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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,289
30,364


When Apple announced the iPhone in January, they did so with a partnership with Cingular as their exclusive mobile phone service provider. Last year, AT&T acquired the remaining 40% of Cingular it had not already owned and over the past year, the company has been transitioning the Cingular brand towards the AT&T name.

International Herald Tribune notes that on Monday, AT&T has entered the final phase of their transition with changing the name of their retail stores to AT&T from Cingular.

Despite early photos of the iPhone carrying the Cingular name, the final devices will be branded under AT&T. AT&T will be using the iPhone launch as a marketing event to reinforce the new AT&T brand.

The iPhone is expected to be released in late June at both AT&T (formerly Cingular) retail stores as well as Apple Stores.
 

Noiseboy

macrumors regular
Dec 25, 2002
213
18
Lurking nearby.
I guess as long as the coverage is better than my current T-Mobile which sucks in the US I'll be going with them whatever they're called come iPhone time.
 

DeaconGraves

macrumors 65816
Apr 25, 2007
1,289
2
Dallas, TX
Slightly annoying. First I had an AT&T wireless phone. Then it changed to Cingular, and now its on its way back to being AT&T.

Frankly I'm ok with this (I prefer blue to orange) as long as they don't try to sell off my contract again like with the last name change.
 

Digitalclips

macrumors 65816
Mar 16, 2006
1,475
36
Sarasota, Florida
Great timing (or superb planning) for Apple and AAPL stock as it obviously means Apple's name is locked in with what will no doubt be a huge $ advertising blitz at no cost to Apple whatsoever.
 

afbuckeye

macrumors member
Apr 29, 2007
57
0
USA
I would have to say that I will be switching to them no matter what the name is by the time the iphone gets here so it doesn't really affect me in any way. Hopefully my service will be ok and the fact that I'm using an iphone may outweigh the fact that my service coverage may be worse.
 

mi5moav

macrumors regular
Mar 12, 2004
223
0
You are still gonna see a lot of orange in the ATT stores. I think ATT's new colors are actually blue, white and orange. Hopefully, this is just a transition to all Blue in white over the next year.
 

zac4mac

macrumors 6502
Jun 18, 2002
306
2
near Boulder, CO. USA
Left CDMA for a contract with AT&T Mobile GSM and a SE T-637 . Never had a contract with Cingular, but I've been paying them with the same plan I got from AT&T. The T-637 is about dead, keys stick, the screen's been buffed out several times so I can read it, battery life is still pretty good, and I got a spare battery and charger when my boss replaced his T-610.

I'm very ready for a new phone and a new contract with AT&T again. Timing's perfect, I'm due a bonus next month that will just about pay for the iPhone, so life's good.

Z
 

MacTheSpoon

macrumors 6502a
Jun 19, 2006
514
0
Every time I hear "AT&T" mentioned together with "Apple," I shudder and remember the keynote, when the AT&T CEO came out and gave his robotic, soulless presentation. It was so jarring compared to the dynamic and inspired speeches by Jobs, Google's Schmidt, and Yahoo's Yang.

No matter how much AT&T tries to associate itself with the coolness of Apple's iPhone, I don't think it's going to change my perception of their corporate image/culture.
 

MonkeyClaw

macrumors regular
Feb 18, 2006
180
0
Asheville, NC
I really wish I could switch to AT&T, not simply for the iPhone but because of GSM being the standard. I'm a non conformist at heart but still... But alas, GSM service in Asheville, NC is absolutely atrocious so it looks like it will be verizon for a while...
 

TheSlush

macrumors 6502a
Mar 28, 2007
658
22
New York, NY
Every time I hear "AT&T" mentioned together with "Apple," I shudder and remember the keynote, when the AT&T CEO came out and gave his robotic, soulless presentation. It was so jarring compared to the dynamic and inspired speeches by Jobs, Google's Schmidt, and Yahoo's Yang.

If it makes you feel any better, the guy to whom you're referring was Cingular's CEO, Stan Sigman... not AT&T's CEO, Randall Stephenson. (But neither of them are as dynamic as Steve!)

Stan is now running the new AT&T's wireless area as "President and CEO of AT&T Mobility."
 

Sandfleaz

macrumors regular
Jan 9, 2007
113
0
I was a little surprised when they announced the move back to calling it AT&T.
Admittedly it does have a lot of recognition, but it also is a very old corporate name. Cingular sounds fresher to me.
 

SeanMcg

macrumors 6502
Jun 1, 2004
333
1
OT, but...

Every time I hear "AT&T" mentioned together with "Apple," I shudder and remember the keynote, when the AT&T CEO came out and gave his robotic, soulless presentation. It was so jarring compared to the dynamic and inspired speeches by Jobs, Google's Schmidt, and Yahoo's Yang.

No matter how much AT&T tries to associate itself with the coolness of Apple's iPhone, I don't think it's going to change my perception of their corporate image/culture.

Not everyone is a great presenter, and Jobs is obviously one of the all-time best. But you do raise an interesting idea about how much the corporate culture is reflected in the persona of the excutive.

Having said that, I think one of the worst people he ever brought on stage (not including Bill Gates via video) was Roz Ho from Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit. Forget the Microsoft connection, she just isn't a good presenter.
 

phillipjfry

macrumors 6502a
Dec 12, 2006
847
1
Peace in Plainfield
Every time I hear "AT&T" mentioned together with "Apple," I shudder and remember the keynote, when the AT&T CEO came out and gave his robotic, soulless presentation. It was so jarring compared to the dynamic and inspired speeches by Jobs, Google's Schmidt, and Yahoo's Yang.

No matter how much AT&T tries to associate itself with the coolness of Apple's iPhone, I don't think it's going to change my perception of their corporate image/culture.

That was the most embarassing presentation I had ever seen. Even though I didn't get to see it live and only streamed from apple's website, I still shuffled and cringed in my seat. My little brother had to give a show and tell presenation in first grade one time, and he had a more dynamic personality than that guy. :eek:
:)
I am ditching verizon after my contract is up and hoepfully by then the iphone will have different models and all the kinks are worked out. That will instill some extra confidence in me putting down more than half a grand towards a cell phone.
 

wildmac

macrumors 65816
Jun 13, 2003
1,167
1
That was the most embarassing presentation I had ever seen. Even though I didn't get to see it live and only streamed from apple's website, I still shuffled and cringed in my seat....

I was there for it, and it was terrible.. so much worse in person. The cracks and groans from the crowd in the back were getting pretty bad.

Of course, that could also be because by then we realized that there was going to be no MacPro or MacbookPro updates announced.. :rolleyes:
 

mozmac

macrumors 6502
Apr 28, 2005
332
15
Austin, TX
I've been with Cingular for 7 years, near their very beginning, and am so sad to see the name go. I've been in denial every since I found out about the name change at a career fair in the Fall. However, if AT&T doesn't repeat the way they ran their last wireless business, I will be fine. I'm excited to see how the iPhone pans out and will hopefully get my hands on one after it's gone through a revision or two.

Anyone else been with Cingular since the 90s?
 

guzhogi

macrumors 68040
Aug 31, 2003
3,725
1,804
Wherever my feet take me…
I'm definitely thinking about getting an iPhone. My question is what's AT&T/Cingular service like? I've never had a cell phone so I don't know what it's like. Also, what plans do they have and how are they? I know I could check the AT&T site to see what plans they have, but I want a review if those who have it don't mind.
 

Tara Davis

macrumors regular
Mar 29, 2007
130
0
Am I the only one who thinks the idea of getting an expensive data subscription for the iPhone's features stinks on ice?

Paying $500 for a phone doesn't bother me that much, since it's a phone with as much power as the iPhone will have, but locking into a 2-year contract at over $50 per month is OUTRAGEOUS to me.

I would much prefer a cheap voice-only contract (currently I'm splitting a "Family" plan on T-Mobile with some friends, and it's a dirt-cheap way to go) and a gadget like the iPhone which lets me just hop on free WiFi hotspots for data access.

Actually, what would make me even happier is a SIM card reader and a GSM transceiver built into a Mac subnotebook. No specific ties to a cell phone vendor at all. That would rock.

Until the day comes that I can have OS X phone goodness without greedy cell-provider evilness, I'm just going to stick with carrying around both my RAZR and my MacBook.
 

RRK

macrumors 6502
Mar 14, 2007
456
0
USA/Ohio/Columbus
My grandfather worked at Bell labs in the 50's and 60's when it was still part of AT&T, so I am kinda happy to see them making a come back and having a relationship with Apple.
 

wordmunger

macrumors 603
Sep 3, 2003
5,124
3
North Carolina
I'm definitely thinking about getting an iPhone. My question is what's AT&T/Cingular service like? I've never had a cell phone so I don't know what it's like. Also, what plans do they have and how are they? I know I could check the AT&T site to see what plans they have, but I want a review if those who have it don't mind.

I would be willing to bet there will be "special" plans for the iPhone. Whatever rates you see now will bear little resemblance to iPhone plans. But my recollection from the initial announcement is that the cheapest you could manage with a data plan would probably be at least $45 per month, very likely even more than that.
 

mozmac

macrumors 6502
Apr 28, 2005
332
15
Austin, TX
Am I the only one who thinks the idea of getting an expensive data subscription for the iPhone's features stinks on ice?

Actually, what would make me even happier is a SIM card reader and a GSM transceiver built into a Mac subnotebook. No specific ties to a cell phone vendor at all. That would rock.

Until the day comes that I can have OS X phone goodness without greedy cell-provider evilness, I'm just going to stick with carrying around both my RAZR and my MacBook.

I agree that carriers can be evil. I think that's why Apple has paired up with only one. That way they can innovate and give consumers more for their money and taken away the evilness that surrounds cell phone providers.

Oh, and unlimited data plans blow if your employer doesn't pay for them. I canceled mine at the beginning of the year for my BlackBerry because I got a new job. It was sad to see it go.
 

Maccus Aurelius

macrumors 6502a
Sep 19, 2006
542
0
Brooklyn, NY
Am I the only one who thinks the idea of getting an expensive data subscription for the iPhone's features stinks on ice?

Paying $500 for a phone doesn't bother me that much, since it's a phone with as much power as the iPhone will have, but locking into a 2-year contract at over $50 per month is OUTRAGEOUS to me.

I would much prefer a cheap voice-only contract (currently I'm splitting a "Family" plan on T-Mobile with some friends, and it's a dirt-cheap way to go) and a gadget like the iPhone which lets me just hop on free WiFi hotspots for data access.

Actually, what would make me even happier is a SIM card reader and a GSM transceiver built into a Mac subnotebook. No specific ties to a cell phone vendor at all. That would rock.

Until the day comes that I can have OS X phone goodness without greedy cell-provider evilness, I'm just going to stick with carrying around both my RAZR and my MacBook.

Anyone who's owned a Sidekick would be used to paying over $70 a month, as it includes the unlimited texting and internet (which obviously ties into the AIM client) and of course the fees and taxes included. I agree that 2 years is quite the stretch for contract. Heck, I didn't like the 1 year contract I had with my phone :p

I'm sure Apple had a tough decision to make when launching this phone. What does one do when being completely new to a certain market, which is both highly dynamic and filled with tons of worthy competition with an extremely wide range of prices? Apple figured their best bet would be to join forces with one of the largest forces in the industry.
 
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