AT&T to penalize iPhones not activated within 30 days

Although I love GPS, I doubt I will get an iPhone 3G since there is NO 3G in my county. Plus, along with the 200 SMS I have to now pay for, its an extra $15 per month, along with the one time $18 upgrade fee AT&T is charging to go to a 3G iPhone.

Frankly, if you were going to go to another carrier, it would be cheaper to buy the phone at $199, pay the $18 upgrade fee, pay the $200 Early Termination Fee right away, total = $417 versus paying $199 for the 3G iphone, $18 upgrade fee and the extra $10 per month of data for the 2 year contract ($240), total = $257 or if you want to add on the $5 for 200 SMS for 2 years, then the grand total is $577. So, you could pay $417 then unlock it (once the hackers figure it out) and go to another carrier if you wanted.

The phone will be activated and operable before the customer leaves the store. Both at AT&T and Apple. iTunes activation will not be an option, unless you are activating a first gen iPhone.

i dont get it... so can i buy an iphone at an applestore or not?

if i have to use a credit card (so they can sting me 30 days later) whats to stop me buying the phone, taking it home, then 'losing' my credit card and telling the bank to cancel the card?

the rebate thing would get around that i suppose but it seems an ugly solution...

All this talk of a "fine" is ridiculous. It's not a fine. The deal will be that you buy the phone and get a rebate or credit if you activate it in 30 days.

Of course Jobs didn't mention all this on stage because it sucks and no one would applaud. Sure it's misleading and I'd hope he doesn't do the same in the future. I'd argue that it ruins his credibility.

Now, what phone are you going to buy that doesn't have a similar deal? The 30 day limit is the only new piece and I figure that's because you buy the phone at the store and activate at home on iTunes. A phone without this deal might exist, but even if they do the price is higher and unsubsidized. The purpose of this deal is to make it more compelling for people to activate on AT&T rather than unlock it for another carrier. That said, for anyone that wants to unlock the phone for a different carrier, the price is still the same! Actually it's probably cheaper because you can get a better data plan.

I wasn't aware that AT&T activated the phones in store. Everyone I've talked to had to bring the phone home and activate using iTunes. They'll probably charge $400 and $500 for the phones and give you a credit or a rebate when you activate (within a certain period of time). That said, you can obviously pay the full price and unlock the phone. As aggrivated I am with the fact that Apple chose a carrier rather than going it alone, it's really no different than nearly every other manufacturer. I paid $500 for an unlocked Blackberry just as I would have to pay $500 for an iPhone if I wanted it unlocked. Hopefully this practice will stop, but who knows if it will? In the end I wonder if it really matters. Manufacturers like Apple want a specific return on their devices and the price is either bulit into a kickback from a carrier or paid by the consumer. You could argue that they would make up their profits on greater quantities sold, but that's yet to be proven.

So what happens if the iPhone has to be restored?? Will iTunes activation work then, or will I have to call AT&T and have them do something, or will I end up in an AT&T store?

Even when I wan't using my iPhone Jailbroken, I've had to do major restore's a few times.

I see Apple & AT&T stock dipping hard because of this news. Watch & see!

They lied to people by not revealing the truth about the extra costs up front during the iPhone 3G presentation and that's going to hit them both very hard in terms of invester's perspectives & stock value.

Once this news sinks in to the heads of the majority of prospective buyers they will not make the purchase. I was all over it until I heard that AT&T was going to fine people who didn't activate within 30 days.

Who do they think they are, the iPhone police?

Now, I will just wait until they show up on craigslist for half price (even if the wait is another year). In this economy, the world isn't ready for the 3G iPhone until the price is actually $199.00 OTD without a commitment!

For now I will be buying put options on both AT&T as well as Apple because i guarantee their stock values are heading south just because of this news. This sentiment will surely grow by leaps & bounds as this news proliferates (especially after I post this comment on every blog I can find). HA HA!

Just checked on Yahoo Finance, Apple stock is down 2.08 percent already! You shouldn't have mislead your consumers Steve!

Guys, the iPhone 3G is worth more than $199. It's being SUBSIDIZED. That means AT&T is paying Apple more than $199 for the phone (probably $399). So they are definitely within their rights to make you sign a contract before you leave.

Don't complain because of good business practices. Nothing worthwhile in this world is "free as in beer".

I hate to mention it, but it's not an AP article...

I, for one, look forward to having to activate in store. The harder it is to buy one without a contract, the higher the eBay resale value will be on my current iPhone when I upgrade next month!