positive.

[earthen]

The 5GB is a soft cap. They do not charge you extra for going over 5GB. AT&T wants to discourage people from consistently going over 5GB. Someone would have to be making extreme use of their phone to consistently use 5GB a month.

You think multiple billions is relatively small investment in infrastructure. Do you understand how much a billion dollars is?

Do you think you're smart for including that snide comment? I understand very well how much a billion dollars is and any comment to the contrary was entirely unnecessary. On a national scale, a billion dollars is "we're pretending to do something" money. They make relatively small investments, in proportion to their profits, and expect to reap great rewards - greater than anyone should reasonably expect.

Soft cap or not, 5GB means that any claim of unlimited is absolute crap and you were repeating that crap as if it meant something. I mean my God, if it's just the phone, you're right - how on Earth is anyone going to go to 5GB let alone past it? So why have the cap?

Tethering is the name of the game; which you're expressly forbidden to do. For other smartphones they want to charge you extra to tether, which is fine, except they keep the same cap - which is inappropriate, some extra should come with the fee. I mean, as you should be able to use that much anyway - how easy is it to hit 5GB on a laptop today?

The iPhone is certainly capable of tethering, the folks at Nullriver showed that much, but we won't be afforded the opportunity for some time if ever under AT&T. As for 3G being "old news", let me put it this way, you didn't need to have a Blu-ray drive in 2002 to know the DVD was old news. Blu-ray came out in '03.

Anyone is free to open their own telecommunication service and compete with cheaper prices. If 3G is old news what is the viable and usable new news?

And revolution is always viable, but not that practical, now is it?

[earthen]

I have been here the entire thread as you couldn't tell as you weren't here the entire thread.

And, no, your post isn't related, and tells us nothing as to what you mean. It isn't related to his post at all, even though you may think it is.

I haven't posted every five to ten minutes, but I've read the whole thread. And yes, it is related.

Let's review:

1. TenoBell - "Do you currently own a smartphone with unlimited data?"
2. TenoBell - "On AT&T the data is unlimited."
3. Earthen - "The data is limited to 5GB under their "unlimited plan"."
4. Earthen - "If you're an iPhone owner, you don't."
5. You - "That has nothing to do with his question. Your post is a non sequitur."

Face it, you're wrong - yours was the non sequitur.

Thanks for playing. As the Chinese would say, "zaijian!"

[TenoBell]

Do you think you're smart for including that snide comment? I understand very well how much a billion dollars is and any comment to the contrary was entirely unnecessary. On a national scale, a billion dollars is "we're pretending to do something" money. They make relatively small investments, in proportion to their profits, and expect to reap great rewards - greater than anyone should reasonably expect.

Last quarter AT&T made 3.77 billion in profit. In March AT&T won regional 700 MHz spectrum. To buy that spectrum from the FCC will cost 6.6 billion. ATT will have to spend billions more to retrofit cell towers and software. You don't have a full grasp of the situation if you really think this is a small investment on revenue and profit.

Soft cap or not, 5GB means that any claim of unlimited is absolute crap and you were repeating that crap as if it meant something. I mean my God, if it's just the phone, you're right - how on Earth is anyone going to go to 5GB let alone past it? So why have the cap?

I don't use 5GB a month so it really has no impact on me. But there are always people who abuse the system.

Tethering is the name of the game; which you're expressly forbidden to do. For other smartphones they want to charge you extra to tether, which is fine, except they keep the same cap - which is inappropriate, some extra should come with the fee. I mean, as you should be able to use that much anyway - how easy is it to hit 5GB on a laptop today?

I'm not entirely sure what you are talking about.

The iPhone is certainly capable of tethering, the folks at Nullriver showed that much, but we won't be afforded the opportunity for some time if ever under AT&T. As for 3G being "old news", let me put it this way, you didn't need to have a Blu-ray drive in 2002 to know the DVD was old news. Blu-ray came out in '03.

Blu-ray was announced but not available in 2003. WithBlu-ray now available DVD still far outsells it.

And revolution is always viable, but not that practical, now is it?

Sprint and MCI started long distance service in the 80's when AT&T had a complete and total monopoly on US telecommunications