3G iPhone to be in-store activated; free upgrade for recent buyers

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Comments

  • Reply 101 of 127
    olternautolternaut Posts: 1,376member
    Question:



    Why can't apple continue to allow you to order online and make it so that it is required at the time of purchase that you also virtually (gawd I hate to use that word that way) sign a contract online? That way you can still have their activation at time of purchase rule?



    Forcing Apple to make people go to a store to activate brings the iPhone down to the level of all the rest of those primitive cell phone devices. It is definately a step backwards.



    I don't like this agreement apple made with at&t at all!
  • Reply 102 of 127
    djames42djames42 Posts: 298member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Olternaut View Post


    Why can't apple continue to allow you to order online and make it so that it is required at the time of purchase that you also virtually (gawd I hate to use that word that way) sign a contract online? That way you can still have their activation at time of purchase rule?



    I'd be really surprised if you couldn't order online. The phone would simply arrived activated. Requiring people to go to an Apple or AT&T store would rule out a large segment of the population who live near neither.
  • Reply 103 of 127
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dmgceo View Post


    If it has to be activated in the store then how do you buy a 3G iPhone from the apple ONLINE store ????



    no apple on line sales.
  • Reply 104 of 127
    dmgceodmgceo Posts: 11member
    There's NO way under the sun that APPLE won't be selling 3G iphones ONLINE - its just not apparent how they plan on selling the iPhone and signing/activating a new contract with a (new or old) phone number. We're all missing information on how they intend to do this. Remember there are disabled people who can't get or go out to do this buy/activation process. LOTS of speculation here but again the ONLINE apples store is not going to advertise iPhones & not sell them!
  • Reply 105 of 127
    chrisbkchrisbk Posts: 19member
    Maybe AT&T allows Apple to quit the exclusivity earlier if they sell the iphone for a few months with these conditions (and high margins for AT&T) ... I'm just guessing, no facts!
  • Reply 106 of 127
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by aplnub View Post


    I would think at the very least Apple will stay tied to AT&T for a minimum of 12 months. After 12 months rolls by, I wouldn't be surprised if Verizon got friendly with Apple. 24 months after the release of the 3G iPhone would seem more practical for a cut in one carrier only practice.



    Didn't all the other carries say no only because of revenue sharing? Now that that has 'gone away' why bother staying with ATT at all?
  • Reply 107 of 127
    samabsamab Posts: 1,953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by othello View Post


    you pay for incoming calls?!?!



    Yes, Americans pay for incoming calls.



    AT&T's iphone plan --- includes unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes, and 5000 nights/weekends minutes and rollover of your daytime minutes (if you don't use them up this month).



    http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/ba...al-options.jsp



    The US plan is still better.
  • Reply 108 of 127
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by johnmcboston View Post


    Didn't all the other carries say no only because of revenue sharing? Now that that has 'gone away' why bother staying with ATT at all?



    I've read several articles this morning that suggest the deal with at&t might be coming to a close! Just rumors, of course, but the end of revenue sharing is highly suspicious.
  • Reply 109 of 127
    So what happens if you want to buy one as a gift for someone? Drag them into the store on their birthday?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Olternaut View Post


    Question:



    Why can't apple continue to allow you to order online and make it so that it is required at the time of purchase that you also virtually (gawd I hate to use that word that way) sign a contract online? That way you can still have their activation at time of purchase rule?



    Forcing Apple to make people go to a store to activate brings the iPhone down to the level of all the rest of those primitive cell phone devices. It is definately a step backwards.



    I don't like this agreement apple made with at&t at all!



  • Reply 110 of 127
    icfireballicfireball Posts: 2,594member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hjordis71 View Post


    So what happens if you want to buy one as a gift for someone? Drag them into the store on their birthday?



    Or if you're going to be out of town on July 11
  • Reply 111 of 127
    davidwdavidw Posts: 2,036member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TBell View Post


    Don't buy that for a minute. Apple always intended to go with AT&T. It just wanted the most favorable terms it could get. How do you do that? By playing each competing company off one another. Apple never really intended to going with Sprint or Verizon.



    Apple never even talked to ATT. Apple first went to Verizon and they turned it down. Apple next went to Cingular and they accepted, ATT bought out Cingular some time afterwards. That's how ATT ended up with the iPhone contract.
  • Reply 112 of 127
    davidwdavidw Posts: 2,036member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dmgceo View Post


    There's NO way under the sun that APPLE won't be selling 3G iphones ONLINE - its just not apparent how they plan on selling the iPhone and signing/activating a new contract with a (new or old) phone number. We're all missing information on how they intend to do this. Remember there are disabled people who can't get or go out to do this buy/activation process. LOTS of speculation here but again the ONLINE apples store is not going to advertise iPhones & not sell them!



    It's really simple. You buy an iPhone online and Apple gives you a confirmation number. you take the confirmation number online to ATT. You buy a plan (or renew an existing one) from ATT and they in turn give you another confirmation number. Plus they inform Apple that you signed up for a qualifying plan. Apple then ship you the iPhone. You get the iPhone, plug it into iTunes and enter your ATT confirnation number to activate. If you don't activate the iPhone, ATT will bill you for early cancellation and Apple will bill you for what ATT would have paid them for your subsidized iPhone. This makes it very expensive, but not impossible, to get a plan free iPhone to unlock.
  • Reply 113 of 127
    AT&T is retarded. I am in disbelief that Apple took a step backwards and that people will have to deal with the shiteous telecom industry in the US for at least another two years. Verizon equally sucks and I don't really know what to do now.
  • Reply 114 of 127
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    iPhone summery of the last 11 months:



    "$599 is too much for a phone!!"

    "I paid $599, Apple cheated me by lowering the price of the iPhone to $399"

    "The $100 store credit is not enough"

    "The iPhone still expensive at $399"

    "We want 3G... Edge sucks"

    "We want 3rd party applications"

    "We want GPS"

    "We want flushed headphone jack"



    Now,



    "I want to activate my $199 iPhone at home, in-store activation sucks"

    "3G and GPS not that big of a deal"

    "We want second camera for video chat"





    I guess some people need to learn to accept life as it is and stop whining about every single thing. Apple did almost everything you guys asked for.







    Quote:

    Originally Posted by hjordis71

    So what happens if you want to buy one as a gift for someone? Drag them into the store on their birthday?



    Well, you do the same thing as if you want to buy any other phone. There is also another invention called gift cards.
  • Reply 115 of 127
    zaqarovzaqarov Posts: 10member
    I wonder how they are going to make this in-store activation thing working here in Belgium.

    Tied sales are illegal over here. I can see them getting around this some way, but in-store activation? Not going to happen.

    On the other hand, steve said "a maximum of 199 all around the world". Yay!

    I finally see the point of prohibiting tied sales.



    x

    zaqarov
  • Reply 116 of 127
    samabsamab Posts: 1,953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by zaqarov View Post


    I wonder how they are going to make this in-store activation thing working here in Belgium.

    Tied sales are illegal over here. I can see them getting around this some way, but in-store activation? Not going to happen.

    On the other hand, steve said "a maximum of 199 all around the world". Yay!

    I finally see the point of prohibiting tied sales.



    x

    zaqarov



    The law is under appeal at the European Court of Justice and the Belgium government is undergoing steps into repeal the law in Belgium.
  • Reply 117 of 127
    hutchohutcho Posts: 132member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by zaqarov View Post


    On the other hand, steve said "a maximum of 199 all around the world". Yay!



    Actually, many transscripts got this wrong. He said "a maximum of $199 in ALMOST all locations around the world".
  • Reply 118 of 127
    merdheadmerdhead Posts: 587member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DavidW View Post


    Apple never even talked to ATT. Apple first went to Verizon and they turned it down. Apple next went to Cingular and they accepted, ATT bought out Cingular some time afterwards. That's how ATT ended up with the iPhone contract.



    That's utter bollocks. They were never gonna make a CDMA phone, they went to Cingular first and only.
  • Reply 119 of 127
    davidwdavidw Posts: 2,036member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by merdhead View Post


    That's utter bollocks. They were never gonna make a CDMA phone, they went to Cingular first and only.



    http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/29/v...e-iphone-deal/



    or just Google "Verizon turned down iPhone".
  • Reply 120 of 127
    bavlondon2bavlondon2 Posts: 694member
    So this basically means for you guys that you cant just buy the phone and then get it unlocked right?



    Apparantly they couldnt enforce this rule in Europe as its in breach of some EU law.
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