iPhone Purchase Strategies

What you're all missing is the easily availably information that you activate through iTunes AT HOME. At the stores, all you do is pay for the phone and leave. The activation happens within iTunes after you hook the iPhone up to your computer, exactly like an iPod. The info was available all over tech sites and podcasts as well as through a video on the Apple web site earlier this week.

EVERYONE SHOULD NOTE: The ONLY requirement detailed anywhere to date, is that the iPhone requires an iTunes account. I predict that the iPhone will sold and delivered in a very efficient, easy, customer-friendly manner. All indications are pointing to this. 1)You walk into Apple (store or online) or AT&T and buy the phone. Period. 2) You bring it home and Sync it to your iTunes account, at which time you will be prompted that you need to have an iTunes account if you don't already have one. Period. 3) If you have a phone/data service plan, because you've taken the time to sign the contracts and agree to pay for said level of service from the service provider AT&T, to support the Phone/Data functionality, your iTunes account will know it and the phone will work. Period. It has to be this way. If some time down the road, you refuse to pay your monthly phone bill, your phone service will be terminated by AT&T and you will have a beautiful, very fancy, latest and greatest "Multi-Touch" $500(4GB) or $600(8GB) iPod. It's obvious to me and you will all see this is exactly what will happen next Friday night.

You could very well be right fartman. In fact, id be ecstatic if thats the way it goes down.
However, I think there are some complications you might be overlooking. My senario is one of those complications. Im not a new at&t customer. I'm going to be upgrading. Im also currently on a family plan. If i have to leave the family plan for the iPhone plan some additional provisioning needs to be done with my other line. I dont think thats something that can happen via iTunes. There are far too many scenarios that could screw the process up.
Number Porting? yeah there is another one im sure isnt possible via iTunes.
But I HOPE I'm wrong.

I agree with fartman. I don't think this is going to be like anything Cingular/ATT has done prior to this and his scenario sounds as plausible as anything I've heard to date. Let's hope so because all of my previous experiences with Cingular/ATT were simply horrific -to the extent that I ran back to T-Mobile before the month was out and threatened to sue to break the contract. In their defense it was right around the time of the initial merger admittely not the best framework in which to judge a company. I'm sure they've worked out the kinks by now.
One thing that I haven't seen come up in these strategy planning posts that I'm curious about is the role of the Apple online store. I know I read someplace they'll be selling them there.
Why wouldn't that be a good way to procure a godphone without having to wait in line for hours? I can wait a day or 2 for it to ship.

Shon, I agree with Jack.

As anyone who has had to go to a cellular store and buy a phone, get a plan and then get the phone activated, this usually turns out to be a 45 minute to an hour ordeal. All the while, people are waiting behind you in frustration. Now, can you imagine this same process when dealing with all the hoopla over the iPhone? Major mess! I don't believe Apple nor AT&T would want this.

Apple and AT&T are telling (via their emails sent out to people opting to get info on the iPhone) that you will need an iTunes account. But if you look at the language, it sounds like they are saying you will need your iTunes name and password at time of "purchase" or at least on "activation" and not just for syncing your contacts, calendars, etc. This is what they said in their email:

"To set up your iPhone, you’ll need an account with Apple’s iTunes Store. If you already have an iTunes account, make sure you know your account name and password. If you don’t have an account, you should set one up now to save time later."

So this is what I predict will happen. I think that activation will actually happen through the iTunes store. I think that a user will end up selecting his or her own data and voice plan via iTunes, just like any othe purchase. You connect your iPhone, it starts up iTunes, the iTunes store comes up and you buy your plan throught it. This way, both the At&T stores as well as all the Apple stores can get people activated. You could get it activated there at the store or at a later time. What will probably happen is that you will end up signing a general contract, credit check, etc. - but the actual selection of plans and so forth will have to be done via iTunes. This way, you could also opt out to do the actual "activation" of the phone until you get home and get a chance to read all the fine print before any purchase.

I know that you had worked at Cingular before, but this is Apple we are talking about. They have had control over this thing since the beginning (Advertising, Marketing, Design, Technology, etc.). I think this will be another first in the cell phone experience. Selecting and buying your plan online. Now that would be something.

I will buy and iphone on the 29th. When I called and spoke with an ATT rep this afternoon, she said I could switch from Verizon, (I'm on a month to month with them) get 2 lines, 2000 minutes for $109. mo. Add $40 for "unlimited" data service for the iphone.

We don't know how unlimited it really is, Verizon has small print stating that you can only use 5 GB per month!

Anyway, if I had signed up this afternoon, I would walk into the Apple store with my SIM card and be good to go. For $50 after mail-in rebate and $60 mo. I can also get a Express34 broadband card for my new macbook pro. I need to talk to my husband about this, he is the tech guy, but I LOVE this new phone!!

#1 - you are a rude little scrote, aren't you?

Good tips Erica - when the iPhone comes to Hong Kong I'm guessing it'll be unlocked and expensive, but available anywhere (for some reason phone locking here is hardly ever donw, which is awesome).

drew, seriously, take a breath. You do realize that Erica is real human being, not a computer program?

Do you talk to people like that in person?

all these posts keep talking about going to an att store, are they still selling them at apple stores?

Does anyone know if apple.com, or even the att online store will be selling them?