Why I Am Waiting For The First Time With New Apple Product
I had hatched my plans to get up early and wait in line for the 3G. But for the first time in years with a new Apple product - I have decided to wait. Why?
1. 32GB - I want it and I will wait. My best guess is that it will come in time for the Holidays buying season. I am very surprised that they didn't launch 3G with a 32GB - but I guess the price point would have gone in the face of their "economical model" based advertising.
2. 3G - I travel a lot and find myself in secondary markets most of the time. AT&T's 3G coverage is still not great - so I will wait for their build out to be completed. I have waited a year for faster service - so a few more months won't bother me.
3. Availability - This is the big question. I was pretty much first in line last year for the iPhone. However, a lot of people behind me were disappointed. If you read between the lines with Apple spokesman on availability - they are not saying either way. Just look at Carphone Warehouse - the UK's biggest reseller - promised 50,000 - getting just over 10% of that. my spy at my AT&T store says they are expecting a ton of people and probably not enough phones. I am not sure how reliable he is though. I am sure that like last year - Apple stores will get way more product than AT&T stores. Basic economics - Apple hope folks buy other stuff while in the store.
4. Time in line - OK, they say activation will be somewhat fast in-store - but add in folks who just want to play with it before they buy, going over rates, choosing accessories and other such delays - I am guessing 30 minutes plus per average customer. If you are 30th in line - that is quite a wait.
5. Finally - my protest against AT&T. Looking over deals and rates in other countries - it would seem that on the whole - US customers are getting a rate hike when others around the world are getting sweet deals. AT&T are just being greedy. Again, basic economics - the more they sell - the more revenue they get. And they will sell a ton of these. So why not drop the rates, waive activation, or something. I always thought that AT&T were the wrong carrier for the iPhone. They are a monolith in the wireless world. I believe apple went this route because AT&T needed Apple more than Apple needed AT&T - so Apple got the sweet end of the deal.
Anyway - my 2 cents.
1. 32GB - I want it and I will wait. My best guess is that it will come in time for the Holidays buying season. I am very surprised that they didn't launch 3G with a 32GB - but I guess the price point would have gone in the face of their "economical model" based advertising.
2. 3G - I travel a lot and find myself in secondary markets most of the time. AT&T's 3G coverage is still not great - so I will wait for their build out to be completed. I have waited a year for faster service - so a few more months won't bother me.
3. Availability - This is the big question. I was pretty much first in line last year for the iPhone. However, a lot of people behind me were disappointed. If you read between the lines with Apple spokesman on availability - they are not saying either way. Just look at Carphone Warehouse - the UK's biggest reseller - promised 50,000 - getting just over 10% of that. my spy at my AT&T store says they are expecting a ton of people and probably not enough phones. I am not sure how reliable he is though. I am sure that like last year - Apple stores will get way more product than AT&T stores. Basic economics - Apple hope folks buy other stuff while in the store.
4. Time in line - OK, they say activation will be somewhat fast in-store - but add in folks who just want to play with it before they buy, going over rates, choosing accessories and other such delays - I am guessing 30 minutes plus per average customer. If you are 30th in line - that is quite a wait.
5. Finally - my protest against AT&T. Looking over deals and rates in other countries - it would seem that on the whole - US customers are getting a rate hike when others around the world are getting sweet deals. AT&T are just being greedy. Again, basic economics - the more they sell - the more revenue they get. And they will sell a ton of these. So why not drop the rates, waive activation, or something. I always thought that AT&T were the wrong carrier for the iPhone. They are a monolith in the wireless world. I believe apple went this route because AT&T needed Apple more than Apple needed AT&T - so Apple got the sweet end of the deal.
Anyway - my 2 cents.