Rise and shine, shoppers. According to AppleInsider, Apple retail stores will open at 8:00 AM this Friday, July 11th to begin selling the iPhone 3G. AT&T stores will also open at 8:00AM.
The longer work day will create time for the in-store activations, credit checks, etc. that the new iPhone will require. For me, this is a real bummer. Activating my original iPhone via iTunes in the quiet comfort of my own home was a pleasure; a typically "Apple" experience. Now, I've got to stand around like every other shmoe and wait for the workers to click this, type that, sign here and blah, blah. Oh, well.
Apple has posted some information regarding where to buy the iPhone 3G and what to bring to the store so you can get up and running. According to Apple, in-store activations will occur at Apple's retail stores.
"Let a Specialist help you choose your iPhone, check the network coverage where you live, select a rate plan, review the contract terms, and - best of all - activate your new iPhone in just a few minutes," the Apple page explains.
Apple suggests having the following information handy to make the activation process speedy:
Credit card
Social security number
Valid government-issued photo ID
Current wireless account number and password or PIN (if you're new to AT&T)
Apple also provides information for new iPhone owners on how to organize their data to make it ready for the iPhone. All of this information can be found on Apple's Where to Buy website.
A recent MacRumors post suggests that you might only be able to purchase one iPhone 3G per customer from AT&T. While we haven't heard official word from Apple, they might be limiting purchases to 2 iPhones per customer like they did last year.
MacRumors also reports that AT&T stores have received their iPhone 3Gs for the displays and they are to be activated on Thursday, July 10th, and must have downloaded 3rd-party applications on the displays in time for the launch on July 11th at 8 a.m.
They also report that Apple held a meeting to discuss sales of the iPhone. Speculation says that Apple stores might be opening at 8 a.m. to mimic AT&T's launch. Leak information also speculates that you will be able to use Apple gift cards, credit cards and checks to purchase the iPhone 3G (for the original iPhone launch, credit cards were required to track purchases).
Update: Apple has confirmed an 8 a.m. launch of the iPhone 3G at all Apple Stores. For more information about the iPhone launch at Apple Stores, visit the Apple retail website.
Boy Genius Report is reporting that Apple may allow sales of the iPhone at BestBuy and RadioShack retail stores in the U.S. This, of course, is in addition to it being sold at Apple and AT&T stores.
This would be the first time since the iPhone's introduction that a third-party reseller would be able to sell the iPhone. These rumors are definitely unconfirmed at this point so we don't know if this will happen in time for the retail giants to get in on the July 11th introduction sale.
As everyone has told us this morning (Thank you guys, we love you!), AT&T has announced their price plans. Christina got a post up about this earlier today. As I dragged my weary Mountain-Time-based self out of bed (after a night of random fire alarms due to a wonky 9-volt battery), I decided to see what all the fuss was about. You can imagine my surprise when I saw that AT&T was slapping a $400 premium onto non-contract phones.
In case you were up most of last night (like I was) and weren't reading that last line correctly, let me say that again: there is a four hundred freaking dollar premium for non-contract phones.
Follow the jump for more thoughts about this development.
AT&T Wireless has just posted official information about the iPhone 3G for US customers. In addition to touting the iPhone 3G's feature-set and a 3G-coverage tool, AT&T has officially clarified upgrade pricing for existing non-iPhone owning AT&T customers (as we covered a few weeks ago, current iPhone customers are automatically eligible to upgrade at the new $299 price). If you are an AT&T customer who does not qualify for the upgrade pricing, you can get the 8 GB iPhone 3G for $399.99 and the 16 GB iPhone 3G for $499.99 -- or a $200 premium. A two-year contract must still be signed.
AT&T has also announced that the iPhone 3G will be available at 8 a.m. on Friday, July 11, 2008 at AT&T retail stores.
Even more exciting -- for the contract-averse among us -- AT&T states:
"Coming soon, AT&T will offer a no-commitment option of $599 for 8GB and $699 for 16GB." AT&T has also bundled together the iPhone data plan (which is a requirement) and their voice plans in one manageable chunk.
Plans start at $69.99 for 450 anytime minutes, 5000 night and weekend, unlimited mobile-to-mobile and iPhone 3G data. AT&T's unlimited voice plan including iPhone 3G service is $129.99. SMS text message bundles are available for $5 (for 200 messages a month), $15 (for 1500 messages a month) and $20 (for unlimited text messages) a month, or $0.20 per message.
AT&T even put together a handly iReady Checklist for new and old customers alike.
Thanks Kevin (and everyone else who sent this in)!
Yes, it is hard to believe, but our pal the iPhone will be 1 year old at 6 pm EST today. The iPhone has undergone many changes over the past year: from generating all the hype and buzz to being the best way to do everything on-the-go. The original iPhone sold at 6 p.m. (in each time zone across the US) at Apple and AT&T corporate stores for a retail price of $599 for the 8GB model and $499 for the now-discontinued 4GB model.
With Apple set to release the next generation iPhone on July 11th, we can only stop and look back at all the accomplishments Apple has achieved over the past year. The iPhone has definitely changed the way we look at smartphones.
According to AppleInsider, Apple has started issuing memos stressing how to answer questions from customers that might come up between now and the iPhone 3G launch event on July 11th. According to the 3-page memo, there will be no waiting list for the iPhone (wow, this is a "duh" question -- they've never done this for any of their in-store releases).
The memo also states what to do if customers ask the dreaded question of "which is better, iPod touch or iPhone 3G?" According to the memo, employees are supposed to tell the customer that the iPhone carries a 2-year contract with AT&T. When asked about iPhone activations, employees are to respond that they "do not have any information at the present time."
AppleInsider notes that Apple will be holding a worldwide meeting on July 6 with retail employees (possibly both AT&T and Apple Store) to discuss launch procedures for the iPhone 3G. You can read more about the long memo by clicking the read link below.
Remember when the first generation iPhone was released and people found themselves traveling overseas only to return to a large bill from AT&T? Well, TimesOnline is weighing in on the possible problems of data roaming and the iPhone 3G.
As it turns out, 3G bandwidth is, shall we say, expensive. TimesOnline said O2's (Apple's iPhone carrier in the UK) 3G data roaming charges go up to almost £3 (~ $6 US) per megabyte when downloaded from a country within the EU; worldwide roaming is almost £6 (~ $12 US) per Mb.
So, to put things into perspective, if you go overseas and download a 50MB file via your phone (such as audio or a short movie) then you will be spending over $600 US for that file. TUAW would like to take a moment and remind everyone about the Data Roaming Off switch in your settings. This can save you an expensive mistake (i.e. having to sell your kidney to pay your iPhone's roaming bill).
So like a gadzillion people have asked me: "What do I do with my old iPhone now that I'm upgrading to a spiffy new 3G unit?" I thought about doing a top ten list. I thought about clever and amusing ways to use an old iPhone. But seriously, it just comes down to this. So read my lips.
Jailbreak it. Unlock it. Give it away or sell it. The end.
Get yourself a copy of iLiberty+ or ZiPhone or whatever tool you like. Once unlocked, you can sell it for a badzillion dollars on eBay, because contrary to what I originally thought, AT&T isn't going to let you walk away with a new 3G iPhone without signing over your first born, your personal bank account and possibly your soul. So the demand for 1st gens is going to go through the roof (as will the demand for posthumous mobile air conditioning units once AT&T is through with you). Over at Google, those $250 refurb iPhones from a few weeks back are going for $500 and up. Ebay has relative bargains at $350 and up.
If you have a child, a spouse, a dog or any other loved one, you can now give them the phone with a T-Mobile or AT&T SIM and they're good to go. If any of these loved ones are foreigners ("votre chien", for example, in the case of those north of the border but within the Quebecois borders), they should be able to use a non-US SIM in the unlocked unit (i.e. "Le Rogers Fido").
As we've posted before, AT&T says it will reset your contract to 2 years once you get the new iPhone, so your old one will be completely free, clear, and contract-free. No one (except, perhaps, your dog) will sanction you for unlocking it.
MacNN noted in a recent post that AT&T is listing the iPhone as having a 1.4 Mbps connection (down-stream) while other 3G phones such as the Motorola Q have upwards of 3.6 Mbps connections. If you are thinking that this is a typo on AT&T's website, think again, because it was also mentioned in their press release about the iPhone (PDF link).
The mobile phones, of course, have a slower connection compared to the 3G cards that AT&T offers. Some of the 3G cards can connect as fast as 7.2 Mbps down. So while Apple is touting their "3G speeds approaching WiFi speeds" you have to wonder why is AT&T limiting the bandwidth on the iPhone 3G so much.
Update: MacNN updated their post shortly after this posting. MacNN's sources are saying that the 1.4 Mbps speed is "observed" speed over the network.
BusinessWeek.com has a really interesting article online today theorizing about the potential impact the iPhone 3G will have on other smartphone manufacturers and the wireless industry at large. The $200 introductory price point can lure lots of customers over to AT&T and put the price crunch on other smartphone manufacturers. Plus, now that the phone has been out for a year, consumers are more eager to upgrade. As the article points out, the trend of cell phone carriers subsidizing the price of handsets was on the wane, but now that the iPhone 3G is going to be released at a subsidized price, other manufacturers might want to follow suit, and that may mean cutting their prices on bulk orders.
Even before the 3G announcement last week, Apple has already forced the other mobile players to up their game. Not only are future phones adopting more iPhone-centric interfaces and features, wireless carriers who can't offer the iPhone to their customers are spending more to remind users of their offerings. According to the BusinessWeek article, Verizon's ad budget increased 30% in the first quarter of 2008.
While AT&T is surely going to continue to benefit from being the sole iPhone carrier in the United States, they also stand-out as being expensive. To help cover iPhone subsidies, AT&T is raising the data plan $10 a month. As BusinessWeek mentions, this could be an area that other carriers could seize on. By offering more features for less money, other carriers have an incentive that while not as flashy as the iPhone, might be more financially practical for lots of customers.
Still, as I said in last night's talkcast, I think the $200 price point is going to vastly reduce the barrier to entry for lots and lots of users. The data plan price increase is going to be more a determent for existing iPhone users, not new users to the fold. Just as the iPod really hit its stride when it became available for under $400, the $200 pricepoint on the iPhone is going to be extremely tempting for anyone approaching the end of a cellular contract. The other phone manufacturers SHOULD be concerned; the war for mobile domination will not be won or lost based on the iPhone 3G, but Apple is a very, very deft opponent.
Posted Jun 14th 2008 9:00AM by Mat Lu Filed under: iPhone
Over at iPhone Atlas they're reporting that AT&T is not planning to offer a tethering option for the forthcoming iPhone 3G. Right now AT&T does offer the option for many of their 3G phones, which allows you to use the phone as a cellular modem on a laptop as part of a $65/month data plan. According to an AT&T spokesman, however, no such Phone-As-Modem plan will be offered for the iPhone 3G.
I certainly would have been interested in tethering, especially since the 3G iPhone will allow you to receive calls while transferring data. Given that AT&T is basically eliminating the iPhone's special status vis-a-vis their other smartphones, bringing it into line with the BlackBerry and WM data plans, it's a shame that they're not willing to offer parity on the tethering side. How many of you would be willing to pay extra for 3G tethering on the iPhone?
Yesterday, Twitter was abuzz with incorrect rumors that current iPhone owners would have to trade-in their 2G phones in order to upgrade to the iPhone 3G. I spoke with AT&T's mobility media contact yesterday and confirmed that the rumors were bogus, but after the original source posted a clarification and retraction, we didn't think it was necessary to post, fearing it might just confuse readers further.
However, today we received a tip from a reader linking to a FinancialWire story that mentions an exchange/rebate option for AT&T customers, but does not properly explain the procedure and the eligibility. Because I spoke with AT&T yesterday, I would like to set the record straight.
As Mark Siegel from AT&T explained to me yesterday, "AT&T wants to be as fair as possible to customers who very recently purchased an iPhone." Thus, if you purchased an iPhone from an AT&T store AFTER May 27, 2008, you have the option of returning the phone to an AT&T store between July 11, 2008 and August 1, 2008 for the new iPhone 3G. Those customers will also be refunded the difference between the price paid for the 2G iPhone and the iPhone 3G.
I commend AT&T on taking such a proactive and consumer-friendly approach.
Just to reiterate: if you bought a 2G iPhone BEFORE May 27, 2008 and you want to upgrade to the new iPhone 3G, you can do so at the subsidized price ($199 or $299), as long as you sign and new two-year contract and add-on the 3G data plan (this plan will replace any data plan you currently have for the iPhone). You do NOT need to trade-in your old phone.
That fancy iPhone 3G won't feel much speedier than your first gen iPhone if you aren't in an area that is covered by AT&T's high-speed 3G network. Luckily, AT&T has a list of cities (yes, if you're not in a metropolitan area chances are you'll be using EDGE more often than not) that have 3G coverage.
AT&T doesn't offer up a map of the US with their 3G coverage highlighted, so I took the liberty of using their 'Coverage Viewer' and my copy of Acorn to whip up a full US map with AT&T's 3G coverage in deep blue. Check it out here (the map isn't perfect, I know, but it does give you a good idea of the extent of AT&T's 3G network).
Update: I've added another map that only shows AT&T's data coverage. 3G is the deepest blue, while EDGE is slightly lighter (and more widespread).
Rise and shine, shoppers. According to AppleInsider, Apple retail stores will open at 8:00 AM this Friday, July 11th to begin selling the iPhone 3G. AT&T stores will also open at 8:00AM.
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