AT&T's Mobility CEO "spills the beans" on iPhone 3G
Gizmodo posted on an interesting topic that came up during a lunch with AT&T's Mobility CEO, Ralph de la Vega, regarding the iPhone and 3G support. He said that AT&T expected to have all of the smartphones on their network integrated with 3G. PC Mag's Sascha Segan asked whether or not this would include iPhones, that's when Vega said, "Let me repeat what I said: I think that you're going to see our integrated devices be 3G devices in the not-too-distant future, and I mean months. That should be clear enough."Looks like all of the recent rumors of 3G iPhones could be real after all. If you have been thinking about buying an iPhone, it might be worth it to hold-off on a purchase.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
djjazzyjoe said 10:39PM on 4-02-2008
cool .
for some reason i have been waiting for this post all day.
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caleb said 8:11AM on 4-03-2008
I wonder how many of those people who refused to buy the non-3G iPhone and were waiting for this version are going to be pissed off because because 3G is not available where they live? It's been a couple months since I checked AT&Ts 3G coverage, but the last time I did it was terrible.
Cody said 10:53PM on 4-02-2008
I really hope Apple treats the old iphone users with respect cause if we cant upgrade our iPhones im smelling some yelling at apple if that happens.
-Cody
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Gregg W. Smith said 10:52PM on 4-02-2008
Why would you be mad at Apple for releasing a improved or different device? Everyone knew all along that the iPhone would have a 3G version come out eventually. Heck I should be pissed because Apple released new MacBooks a week or two after I got mine. That is the way technology goes though.
brian said 10:53PM on 4-02-2008
um.. why would you expect anything from apple?
possibly a $100 rebate from att or something if you renew your contract.. thats the most ive ever gotten from a wireless company when i get a new phone..
Keith said 10:55PM on 4-02-2008
And I just bought an 8GB iPhone yesterday / signed up with AT&T's 2-year contract. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
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Unregistered said 7:16AM on 4-03-2008
Is there a way to refund it?
navstar said 11:19AM on 4-07-2008
AT&T/Cingular will refund your iPhone within 14days of purchase. That's how I was able to "upgrade" my 8GB I bought a week before the 16GB model came out.
Oh, I did have to pay a restocking fee. But that was worth it.
AdamY said 1:19PM on 4-03-2008
Most cellular carriers have a 1-2 week trial period, I'm sure you can return your device if you're planning on waiting.
I suggest looking at AT&T's coverage map to ensure you're covered by 3G.
In addition, remember that the iPhone will have to pass FCC muster, so we'll likely see a 3G announcement before we see an actual product.
luis said 10:56PM on 4-02-2008
As always apple is going to punish the early adopters, so the 2.0 upgrade is going to be free for the new iphone 3G owners, but for the iphone and touch owners is going to be a 20 dollar fee.
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Cody said 10:59PM on 4-02-2008
it wont cost us a dime to upgrade. they said so in the video they did about iPhone 2.0. if they do then screw apple!
luis said 11:08PM on 4-02-2008
They said it was free for the iphone, but for which one ?, may be it is only for the 3G one. taking into account the last few moves from apple I wouldn't be surprised
VeganTnT said 11:20PM on 4-02-2008
That makes no sense. Apple has said from day one they won't charge for Iphone firmware. The money they receive from your AT&T subscription is enough. They want money for their time and resources, but they are already getting money from every Iphone user on AT&T on a monthly basis.
An example for this is the App bundle for the Ipod Touch. Are they the same apps available for free on the Iphone? Yes. So why charge? Cause Apple doesn't get any revenue from Ipod Touch users. Apple wants money for the time and resources used to port the Apps.
Zach said 11:59PM on 4-02-2008
@Vegan
Apple doesn't have to do anything to the apps to make them work on the touch. They run on the same damn OS and SDK. The only cost associated with it would be the cost of charging credit cards and running transactions for charging people money for it
VeganTnT said 2:11AM on 4-03-2008
@zach
You do realize that the iPhone and the iPod touch are completly different, right?
The iPod touch can't access the edge network like the iPhone can. So wouldnt it stand to reason that they may need to change some code to make them work? So that the program doesn't even try to connect without wifi on?
And even if the switching from edge to wifi is handled by the OS (I'm not a programmer so I have no idea) that means the OS is different on the iPod touch, because it has no edge network. So again, the code needs a little adjusting since the OS isn't the same.
Johnny said 6:28AM on 4-03-2008
Whatever version of the iPhone you have, 2.5-X.x g, the firmware updates will always be free.
The reason for this is that as an iPhone owner you are generating a continued income to Apple as they take a little slice of the monthly network service rental.
The iPod touch is a one of payment, once you own it Apple doesn't get any more money off you. So they charge you for the updates.
I don't agree, but that's the reason.
zachary miller said 11:03AM on 4-03-2008
@vegan
Yes I know that it lacks EDGE (any cellular data for that matter) because it is not a phone. They aren't completely diffrent though. I'm sure it would be just as convient for them to write a line where the app checks which device its on and then decides how to go about accessing the internet. They can just write it once and be done with it. That saves alot of time. I don't think they would take the time to go all the way back and write it over. The OS is the same for both, the iPod touch just has less resources which it can easily adapt. I don't think they would write the OS allover again if they can just use the same one for both and save time and money too.
luis said 4:43PM on 4-03-2008
@ VeganTnT
The OS is the same and the code is the same, we all got different Macs or Pcs, with different peripherals on them, but they don't need to re-write the code for each computer
Cody said 10:56PM on 4-02-2008
well what i mean is they should like have a option to upgrade your iphone for like $100 or something cause i really dont feel like paying another $600 for a iphone. i cant believe how fast they already thought of a new iphone maybe it will be different styles? if not then i wont by it i wont need 3G its fast enough.
-Cody
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luis said 11:14PM on 4-02-2008
I do hope the do that, but i don't think they are going to, they don't even subsidize the phone like the other manufacturers do.