iPhone 3G S Launch Sales to Exceed 3G Launch?

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/06/19/iphone-3g-s-launch-sales-to-exceed-3g-launch/)

Despite the seemingly shorter lines at the iPhone 3G S, it seems that the early sales number estimates for the iPhone 3G S launch could even exceed the iPhone 3G launch. Apple managed to sell 1 million (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/07/14/apple-sells-1-million-iphones-10-million-apps-downloaded-in-first-weekend/) of the iPhone 3Gs during its launch weekend last year. Unlike last year, however, Apple and AT&T have allowed pre-orders for the latest iPhone device.

UK mobile carrier O2 reveals (http://dnc.o2.co.uk/home/2009/06/iphone-3g-s-o2-launch.html) that by lunchtime, they've already sold more iPhone 3G S handsets than they did during the entire day of the iPhone 3G launch. They expect by the end of the day to have sold more than 50% more than last year's opening day.

Meanwhile, AppleInsider notes (http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/06/19/att_iphone_3g_s_pre_orders_in_the_hundreds_of_thousands.html) that AT&T has revealed that AT&T has sold "hundreds of thousands" of iPhone 3G S's ahead of the launch. Based on these numbers, the site also speculates that Apple could easily sell more than a million devices during the first three days.

Article Link: iPhone 3G S Launch Sales to Exceed 3G Launch? (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/06/19/iphone-3g-s-launch-sales-to-exceed-3g-launch/)

[mobi]

There is more retail availability this time around.

[theheadguy]

And this is why AT&T won't be giving you tethering and MMS right away... because they don't have to.

[puckhead193]

Wow dam you apple... for not making this on verizon...:p
want one now

[davem7]

Yeah, and the reason O2 are selling more? They actually have some stock this time, and people aren't having to queue up for over an hour to get their contracts signed. It's just a bit of cheap publicity - if the 3GS sells more in the long run, I'd be extremely surprised. It just doesn't have the same value for money over here that the 3G had on release.

[igazza]

crazy. I still got to wait another week :mad:

[QCassidy352]

And this is why AT&T won't be giving you tethering and MMS right away... because they don't have to.

They can do damn near anything they want and people will still flock to the iphone.

But IMO, there actually is a "good" reason to not have tethering and MMS right away... I think AT&T is frantically upgrading their network in advance of yet millions more high-volume 3G data users. I just don't think the network can take the strain of all the 3G S users + tethering + MMS. AT&T knows this and is working to increase capacity, but it takes time.

[jameskk]

Yeah Right! I went to my local at&t store this morning to get my wife the new 3Gs (she can really use the better battery life). I went at 9am and they had signs on the door that said "The line starts here". Went inside and absolutely NO customers and about 10 sales associates... I made a joke about nobody wanting the new iPhone and they just laughed. They only had the 32GB so I ended up going to the local Best Buy and got one. The girl at BB said that I was the first person to buy one. In fact, their system didn't have the SKU number loaded so they had to do a manual override or something... was in there 30 min!

[Mr Maui]

There is more retail availability this time around.

Maybe in the USA. But it is being launched in only 8 countries this years versus 21 countries on Launch Day for the 3G last year.

[nfl46]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!

Lol, I think EVERYONE forgot about the Palm Pre! LMAO!

I LOVE APPLE!!!!!!! :apple::apple::apple:

[nfl46]

Yeah Right! I went to my local at&t store this morning to get my wife the new 3Gs (she can really use the better battery life). I went at 9am and they had signs on the door that said "The line starts here". Went inside and absolutely NO customers and about 10 sales associates... I made a joke about nobody wanting the new iPhone and they just laughed. They only had the 32GB so I ended up going to the local Best Buy and got one. The girl at BB said that I was the first person to buy one. In fact, their system didn't have the SKU number loaded so they had to do a manual override or something... was in there 30 min!

Well, it must be just there, because our Best Buy parking lot was filled up last night, and I just passed by our AT&T flagship store in our city, and it was PACKED...news cameras, etc...

[jonnysods]

Dang, I live in London Ontario, and they have NOTHING in town, and stores have been open only for 1.5 hours. Not sure what they sent over here.

I'm pretty bummed though!

[Mr Maui]

The only delays I will have this morning related to the iPhone 3Gs is waiting for MacRumors to post information about in from the earlt feedback. :D

[iDAG]

Cool. :cool:

Now if I had a job (I'm in high school) maybe I could afford one. ;)

[fc4090]

I was third in line and second one to get the iPhone 3GS. When I went to AT&T shop only two guys were there at 6:45am. When I came out at 7:30 no one was waiting. Only 6 people by 7:30, crazy!! :confused:
And yes, the AT&T guy took 30 minutes to setup my preordered account!! Crazy! He also scratched the bazel...GRRRRRR!!:mad:
Video cam is awesome...loved it! Now restoring my backup to make the phone usable.
Happy to have it....

[dwman]

But IMO, there actually is a "good" reason to not have tethering and MMS right away... I think AT&T is frantically upgrading their network in advance of yet millions more high-volume 3G data users. I just don't think the network can take the strain of all the 3G S users + tethering + MMS. AT&T knows this and is working to increase capacity, but it takes time.

I almost agree. Yes, they need to upgrade their network, but come on? How long have they known about this? They knew MMS and tethering would be coming...it's allowed on all the other phones on their network. If/when the iPhone hits VZ, AT&T is royally screwed. And if there were carrier competition, they would have had both services ready by now.

[mogzieee]

I would LOVE to just go in one of the busy Apple Stores right now and buy a standard iPhone 3G right now... :D

[Mr Maui]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!

Lol, I think EVERYONE forgot about the Palm Pre! LMAO!

I LOVE APPLE!!!!!!! :apple::apple::apple:

The what?!?!? I've been thinking about palm trees all morning. What are you talking about. ;)

[BornAgainMac]

I went at 9am and they had signs on the door that said "The line starts here". Went inside and absolutely NO customers and about 10 sales associates...

Are you at a highly populated area?

[voodoofish]

Yeah, and the reason O2 are selling more? They actually have some stock this time, and people aren't having to queue up for over an hour to get their contracts signed. It's just a bit of cheap publicity - if the 3GS sells more in the long run, I'd be extremely surprised. It just doesn't have the same value for money over here that the 3G had on release.

As much as I love Apple, I'm actually sad to read that O2 is selling the iPhone well as they are just charging too much for the phone. O2 have admitted they've cut the subsidies they offer on the phones, so it seems as though they are just trying to see how much they can get away with charging (they massively improved the plans available for the initial iPhone after poor sales), and if they iPhone 3G S is selling this well they're unlikely to make the plans much better or increase the subsidy they offer :(

[Zimpaz]

I cant go into the O2 shop until 2moro morning because i actually have a job to go to!

Do you think they will still have stock?

[alexboy45]

the last time around the 3 stores i went to only had 4 16gb iPhones. 2 white and 2 Black and 2 8gb. this probably explains why

[syklee26]

it may be just me but I have never even once used MMS or tethering. I see how tethering via bluetooth can be pretty smooth and easy and useful, but do people have to send pictures via messengers?

well at least it is going to be free, so I have no complaints, but I am a bit baffled with all the complaints.

[kmcrawford]

Very short lines. I went into the AT&T store at 8 am this morning was helped right away...no line! When the 3G launched I got there at 6:30 am and waited quite a while in line and they sold out about ten people after me.

btw.. the camera is a lot nicer and the voice control is very cool.

[Mr Maui]

I almost agree. Yes, they need to upgrade their network, but come on? How long have they known about this? They knew MMS and tethering would be coming...it's allowed on all the other phones on their network. If/when the iPhone hits VZ, AT&T is royally screwed. And if there were carrier competition, they would have had both services ready by now.

Have to remind everyone that upgrading a nationwide network is not a flip-swtich event.

[NATO]

It's hard NOT to beat the 3G's sales when the amount of 3G iPhones in stock at the time was just a little over bugger all...

[aftk2]

Couple that with the cheaper iPhone 3G? Wow.

[Mr Maui]

it may be just me but I have never even once used MMS or tethering. I see how tethering via bluetooth can be pretty smooth and easy and useful, but do people have to send pictures via messengers?

well at least it is going to be free, so I have no complaints, but I am a bit baffled with all the complaints.

You must be from outside the USA. Trust me ... tethering [snip ... mistype] WILL NOT BE FREE on AT&T,

[mctape]

preorders and direct shipping to customers = shorter lines.

[aurichie]

Got my 32gb iPhone 3GS a couple hours ago and I'm in love with it. :D

[iPhoneNYC]

I know a lot of people who pre-ordered. Remember, all of those 1st gens are due for new contracts now. Many of those original buyers either didn't go 3G because of cost or past their phone on to other people. Speaking personally, I think two years is about the life of most phones. My 1st gen is showing wear and tear on the screen and some buttons need harder pushing, etc. So I happily moved to 3GS. Mine doesn't come until next week.

[Mr Maui]

Couple that with the cheaper iPhone 3G? Wow.

But remember ... the $99 8GB iPhone 3G has been on sale since WWDC. It is not beginning a $99 price today. Many people who wanted their $99 8GB iPhone 3G have had almost 2 weeks to pick one up already.

Got my 32gb iPhone 3GS a couple hours ago and I'm in love with it. :D

Shhh ... don't let your significant other hear you say that. :)

[saturniphone]

This is very misleading. Like many others are saying the fact that they are letting people pre-order makes a huge difference. There were lines at every AT&T store around for more than a solid week when the 3G came out. I knew people who camped out 3 times and still didn't get one. Of course they can sell more if they have the inventory. The real test will be how many they sell in the first month or something.

Even so, I'm somewhat surprised they're selling so many. What is the killer feature that the 3GS has ove the 3G that made people say "I have to have that now"? Smudge proof screens and faster speeds are nice, but I didn't hear a lot of complaints about that before. I guess it could be the 32GB and video recording, but I think it's just as likely that it's the excitement and/or confusion over the fact that many of the newly announced features will be available on the 3G since they're just software changes.

[appleluver]

You must be from outside the USA. Trust me ... tethering and MMS WILL NOT BE FREE on AT&T,


MMS is going to be free. AT&T release a statement confirming its including in the messaging plan. As far as tethering goes i know they will charge for that :mad:

[Wyvernspirit]

Yeah, and the reason O2 are selling more? They actually have some stock this time, and people aren't having to queue up for over an hour to get their contracts signed. It's just a bit of cheap publicity - if the 3GS sells more in the long run, I'd be extremely surprised. It just doesn't have the same value for money over here that the 3G had on release.

For me the 3Gs offers more value then the 3G. I am a Classic iPhone owner, bought the 8GB model 3 weeks before the price break, and the 3G had little value for me. The limited GPS on my iPhone was good enough most of the time and I have no 3G in my area. That meant the 3G would just cost me more each month and essentially give me better GPS in return.

Now I will be able to get some real value with my added cost per month. I think the camera, if it works as well as some of the reports I have read, may be my favorite, as I always have my phone on me. The added speed will also be great.

Now if ATT could get to work and actually get 3G and MMS and Tethering (though I don't need tethering or MMS, it is a said thing to tell people they can't send a picture to my super phone from there free pieces of junk) working.

Verizon isn't an answer for me right now either as I get no cell signal on their network when I am at home where I can get it with ATT.

[theheadguy]

But IMO, there actually is a "good" reason to not have tethering and MMS right away... I think AT&T is frantically upgrading their network in advance of yet millions more high-volume 3G data users. I just don't think the network can take the strain of all the 3G S users + tethering + MMS. AT&T knows this and is working to increase capacity, but it takes time.
You make a valid point, but I just want to point something out. We are entering year THREE of having the iPhone and almost in year FOUR of knowing/preparing for the iPhone. I agree you are probably right; in all likelyhood they are frantically upgrading. However, I disagree that is a "good" reason... it's in fact really quite pathetic on AT&T's part. MMS should have been a feature from Day 1 with the first gen iPhone, just like every other phone out there in the last three years.

[NoExpectations]

MMS is going to be free. AT&T release a statement confirming its including in the messaging plan. As far as tethering goes i know they will charge for that :mad:

Correct. MMS is free. Tethering will be extra....just like every other 3G Cell Phone.....just like every other Wireless Provider.

[Mr Maui]

... Now if ATT could get to work and actually get 3G and MMS and Tethering (though I don't need tethering or MMS, it is a said thing to tell people they can't send a picture to my super phone from there free pieces of junk) working. ...

While I agree with you here ... can their "free pieces of junk" take video? edit it? upload it to YouTube? Play games? Download 50K apps? etc. The iPhone may not do a simple MMS, and that IS sad, but the iPhone still beats the pants off most of the smartphones out there, and kicks the carp out of all non-smartphones. MMS missing is a disappointment for those who would like the feature, but it hardly is a deal-breaker for MOST buyers ... as sales figures have shown.

COPY and PASTE, a much more needed and useful "simple" feature, was missing from the first two generations of the iPhone. However, millions of people bought the iPhone and iPhone 3G without it.

[AtlasBoy]

Yeah Right! I went to my local at&t store this morning to get my wife the new 3Gs (she can really use the better battery life). I went at 9am and they had signs on the door that said "The line starts here". Went inside and absolutely NO customers and about 10 sales associates... I made a joke about nobody wanting the new iPhone and they just laughed. They only had the 32GB so I ended up going to the local Best Buy and got one. The girl at BB said that I was the first person to buy one. In fact, their system didn't have the SKU number loaded so they had to do a manual override or something... was in there 30 min!

The bulk of the sales are on-line. If ATT sold "hundreds of Thousand", I'm sure Apple sold a lot more. Add to that the other 7 countries that released today and i think it is easily 1 million+

[davem7]

As much as I love Apple, I'm actually sad to read that O2 is selling the iPhone well as they are just charging too much for the phone. O2 have admitted they've cut the subsidies they offer on the phones, so it seems as though they are just trying to see how much they can get away with charging (they massively improved the plans available for the initial iPhone after poor sales), and if they iPhone 3G S is selling this well they're unlikely to make the plans much better or increase the subsidy they offer :(

Totally agree. To be honest, it makes me wonder whether they've been told by Apple that they're going to lose exclusivity next year, and are trying to milk this last 12 months for all its worth. It's almost like they're going out of their way to irritate existing customers.

I have a 3G and, although I have the money, there is no way I'd be upgrading to the 3GS unless they waived the contract buyout. Similarly, there's no chance I'm going to pay £15/month for the ability to use the internet on a bigger screen. I will quite happily tether without their permission, thank you very much.

[Mr Maui]

The bulk of the sales are on-line. If ATT sold "hundreds of Thousand", I'm sure Apple sold a lot more. Add to that the other 7 countries that released today and i think it is easily 1 million+

We'll hear in the estimates sometime next week. AAPL up $2.33 at this posting.

[emaja]

I read the clippings about AT&T stores being sold out of their initial launch allotment, so I reserved one at the Schaumburg, Illinois (Woodfield) store. I live in Rockford - about 80 miles west of Chicago - and we had some terrible storms here overnight and into today. Just for kicks, I walked into my local AT&T store and there was no line and got a 3GS, activated a new line and was out in 20 minutes. It went so much more smoothly than the 3G launch.

For those that are wondering about the population effecting availability here, Rockford is the second largest city in Illinois with a population of 125,000.

[DiamondMac]

At first, I was a bit surprised at this but then I saw the number of online orders due to be delivered and....:eek:

No wonder the lines were a bit down yet the numbers up

I will be doing that for the 4th gen iPhone too....online ordering that is

[Andronicus]

This is very misleading. Like many others are saying the fact that they are letting people pre-order makes a huge difference. There were lines at every AT&T store around for more than a solid week when the 3G came out. I knew people who camped out 3 times and still didn't get one. Of course they can sell more if they have the inventory. The real test will be how many they sell in the first month or something.

Even so, I'm somewhat surprised they're selling so many. What is the killer feature that the 3GS has ove the 3G that made people say "I have to have that now"? Smudge proof screens and faster speeds are nice, but I didn't hear a lot of complaints about that before. I guess it could be the 32GB and video recording, but I think it's just as likely that it's the excitement and/or confusion over the fact that many of the newly announced features will be available on the 3G since they're just software changes.

32GB's is all I really wanted and is the main reason I'll be upgrading from my first gen iPhone.

[Wyvernspirit]

While I agree with you here ... can their "free pieces of junk" take video? edit it? upload it to YouTube? Play games? Download 50K apps?...[SNIP]

No, but neither could mine two years ago, and my coworkers would be sending "funny" pictures back and forth amongst themselves and we had to go through great pains to use email with me, which most of the time left me out.

On the other hand my coworkers were always trying to burrow my iPhone so they could watch videos and youtube. :D

[zacheryjensen]

32GB's is all I really wanted and is the main reason I'll be upgrading from my first gen iPhone.

Same here, 32GB is like... it's like a fat guy who finally found pants that fit comfortably. Heavenly!

Everything else is gravy man. I'm especially happy for the CPU and memory upgrade as I do at least half my gaming on this thing now.

[jrod64]

I picked up mine at 7:30 this morning and almost 2 hours later it still not activated. Anybody else having this problem?

[iPhoneNYC]

If there are 30 million out there world wide one can expect a significant number will want to upgrade - especially when may are available for a $200 upgrade...

[shk718]

when i read this the first thing i tought of was that analyst Gene Munster who thought they would sell half of what they sold the first weekend last year. he predicted they would sell 500,000. sounds like they beat that figure in pre-sales alone. i wonder how many $99 phones their selling - i bet that number will be higher than 3gs but will take longer to get to.



http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/06/18/apple_forecasted_to_sell_a_half_million_iphones_3g_ss_this_weekend.html

[brendon2020]

hope they keep doing this and allowing pre-orders, i'm excited about the new phone but was really happy that i could sleep in :)

[Mr Maui]

This is very misleading. Like many others are saying the fact that they are letting people pre-order makes a huge difference. There were lines at every AT&T store around for more than a solid week when the 3G came out. I knew people who camped out 3 times and still didn't get one. Of course they can sell more if they have the inventory. The real test will be how many they sell in the first month or something.

Even so, I'm somewhat surprised they're selling so many. What is the killer feature that the 3GS has ove the 3G that made people say "I have to have that now"? Smudge proof screens and faster speeds are nice, but I didn't hear a lot of complaints about that before. I guess it could be the 32GB and video recording, but I think it's just as likely that it's the excitement and/or confusion over the fact that many of the newly announced features will be available on the 3G since they're just software changes.

You have to be reminded of "pent-up demand" being a leading issue. Many people have been anticipating the new iPhone update for two months prior to the WWDC announcement so iPhone 3G sales has fallen off some whie people waited to see what features the new phone would offer OR if there would be a price drop on the 3Gs. BOTH things occurred. (not to mention the increase in storage).

Second, many people out there just want the latest technology, wo when AT&T announced that it was adjusting its policy to allow some earler-in-cycle adopters to update at the lowest price point, many of those users decided to update.

Finally, there are lots of people who have seen the latest offerings from BlackBerry, Google, Samsung and others, and while some features (i.e. MMS and actual keyboard) are nice to have, none compete with the overall experience of the iPhone.

Perhaps as more developers start to develop for the Pre and others Apple sales could suffer, but by then, Apple will have a new curveball to throw at them (perhaps expanding to other carriers). When that happens, watch the sales boom.

No, but neither could mine two years ago, and my coworkers would be sending "funny" pictures back and forth amongst themselves and we had to go through great pains to use email with me, which most of the time left me out.

On the other hand my coworkers were always trying to burrow my iPhone so they could watch videos and youtube. :D

Your second statement was my point. I'd give up MMS in a heartbeat for the rest of the positive features. Besides, the MMS thing is AT&T, not Apple. Apple's only fault in it is that they are exclusive with AT&T. That will likely change in the future.

[imwoblin]

As a repeat offender (2G & 3G) wait in line, gotta have it today person, I finally kicked my addiction and decided to wait it out and see if AT&T will adjust pricing for us who purchased on launch day last year and who meet all criteria except the $99 per month (me=$92) upgrade deal. I talked to my friends at numerous Apple stores and others who just dropped in to see if the lines materialized & all said it was fairly quiet and nothing compared to last years roll out of the 3G. I'm sure pre-ordering helped but I just have a gut feeling most folks who upgraded on launch day last year are holding on to their cash this time around...

[fcb]

I honestly don't see why people would go wait in line or even go to a store for that matter to get one of these phones. FedEx is bringing mine to my house today. I'm upgrading from the 1st generation phone and so is the wife.

So what are some reasons you would wait in line?

** Good place to meet chicks that also dig high end electronics ?

** Is there free beer in line ?

please discuss ....

[sleepingontheroof]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5H11 Safari/525.20)

by the end of the day Apple will have sold double what they did during last year's launch. more units in stock + easier to buy. as for the long term ? too early to call.

[Mr Maui]

I picked up mine at 7:30 this morning and almost 2 hours later it still not activated. Anybody else having this problem?

You weren't supposed to get it from the guy on the corner outside the AT&T store. Is the "S" hand-painted on the case? :D

As a repeat offender (2G & 3G) wait in line, gotta have it today person, I finally kicked my addiction and decided to wait it out and see if AT&T will adjust pricing for us who purchased on launch day last year and who meet all criteria except the $99 per month (me=$92) upgrade deal. I talked to my friends at numerous Apple stores and others who just dropped in to see if the lines materialized & all said it was fairly quiet and nothing compared to last years roll out of the 3G. I'm sure pre-ordering helped but I just have a gut feeling most folks who upgraded on launch day last year are holding on to their cash this time around...

I believe they already may have. If you are eligible for an upgrade in July, August or September (check your account), then AT&T has said you are eligible today at the $199/299 price points. Click here (http://http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=723131).

[Mr Maui]

Grrr ... mods please delete. Sorry. (guess it's time for me to get to work ... or to sleep).

[Wyvernspirit]

MY NEW IPHONE JUST ARRIVED!

:apple: :D :) :apple: :) :D :apple:

Just signed for it from FedEx!

[sleepingontheroof]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5H11 Safari/525.20)

mine arrived on my doorstep at 10:05 this morning. waiting in line is for the birds.

[kironin]

Wow dam you apple... for not making this on verizon...:p
want one now


I think that should be "damn you Verizon" for not making a deal with Apple.

[iViking]

Ding dong!

I open the door.

"Got your new iPhone for you," the UPS guy says.

"Great!" I said.

"Yep, we had a special meeting about these babies," he confessed.

He handed it to me and was off like a flash, and as he ran off I yelled, "You must have hundreds on your truck, huh?"

He yelled over his shoulder as he dashed away,

"Got about 26 HUNDRED of them!"

[Mr Maui]

I think that should be "damn you Verizon" for not making a deal with Apple.

How true! It was VERIZON who did not want to do the deal. Apple went to them before AT&T. Now Verizon is begging Apple to let them in on the action. Someone probably lost a job over that one. :D

Ding dong!

I open the door.

"Got your new iPhone for you," the UPS guy says.

"Great!" I said.

"Yep, we had a special meeting about these babies," he confessed.

He handed it to me and was off like a flash, and as he ran off I yelled, "You must have hundreds on your truck, huh?"

He yelled over his shoulder as he dashed away,

"Got about 26 HUNDRED of them!"

I'm now picturing you hiding behind trees, following the truck, looking for a chance to dash away with it. :eek:

Tomorrow iViking opens new EBay store with 2590 iPhone 3Gs for sale in it. :p

[Zoowatch]

Of course O2 sold more iPhone on launch day today compared with last summer's 3G launch. They only had 3 to 5 iPhone 3G for store last year despite the high demand. Therefore, it's just a matter of stock than popularity. We should wait for a month or so to judge iPhone 3GS success relative to iPhone 3G.

[iViking]

How true! It was VERIZON who did not want to do the deal. Apple went to them before AT&T. Now Verizon is begging Apple to let them in on the action. Someone probably lost a job over that one. :D



I'm now picturing you hiding behind trees, following the truck, looking for a chance to dash away with it. :eek:

Tomorrow iViking opens new EBay store with 2590 iPhone 3Gs for sale in it. :p

LOL--I was thinking the same thing! Although I thought it was a nice bit of info, I wouldn't want to tell anyone I was sitting on a cargo load of 2600 new iPhones!

[iViking]

LOL--I was thinking the same thing! Although I thought it was a nice bit of info, I wouldn't want to tell anyone I was sitting on a cargo load of 2600 new iPhones!

One thing about Verizon, they need to get in the iPhone game and they know it. I cancelled my account with them for the new iPhone, and they sent me a survey to find out why I'd cancelled, and several of their questions asked pointedly, "Are you canceling because you are getting an iPhone?"

[DELLsFan]

Cool. :cool:

Now if I had a job (I'm in high school) maybe I could afford one. ;)

Stick to your school work. We need smarter kids graduating, not distracted, app-addicted, spoiled, technophiles who can't make change at Wendy's unless the register or their iPhone displays the amount. :rolleyes:

[calimed]

So I went to the apple store this AM to get the 3Gs phone. I currently have a 3G phone. About 1 week ago I went to AT&T and they said I would be eligible for the $299 (32GB) phone on JULY 7th 2009 (also verified on the At&T website). After the announcement came when "people who would become eligible in July,Aug,Sep are eligible now", I was happy to hear than b/c that meant I could upgrade today. When I went the Apple store it still only gave be the $499 price. People at Apple new what I was talking about but didn't know how to adjust the price and AT&T (cust serv) were not helpful. Anyone else run into this problem.

I went ahead and bought the phone $499, but am hoping to get a $200 dollar refund. Any ideas what went wrong?

All help appreciated.

[Johnathan]

Have to remind everyone that upgrading a nationwide network is not a flip-swtich event.

Why would they have to upgrade the network?

[iCantwait]

ok, I'll get one
NOW SHUT UP:p

[Mr Maui]

One thing about Verizon, they need to get in the iPhone game and they know it. I cancelled my account with them for the new iPhone, and they sent me a survey to find out why I'd cancelled, and several of their questions asked pointedly, "Are you canceling because you are getting an iPhone?"

I hope your response was "No, I'm not getting an iPhone ... I already GOT an iPhone!" :D

Why would they have to upgrade the network?

I'm not sure if you are serious, but if you are ...

They are upgrading, and need to upgrade, the network because of the additional data load that is being demanded by the iPhone. Additionally, an even more intense strain on the system will be provided when they include MMS and tethering. WiFi is not the issue here, it is the 3G option that is what is being upgraded. Once tethering is made available to the masses, people will be using their laptops and netbooks for the screen real estate and using their iPhones as wireless modems for access anywhere, anytime. With the present capabilities, the AT&T network would die, speeds would suffer, etc.

This is why an upgrade is needed, and is why AT&T is working on it frantically. Additionally, the transition from 3.5G to 4G should go more smoothly.

AT&T may currently have the fastest network overall, but Verizon has much better coverage and dependability. However, keep in mind that AT&T just purchased assets from Verizon in 79 areas (because Verizon HAD TO SELL THEM), and will be growing and expanding coverage in 18 states (midwest, mountain and west) with these new additions. See article here (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ATampT-to-buy-territories-apf-15191214.html?.v=3).

[Rootus]

I could believe that sales are actually pretty brisk. I went to my local AT&T store about 10 minutes after they opened for general business, and there were no lines, but a few people in the store picking up pre-orders. I bought the last non-pre-ordered 3GS. This is for my fiancee and was going to be a 16GB, but the only 3GS left was a 32GB. Oh well :). I could have driven 10 miles further down the road to the mall where the Apple Store is and probably had no problem getting a 16GB, but I was feeling lazy and just spent the extra $100. Got 5000 rollover minutes out of the deal. Yip-de-doo, I have 4600 already ...

Now I just have to wait for *my* 32GB 3G-S ... it's on the FedEx truck right now heading my direction :D.

[DiamondMac]

Ding dong!

I open the door.

"Got your new iPhone for you," the UPS guy says.

"Great!" I said.

"Yep, we had a special meeting about these babies," he confessed.

He handed it to me and was off like a flash, and as he ran off I yelled, "You must have hundreds on your truck, huh?"

He yelled over his shoulder as he dashed away,

"Got about 26 HUNDRED of them!"

I have been in one of those meetings (though not dealing with Apple)

It was basically full of a lot of threats

"Get them to the houses or else"

:D

[lfine39]

Was at opening day last year 120 on line for 3g....... today 5th in line pre-ordered.... programed my phone while he was activating my wife's iphone logged into mobileme......... had my new 3gs in hand... contacts, mail, calendar synced already by 7:15 am this morning can't beat that life is good.........http://images.macrumors.com/vb/images/smilies/smile.gif

[nagromme]

Wasn't the original iPhone the biggest consumer electronics launch (in immediate sales volume) in history? (Or was it just the biggest handset launch?)

And that was only around 1/4 million IIRC. The 3G quadrupled that. Beating that again would REALLY shatter pre-iPhone records! (For that matter, even getting 1/4 of 3G's launch sales would still beat pre-iPhone records IIRC. Not that launch sales are the most vital measure of course.)

And then we have a summer of free iPod Touches, followed by an updated model in the fall (most likely). Touches seem to have sold nearly as well as iPhones--so the platform is just getting HUGE.

[jrod64]

I picked up mine at 7:30 this morning and almost 2 hours later it still not activated. Anybody else having this problem?
It is now activated, I guess I should have been more patient.

[The Samurai]

Carphone Warehouse (UK) is sold out:

http://i43.tinypic.com/2cr2hxl.png

[BRLawyer]

Wow dam you apple... for not making this on verizon...:p
want one now

And AGAIN, Apple is supreme in the markets where it innovates...this is just another mindblowing success by the iPhone as the BEST, fastest, most advanced and most well-integrated mobile phone in the world...these sales a sure sign that solidifies its world domination in the smartphone segment for years to come.

WINDOWS MOBILE IS DEAD, PALM IS DEAD, RIM IS DEAD. GO EAT SOME CROW, PUNDITS!

[Banyan Bruce]

I cant go into the O2 shop until 2moro morning because i actually have a job to go to!

Do you think they will still have stock?

I don't think you'll have any snags getting one of these tomorrow from O2, unless they've got their got their stock levels badly wrong. There were no queues down here at either carphone warehouse or O2 shops. Over priced and over hyped. The OS 3.0 update had given the 3G a new lease of life and that makes the cost and contract associated with an upgrade even less attractive.
There are signs of a rush in other places...let's see how long it lasts.
Of course, shorting supply will stimulate demand, but will that turn into real sales? :rolleyes:

[ruckus]

I know a lot of people who pre-ordered. Remember, all of those 1st gens are due for new contracts now. Many of those original buyers either didn't go 3G because of cost or past their phone on to other people. Speaking personally, I think two years is about the life of most phones. My 1st gen is showing wear and tear on the screen and some buttons need harder pushing, etc. So I happily moved to 3GS. Mine doesn't come until next week.

My first gen is almost mint! I never upgraded to 3G because it offered nothing for me. I don't live in a 3G area, and I didn't need GPS built into my phone.

I'll likely pickup the new phone because as a developer I may want to utilize the new features of the phone, like the compass. But I've also been considering moving to a different carrier since I can still do my development on my first gen, and I'd like to pay less per month than the new iPhone will cost me.

In either case, I'm in no rush. I like watching the frenzy though :D

[BRLawyer]

Just another question:

My stupid carrier in Switzerland doesn't offer the iPhone officially, only through SIM-unlocked channels that I won't use; so what should I do?

1 - Pay the crazy cancellation fee of CHF 450 and get an iPhone with my old number?

2 - Keep the current contract (monthly minimum charge of CHF 15, I think) until I cancel it next year in July without charges, and at the same time get an iPhone with another carrier and number?

3 - Be patient and do nothing until I cancel my current subscription next year?

[JayLenochiniMac]

So much for some "minor" update :rolleyes:

[jroug]

So I went to the apple store this AM to get the 3Gs phone. I currently have a 3G phone. About 1 week ago I went to AT&T and they said I would be eligible for the $299 (32GB) phone on JULY 7th 2009 (also verified on the At&T website). After the announcement came when "people who would become eligible in July,Aug,Sep are eligible now", I was happy to hear than b/c that meant I could upgrade today. When I went the Apple store it still only gave be the $499 price. People at Apple new what I was talking about but didn't know how to adjust the price and AT&T (cust serv) were not helpful. Anyone else run into this problem.

I went ahead and bought the phone $499, but am hoping to get a $200 dollar refund. Any ideas what went wrong?

All help appreciated.

I had the same problem - this is a typical AT&T bait & switch. I bought the last two iPhones on day 1 and activated them the same day, choosing the highest tier of service they offered. My monthly bill is $120, so that would seem to meet the "your monthly plan must be $100 or more" rule.

Presumably I couldn't be more qualified, right?

No, apparently. According to AT&T, I'm not qualified for the upgrade price until December. My monthly charge is $95 a month, plus $25 in TAX, meaning that I don't qualify because even though I took the most expensive plan they offered, that $5 less a month I've been paying for the last two years is *just* shy enough for them to deny me (& you, I assume) the upgrade pricing.

Admittedly, I didn't read the no doubt VERY FINE print, so certainly some of the blame falls on me (not that I've seen this fine print anywhere yet).

I am still annoyed, especially after waiting in line and then having no Apple associate who could tell me why I was coming up short. I was going to order it online, but when I started the process before AT&T revised the plan, I saw the $700 price tag and bailed on completing the order.

All in all, another badly orchestrated and executed "plan" by AT&T.

[joemolomo]

Managed to get one put aside for me at Carphone Warehouse on Weds in UK, and today they brought it out put it on the counter went through my details, and bum i have to wait till 26th because i've only been on simplicity for 3 weeks damn :(

[Sense Field]

Yeah Right! I went to my local at&t store this morning to get my wife the new 3Gs (she can really use the better battery life). I went at 9am and they had signs on the door that said "The line starts here". Went inside and absolutely NO customers and about 10 sales associates... I made a joke about nobody wanting the new iPhone and they just laughed. They only had the 32GB so I ended up going to the local Best Buy and got one. The girl at BB said that I was the first person to buy one. In fact, their system didn't have the SKU number loaded so they had to do a manual override or something... was in there 30 min!

They opened at 7am...you were two hours late.

[chr1s60]

Even if Apple does exceed sales of the 3G launch, I think it would be interesting to see what the sales COULD have been had they allowed all iPhone users to upgrade. I know the one twitter petition out there had over 12,000 signatures on it a few days ago and I am sure many more that would have upgraded didn't sign any petitions. At the very minimum I would think that the non-upgradable users would have accounted for 50,000+ sales. That ends up as millions of dollars in missed sales. Just something to think about as far as sales go.

[aristotle]

Yeah Right! I went to my local at&t store this morning to get my wife the new 3Gs (she can really use the better battery life). I went at 9am and they had signs on the door that said "The line starts here". Went inside and absolutely NO customers and about 10 sales associates... I made a joke about nobody wanting the new iPhone and they just laughed. They only had the 32GB so I ended up going to the local Best Buy and got one. The girl at BB said that I was the first person to buy one. In fact, their system didn't have the SKU number loaded so they had to do a manual override or something... was in there 30 min!
Right because South Carolina is the centre of the universe. :rolleyes:

[stockcerts]

I had the same problem - this is a typical AT&T bait & switch. I bought the last two iPhones on day 1 and activated them the same day, choosing the highest tier of service they offered. My monthly bill is $120, so that would seem to meet the "your monthly plan must be $100 or more" rule.

Presumably I couldn't be more qualified, right?

No, apparently. According to AT&T, I'm not qualified for the upgrade price until December. My monthly charge is $95 a month, plus $25 in TAX, meaning that I don't qualify because even though I took the most expensive plan they offered, that $5 less a month I've been paying for the last two years is *just* shy enough for them to deny me (& you, I assume) the upgrade pricing.

Admittedly, I didn't read the no doubt VERY FINE print, so certainly some of the blame falls on me (not that I've seen this fine print anywhere yet).

I am still annoyed, especially after waiting in line and then having no Apple associate who could tell me why I was coming up short. I was going to order it online, but when I started the process before AT&T revised the plan, I saw the $700 price tag and bailed on completing the order.

All in all, another badly orchestrated and executed "plan" by AT&T.

Similar situation for me. I just can't jusify $400-. I would buy one today for $200, but that's not in the cards. You would think AT&T would jump at the chance to reset my contract so I have another two years, as opposed to the one I have now. Does it really take AT&T almost two years to recoup their dollars for a subsidized phone? I have a feeling that after the initial sales level off, they may change their policy...based on pressure from Apple and potential upgraders that aren't willing to spend $400- or more.

[Mr Maui]

Even if Apple does exceed sales of the 3G launch, I think it would be interesting to see what the sales COULD have been had they allowed all iPhone users to upgrade. I know the one twitter petition out there had over 12,000 signatures on it a few days ago and I am sure many more that would have upgraded didn't sign any petitions. At the very minimum I would think that the non-upgradable users would have accounted for 50,000+ sales. That ends up as millions of dollars in missed sales. Just something to think about as far as sales go.

Remember ... the upgrade limitations are AT&T, not Apple.

Similar situation for me. I just can't jusify $400-. I would buy one today for $200, but that's not in the cards. You would think AT&T would jump at the chance to reset my contract so I have another two years, as opposed to the one I have now. Does it really take AT&T almost two years to recoup their dollars for a subsidized phone? I have a feeling that after the initial sales level off, they may change their policy...based on pressure from Apple and potential upgraders that aren't willing to spend $400- or more.

Your logic is missing the point just a bit. While is seems "logical" that AT&T should jump at the chance to have you under contract for two more years instead of just one more, they already have you under contract for one more year under your OLD contract. So selling you a new phone only gains them one year, which is why they offer the phone to you for $399/499 versus the no contract price of $599/699. The $199/299 price is for when they can "GAIN" two years of service commitment or for those shorter-term users who have already paid for the largest plans, thus making more money for AT&T during the early half of their contract. AT&T is not oblicated to offer deals to those presently under contract. You are required to sign a two year deal even with "cheap" or free, less-featured, non-smartphones.

[NightFox]

Of course O2 sold more iPhone on launch day today compared with last summer's 3G launch. They only had 3 to 5 iPhone 3G for store last year despite the high demand. Therefore, it's just a matter of stock than popularity. We should wait for a month or so to judge iPhone 3GS success relative to iPhone 3G.

And IIRC, O2 couldn't even sell the stock they did have because there system was down for most of the day.

[DiamondMac]

Similar situation for me. I just can't jusify $400-. I would buy one today for $200, but that's not in the cards. You would think AT&T would jump at the chance to reset my contract so I have another two years, as opposed to the one I have now. Does it really take AT&T almost two years to recoup their dollars for a subsidized phone? I have a feeling that after the initial sales level off, they may change their policy...based on pressure from Apple and potential upgraders that aren't willing to spend $400- or more.

Why would AT&T jump at that chance when next year you will want yet ANOTHER cut-off mid-way through?

Fact is, they make their profits the 2nd year so people shouldn't be surprised they just don't want to give it away

Why people feel they deserve to break their contract is beyond me.

Those who think their contract should be extended ANOTHER 2 years make me laugh....like you all won't be wanting ANOTHER phone the following year? Should AT&T just keep adding years knowing the following year will be another headache?

[Ted13]

In NYC the AT&T stores are sold out -- just checked on Wall ST., they told me they have been completely sold out since the early AM. Will have to hope the reservation line at Apple Soho is reasonable after 5PM.

There is no doubt in my mind they will sell more phones this time around, because of mail order and home activation. The only limiting factor is sufficient stock, but I would have to think that Apple is well prepared.

[chr1s60]

Remember ... the upgrade limitations are AT&T, not Apple.

This is true, but that is money for AT&T too if they charge all those users the $18 upgrade fee. Just something Apple might want to look at and bring up when it comes time to sit down with AT&T to talk about extending that exclusive contract.

Why would AT&T jump at that chance when next year you will want yet ANOTHER cut-off mid-way through?

Fact is, they make their profits the 2nd year so people shouldn't be surprised they just don't want to give it away

Phone companies make back that subsidized price well before the second year of any contract starts. The second year is just ALL profits.

[twoodcc]

wow. that would be impressive. i bet if they do sell more, it's only b/c they had pre-orders, and that they probably have more stock to sell

[MacVixen]

Why would AT&T jump at that chance when next year you will want yet ANOTHER cut-off mid-way through?

Fact is, they make their profits the 2nd year so people shouldn't be surprised they just don't want to give it away

Why people feel they deserve to break their contract is beyond me.

Those who think their contract should be extended ANOTHER 2 years make me laugh....like you all won't be wanting ANOTHER phone the following year? Should AT&T just keep adding years knowing the following year will be another headache?

Following that model, I can see people with 6 or 7 year contracts at some point! :eek:

If this continues to be a problem, I think AT&T has a couple of things they could try:
a) 1 year contracts with a higher subsidized price for the phone - say $399 for the 32G
b) Offer the iPhone on a "rental" basis, but still 2-year contracts, for those that always want to upgrade every year. Get your phone this year, and then if you want to upgrade again next year, you can do so at the subsidized price, but you have to turn in your 3GS for the 4GS(or whatever next year's model will be called)

Neither will happen, but there must be something better, from both a business model and customer service standpoint, than what's happening now,

[kevino2]

FedEx just delivered my 16 gb iPhone 3G S. I plugged it in to begin activation and after about 3 minutes it returns a message saying that, due the volume of requests for activation, it may take up to 48 hours - they will send me an email once it has been activated.

[emaja]

I plugged it in to begin activation and after about 3 minutes it returns a message saying that, due the volume of requests for activation, it may take up to 48 hours - they will send me an email once it has been activated.

Keep trying. My local AT&T store had an issue with the first attempt, but the second went through just fine.

[manu chao]

Even if Apple does exceed sales of the 3G launch, I think it would be interesting to see what the sales COULD have been had they allowed all iPhone users to upgrade.
Assuming you are one of those users not yet eligible:
You mean if AT&T had written off half of the loan they gave you when you bought your iPhone 3G?
You bought a $700 phone for $300, ie, AT&T gave you a $400 loan which you are paying off over the course of two years. Now you want to stop paying back the loan after one year and get a new loan for a new phone instead? Good luck with that.

[voncarlo]

Went to the apple store in chandler AZ (fashion center mall) today around 7:30am. lines were pretty short. apple employees were more enthusiastic than ever - my god they must spike their coffee with ecstasy and speed ;)

i asked two employees how many they got in total and neither could answer - they both said "a lot" in a manner implying it was a giant number. I said "hundreds?" and one guy said "oh, yes".

Bottom line is that I bet you could walk in 5 minutes before close tonight and still get one.

[brownieguy19]

People might call At&t stupid...but clearly they are not losing anytime soon.

I got my 3GS this morning from FedEx and I haven't activated it yet, and I'm wondering what would happen if I just stuck my old SIM Card in my new iPhone 3GS. Did anybody try this last year?

[chr1s60]

Assuming you are one of those users not yet eligible:
You mean if AT&T had written off half of the loan they gave you when you bought your iPhone 3G?
You bought a $700 phone for $300, ie, AT&T gave you a $400 loan which you are paying off over the course of two years. Now you want to stop paying back the loan after one year and get a new loan for a new phone instead? Good luck with that.

I am not eligible for the cheap upgrade, but I am getting my 3GS for $199 through a friend anyway so I have no problem with AT&T. You really think AT&T paid $700 for that phone they sold me for $200 last year? Haha, you probably think it really costs them $30 per person to provide that data coverage too. AT&T and all other phone companies make back any and all money they "loan" you within months of starting the contract. The whole 2 year deal is really just there to make them more and more money. Based off this you probably have nothing against raising gas prices either because you think the oil companies are just covering their costs and barely turning a profit.

[emaja]

People might call At&t stupid...but clearly they are not losing anytime soon.

I got my 3GS this morning from FedEx and I haven't activated it yet, and I'm wondering what would happen if I just stuck my old SIM Card in my new iPhone 3GS. Did anybody try this last year?

That is exactly what AT&T did for me at my local store. I did activate a new line, so my case might be different.

[eastcoastsurfer]

I had a reserved phone. Went at lunch to pick it up. Took a little over an hour. That includes standing in line, buying the phone, and having it activated on site.

The Apple employee running the line said they learned a lot from the 3g launch and that they were able to move people through the process much much faster than before. She did say the early morning was pretty long, but those people were all gone when I got there.

[jholzner]

I don't think you'll have any snags getting one of these tomorrow from O2, unless they've got their got their stock levels badly wrong. There were no queues down here at either carphone warehouse or O2 shops. Over priced and over hyped.

You do know that O2 has already stated they have/will sell 50% more than they did of the 3G in a single day right?

[jholzner]

Similar situation for me. I just can't jusify $400-. I would buy one today for $200, but that's not in the cards. You would think AT&T would jump at the chance to reset my contract so I have another two years, as opposed to the one I have now.

The problem is they won't get another two years out of you because next year when the new phone comes out everyone will complain once again and want the newest one.

[bobbleheadbob]

I just picked up two new iPhones at the Boston Apple Store on Boylston St. So if they sell a million, I'm accounting for about .000002% of the total. :D

I was in and out of there in about 30 minutes. It went much quicker than either last year or 2007. :) :apple:

The line for pre-orders was shorter than for people who didn't pre-order on the Apple website, and I bet that saved me quite a bit of time. No problems with the AT&T activation process either, which was fouled up for me before both previous years. Finally, two thumbs up to both :apple: and AT&T from this MacDog! ;)

[kevino2]

That is exactly what AT&T did for me at my local store. I did activate a new line, so my case might be different.

Thanks. will do.

[edoates]

Got mine promptly at 7:30am today via UPS (actually three: mine, spouse's, and daughter's); activation a breeze just restoring from my original iPhone in iTunes.

Why are people standing in line? Forgot to order online?

Eddie O

[Fluffy Bunny]

Phone companies make back that subsidized price well before the second year of any contract starts. The second year is just ALL profits.[/QUOTE]

Not true. Assuming a base service contract with voice, data and 200 messages is $75/month in revenue, that is $1,800 in revenue over 2 years. Now, in total AT&T has a bottom line net income margin of 10% of revenue (per the annual report). Even assuming cellular is double that at 20%, that would work out to $360 in profit over 2 years or $15 per month (and this is assuming the cost of $300+ subsidy is already baked into that margin). We aren't talking obscene profits. Theorectically, their economic profits are zero (after accounting for risk).

Some think the cellular network is already there so there are no costs. But it isn't free to constantly upgrade the U.S. cell network to the next generation of service, or to maintain the lines hauling the traffic to switching centers, or the switching or the transport or maintaining billing systems or staffing customer service centers to take thousands of calls from people asking where there 3GS is.

Yes, it is fun to rip on the evil-doer corporations, but without AT&T, an iPhone is just a Touch. Sure their are other carriers, but don't think they will be any better. Sure someday the U.S. government may take over all the carriers, then it will be free phone service for all with 8G speeds!!

Of course, I am in an angry mood though, I am sitting at work while my new phone is sitting at home...alone, just waiting for me to return.

[old-wiz]

I went past the Apple store in Burlington Mass today, looking for a new MBP. Unfortunately only iPhone customers allowed in the store. Maybe if I wait until Monday or Tuesday they will let non-iPhone customers in? They had 3rd party security keeping things orderly. Lines were not long to get in, but why wait in line if I don't even want to buy an iPhone?

2 AT&T stores in the same mall, counted 4 customers in each store, but it could have been 2 couples.

[Tardyon]

Of course, I am in an angry mood though, I am sitting at work while my new phone is sitting at home...alone, just waiting for me to return.

With that hacking cough? You really should go home and get some rest. ;)

[brop52]

I agree that they can't make that much profit with all of the volume on their network from iPhone users. If you add on the subsidy and premier discounts for employees and students at 10%+ that cuts into their profits further. Everyone likes to blame AT&T, but there are no other alternatives in the US right now that have a network that can handle this. Not to mention CDMA will never be an option so quit crying about Verizon. Verizon has a long way to go before they come to 4G and GSM.

[marksman]

No biggy. Pre sold at least 2 million I heard.

[iFalcon]

I just purchased my first iPhone and also joined ATT for the first time.

I did the preapproval through Apple and strolled down to the store over lunch. Very light crowd.

What surprised me is the whole purchasing and activating experience. Met someone at the door, asked for my information, another person took care of getting me setup from there. All using their portable devices. I was out of the store in 20 minutes.

We also still have a Sprint account and can wait at least an hour no matter what needs to be done.

In the end, just an overall enjoyable experience on getting up and going.

[manu chao]

I am not eligible for the cheap upgrade, but I am getting my 3GS for $199 through a friend anyway so I have no problem with AT&T. You really think AT&T paid $700 for that phone they sold me for $200 last year? Haha, you probably think it really costs them $30 per person to provide that data coverage too. AT&T and all other phone companies make back any and all money they "loan" you within months of starting the contract. The whole 2 year deal is really just there to make them more and more money. Based off this you probably have nothing against raising gas prices either because you think the oil companies are just covering their costs and barely turning a profit.
First, the iPhone (3G and 3GS) are sold without contract in a lot of countries. Right now in Italy the prices for such phones are €499, €599, and €699 or the 8 GB 3G, the 16 GB 3GS, and the 32 GB 3GS when you buy them in the Apple online store. At one provider over there, they add even €20 to these prices.
It is pretty obvious that the subsidy is thus €400 per phone.

Now, to your second point that the providers make insane profits on these phones. Yes, they make large profits on them. The question is whether this is just a very common business practice (making premium profits on premium products) or a general symptom of providers making large profits. Large profits usually occur when a company has a large competitive advantage or when the market is not competitive enough.

In short, if a company makes large profits in a competitive market there is nothing wrong about it. If the market is not competitive, one might want to do something about it (and bashing the company on the internet is probably not the most effective strategy of making a market more competitive).

[Mr Maui]

I just picked up two new iPhones at the Boston Apple Store on Boylston St. So if they sell a million, I'm accounting for about .000002% of the total. :D

Check your math. You put up 2/1000000 of 1%, not 2/1000000 of 100%. Your actual percentage of 1,000,000 phones would be .00002%. :)

[emaja]

Check your math. You put up 2/1000000 of 1%, not 2/1000000 of 100%. Your actual percentage of 1,000,000 phones would be .00002%. :)

And I thought we only had Grammar Nazis on this forum - LOL!

[TRAG]

Yeah Right! I went to my local at&t store this morning to get my wife the new 3Gs (she can really use the better battery life). I went at 9am and they had signs on the door that said "The line starts here". Went inside and absolutely NO customers and about 10 sales associates... I made a joke about nobody wanting the new iPhone and they just laughed. They only had the 32GB so I ended up going to the local Best Buy and got one. The girl at BB said that I was the first person to buy one. In fact, their system didn't have the SKU number loaded so they had to do a manual override or something... was in there 30 min!

I live in a small town. I* wanted to buy a 32 gig. The AT&T I went to only received five 16 gigs (sold out)and 10 32 gigs (had only sold 1 or 2). There were only 7 preordes. I went at 10 AM and got out at 11:30. :eek: They're system was ridiculously bogged.

[iPaf]

Wow... I'm writing from my iPhone 3GS at this moment and I'm AMAZED by this device! This is my first cellphone ever and I think I made the best choice to buy a good one right away! haha I even got the last one from the store I bought it from :p

[chr1s60]

First, the iPhone (3G and 3GS) are sold without contract in a lot of countries. Right now in Italy the prices for such phones are €499, €599, and €699 or the 8 GB 3G, the 16 GB 3GS, and the 32 GB 3GS when you buy them in the Apple online store. At one provider over there, they add even €20 to these prices.
It is pretty obvious that the subsidy is thus €400 per phone.

Now, to your second point that the providers make insane profits on these phones. Yes, they make large profits on them. The question is whether this is just a very common business practice (making premium profits on premium products) or a general symptom of providers making large profits. Large profits usually occur when a company has a large competitive advantage or when the market is not competitive enough.

In short, if a company makes large profits in a competitive market there is nothing wrong about it. If the market is not competitive, one might want to do something about it (and bashing the company on the internet is probably not the most effective strategy of making a market more competitive).

Like I have said before, I have no problem with a 2 year contract. Just don't say that my 2 year contract is specifically to pay off any loan that I was given from a provider. Yes, a portion of that contract does pay off that loan, but it does not take two years to pay it off. If it was really about that subsidy/loan they should include it as a detailed charge on your bill so you could really see when you were paid off and how much per month goes to cover that loss. Unfortunately, Cell Phone companies (not just AT&T) are more about money than the customers.

[luvmycountry]

Im sorry if Im not impressed with the new phone. I dont even need to know how fast it is because its irrelevant. I had to give up my iphone last week because the AT@T service is pathetic. I was losing calls left and right. I went to the blackberry Storm and will not return to Iphone until its with Verizon. I own 3 macs and stock but the phone sucks. Now if it was called something other than a phone then things might be different but I need one that I can use to call .

[NoExpectations]

I think that should be "damn you Verizon" for not making a deal with Apple.

Exactly. It's easy to target AT&T (and all wireless providers), but at least someone over there made a fine, solid business decision.

[Zargot]

Thought about heading to the nearest Apple Store to check out the scene today... Just in case I decided to make the jump from my 1st generation iPhone to the GS I went ahead with the pre-authorization online. For some reason, the website was saying the nearest stores were the Willow Bend and Dallas locations instead of Southlake...

Maybe someone was really upset at not being eligible for the upgrade? :D
177657

[brop52]

Wow... I'm writing from my iPhone 3GS at this moment and I'm AMAZED by this device! This is my first cellphone ever and I think I made the best choice to buy a good one right away! haha I even got the last one from the store I bought it from :p

That's a big jump from no cell phone. Enjoy it.

[Clive At Five]

From where are all these people coming, who can afford iPhones?

...and how do i get their jobs? :D

-Clive

[E.Lizardo]

"Despite the seemingly shorter lines at the iPhone 3G S, it seems that the early sales number estimates for the iPhone 3G S launch could even exceed the iPhone 3G launch. Apple managed to sell 1 million of the iPhone 3Gs during its launch weekend last year. Unlike last year, however, Apple and AT&T have allowed pre-orders for the latest iPhone device.

UK mobile carrier O2 reveals that by lunchtime, they've already sold more iPhone 3G S handsets than they did during the entire day of the iPhone 3G launch. They expect by the end of the day to have sold more than 50% more than last year's opening day.

Meanwhile, AppleInsider notes that AT&T has revealed that AT&T has sold "hundreds of thousands" of iPhone 3G S's ahead of the launch. Based on these numbers, the site also speculates that Apple could easily sell more than a million devices during the first three days."

But..but..but the wise observers on these boards said it wouldn't sell near as many as 3G opening weekend!!
Remember?
"Saturated" market(1%?Huh?)
Carrier exclusivity
Not a big enough upgrade
Price to upgrade before contract is up

How can this be???

Never underestimate apple.

[Mr Maui]

... Unfortunately, Cell Phone companies (not just AT&T) are more about money than the customers.

Exactly ... so rip wireless service providers in general as opposed to AT&T specifically.

[bobbleheadbob]

Check your math. You put up 2/1000000 of 1%, not 2/1000000 of 100%. Your actual percentage of 1,000,000 phones would be .00002%. :)

I did a quick check and it looked to me like 2 ÷ 1,000,000 was 0.00002. But what do I know, I'm a lawyer, not an accountant! :);):D

[BRLawyer]

No biggy. Pre sold at least 2 million I heard.

1 - No, it didn't; unless you talk about 1-year sales predictions;

2 - We are talking about one-weekend sales...

http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/06/08/analyst-palm-sold-about-50000-pres/

[Mr Maui]

I did a quick check and it looked to me like 2 ÷ 1,000,000 was 0.00002. But what do I know, I'm a lawyer, not an accountant! :);):D

LOL. As a Lawyer your math is limited to # of hours x $300. :D

Your math was correct, but that just gave you the decimal form of the fraction 2/1000000. The % needs to multiply that number by 100 (decimal point 2 zeroes to the right), thus 2/1000000 or .0000002 becomes .00002% of the total. :p

[Mr Maui]

No biggy. Pre sold at least 2 million I heard.

Check your information. This article (http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE55F6J620090616) is as of June 16, 2009. Analysts estimate 90-100,000 in the first week on the Pre, and up to 500,000 for the full quarter ending in August.

[E.Lizardo]

As a repeat offender (2G & 3G) wait in line, gotta have it today person, I finally kicked my addiction and decided to wait it out and see if AT&T will adjust pricing for us who purchased on launch day last year and who meet all criteria except the $99 per month (me=$92) upgrade deal. I talked to my friends at numerous Apple stores and others who just dropped in to see if the lines materialized & all said it was fairly quiet and nothing compared to last years roll out of the 3G. I'm sure pre-ordering helped but I just have a gut feeling most folks who upgraded on launch day last year are holding on to their cash this time around...

Since Most=51% or more that's a pretty safe bet.

[nws0291]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!

Lol, I think EVERYONE forgot about the Palm Pre! LMAO!

I LOVE APPLE!!!!!!! :apple::apple::apple:

No I sure as hell didn't forget about the palm pre. My new iPhone 3GS has a memo reminding me to return it to bestbuy after work.

[BRLawyer]

No I sure as hell didn't forget about the palm pre. My new iPhone 3GS has a memo reminding me to return it to bestbuy after work.

If you are returning the Pre, congratulations; it's the best post of the day.

Otherwise, read below and enjoy your stillborn device:





WINDOWS MOBILE IS DEAD. PALM IS DEAD. RIM IS DEAD.

[old-wiz]

Unfortunately, Cell Phone companies (not just AT&T) are more about money than the customers.

You're right, they are far far more interested in screwing customers than providing good service. Verizon may be the biggest, but they cripple every freaking phone down to dumb. Customer satisfaction is a dirty word to the cell phone companies. I remember reading a study that said it was cheaper for cell phone companies to get new customers rather than do anything to keep existing customers.

[*LTD*]

If you are returning the Pre, congratulations; it's the best post of the day.

Otherwise, read below and enjoy your stillborn device:





WINDOWS MOBILE IS DEAD. PALM IS DEAD. RIM IS DEAD.

Well . . . WinMo seems to have been relegated to also-ran status. the whole UI, the entire concept of WinMo, needs a complete overhaul. Part of the problem is that it runs on every crap device out there.

RIM is doing alright, especially in the corporate sphere, but has nowhere near the demand, momentum and ecosystem that the iPhone enjoys. And the corproate sector is beginning to take the iPhone seriously.

And the Pre . . . the jury's still out on that one. Seems Palm's dog-and-pony show is off to a bit of a slow start.

[AtlasBoy]

1 - No, it didn't; unless you talk about 1-year sales predictions;

2 - We are talking about one-weekend sales...

http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/06/08/analyst-palm-sold-about-50000-pres/

I had heard that PRE sold ~50,000 too. I guess both Apple and Palm will report their official numbers at the end of their quarters and we will know for sure. It's gonna be a total slaughter.

[*LTD*]

I had heard that PRE sold ~50,000 too. I guess It's gonna be a total slaughter.

Pretty much sums it up.

[avigalante]

RIM IS DEAD.

RIM is FAR from dead... if anything, RIM is GAINING momentum.

[casmith07]

Yeah Right! I went to my local at&t store this morning to get my wife the new 3Gs (she can really use the better battery life). I went at 9am and they had signs on the door that said "The line starts here". Went inside and absolutely NO customers and about 10 sales associates... I made a joke about nobody wanting the new iPhone and they just laughed. They only had the 32GB so I ended up going to the local Best Buy and got one. The girl at BB said that I was the first person to buy one. In fact, their system didn't have the SKU number loaded so they had to do a manual override or something... was in there 30 min!

you live in South Carolina.

[E.Lizardo]

Remember ... the upgrade limitations are AT&T, not Apple.



Your logic is missing the point just a bit. While is seems "logical" that AT&T should jump at the chance to have you under contract for two more years instead of just one more, they already have you under contract for one more year under your OLD contract. So selling you a new phone only gains them one year, which is why they offer the phone to you for $399/499 versus the no contract price of $599/699. The $199/299 price is for when they can "GAIN" two years of service commitment or for those shorter-term users who have already paid for the largest plans, thus making more money for AT&T during the early half of their contract. AT&T is not oblicated to offer deals to those presently under contract. You are required to sign a two year deal even with "cheap" or free, less-featured, non-smartphones.

WOW!
Thank you for the best,clearest explanation of the situation I've seen!Now if all the whiners could be made to comprehend it,the world would be a better place.

I'm activating my $499 32gb 3Gs right now and not complaining a bit.

[*LTD*]

RIM is FAR from dead...

They're just getting a bit long in the tooth with their pocket e-mail machines.

[jmorrison0722]

I have the first gen, not the 3G, so not only am I eligible, I'm not under contract of any kind. That being said, here's my thought on the upgrade issue...

Before the 1st gen came out, you can't tell me Apple didn't already have a roadmap for a new model yearly. With that in mind, Apple and ATT really should have figured many would want to upgrade yearly. To account for this, they should have optioned a 1 year contract with less subsidy. That way, you are free to get the new phone every year. Instead of a $199 iPhone 3G, you would have paid $299. Then after 12 months, you get full upgrade eligibility. If you want the 3Gs over 2 years for $199, fine. 1 year = $299. Etc.

I haven't done the math, so I don't know if these numbers make sense, but you get the idea. The fact is, many would choose to upgrade every year.

[diabolic]

A lot of people pre-ordered. My FedEx guy said his truck was full of iPhones and I was the 10th he'd delivered by 10am.

[tivoboy]

regardless of more retail outlets, I DON'T think there will be more sales today than the previous sales for the 3G. Although, although, there MIGHT be more GLOBAL sales, over the 3G since it wasn't originally available in unison globally on launch day

[E.Lizardo]

Assuming you are one of those users not yet eligible:
You mean if AT&T had written off half of the loan they gave you when you bought your iPhone 3G?
You bought a $700 phone for $300, ie, AT&T gave you a $400 loan which you are paying off over the course of two years. Now you want to stop paying back the loan after one year and get a new loan for a new phone instead? Good luck with that.


*cough*brickwall*cough*

[nws0291]

RIM is FAR from dead... if anything, RIM is GAINING momentum.

Yeah RIM is doing very well lately.

[avigalante]

Yeah RIM is doing very well lately.

The surprising aspect is that growth is coming from consumers, not their traditional corporate base.

[E.Lizardo]

Phone companies make back that subsidized price well before the second year of any contract starts. The second year is just ALL profits.

Not true. Assuming a base service contract with voice, data and 200 messages is $75/month in revenue, that is $1,800 in revenue over 2 years. Now, in total AT&T has a bottom line net income margin of 10% of revenue (per the annual report). Even assuming cellular is double that at 20%, that would work out to $360 in profit over 2 years or $15 per month (and this is assuming the cost of $300+ subsidy is already baked into that margin). We aren't talking obscene profits. Theorectically, their economic profits are zero (after accounting for risk).

Some think the cellular network is already there so there are no costs. But it isn't free to constantly upgrade the U.S. cell network to the next generation of service, or to maintain the lines hauling the traffic to switching centers, or the switching or the transport or maintaining billing systems or staffing customer service centers to take thousands of calls from people asking where there 3GS is.

Yes, it is fun to rip on the evil-doer corporations, but without AT&T, an iPhone is just a Touch. Sure their are other carriers, but don't think they will be any better. Sure someday the U.S. government may take over all the carriers, then it will be free phone service for all with 8G speeds!!

Of course, I am in an angry mood though, I am sitting at work while my new phone is sitting at home...alone, just waiting for me to return.[/QUOTE]


How DARE you bring actual FACTS into what is essentially an emotional argument?All these folks know is what they want.Attempting to use logic with them would only trip their breakers.

[E.Lizardo]

I went past the Apple store in Burlington Mass today, looking for a new MBP. Unfortunately only iPhone customers allowed in the store. Maybe if I wait until Monday or Tuesday they will let non-iPhone customers in? They had 3rd party security keeping things orderly. Lines were not long to get in, but why wait in line if I don't even want to buy an iPhone?

2 AT&T stores in the same mall, counted 4 customers in each store, but it could have been 2 couples.

Macmall

[E.Lizardo]

Like I have said before, I have no problem with a 2 year contract. Just don't say that my 2 year contract is specifically to pay off any loan that I was given from a provider. Yes, a portion of that contract does pay off that loan, but it does not take two years to pay it off. If it was really about that subsidy/loan they should include it as a detailed charge on your bill so you could really see when you were paid off and how much per month goes to cover that loss. Unfortunately, Cell Phone companies (not just AT&T) are more about money than the customers.

Gee...maybe that's why you get the full subsidized price after 18 months-ya think?

[itsmenyc]

Check your information. This article (http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE55F6J620090616) is as of June 16, 2009. Analysts estimate 90-100,000 in the first week on the Pre, and up to 500,000 for the full quarter ending in August.

Silly boy! He meant 2 million total ever! LOL:D

[E.Lizardo]

I have the first gen, not the 3G, so not only am I eligible, I'm not under contract of any kind. That being said, here's my thought on the upgrade issue...

Before the 1st gen came out, you can't tell me Apple didn't already have a roadmap for a new model yearly. With that in mind, Apple and ATT really should have figured many would want to upgrade yearly. To account for this, they should have optioned a 1 year contract with less subsidy. That way, you are free to get the new phone every year. Instead of a $199 iPhone 3G, you would have paid $299. Then after 12 months, you get full upgrade eligibility. If you want the 3Gs over 2 years for $199, fine. 1 year = $299. Etc.

I haven't done the math, so I don't know if these numbers make sense, but you get the idea. The fact is, many would choose to upgrade every year.

It's $200 either way.So what?

[Mr Maui]

WOW!
Thank you for the best,clearest explanation of the situation I've seen!Now if all the whiners could be made to comprehend it,the world would be a better place.

I'm activating my $499 32gb 3Gs right now and not complaining a bit.

Glad to help. :)

[jmorrison0722]

It's $200 either way.So what?

Well, under that line of thinking, while you might be right, ATT might as well buy the whole phone for you and force you to sign a 4 year contract. Same thing, right?

[Mr Maui]

Silly boy! He meant 2 million total ever! LOL:D

Actually, I am posting his quote below:

No biggy. Pre "sold" at least 2 million I heard.

His words use the word "sold" (quote marks added by me) in the PAST TENSE mode, thus indicating that Palm had already SOLD 2 million Pre's. If he meant ever (which I conclude he didn't), he should have said something like, "Palm will be lucky if it ever sells 2 million of the Pre." :p

[chr1s60]

Gee...maybe that's why you get the full subsidized price after 18 months-ya think?

One might think that, but in all likelihood that phone is paid off by 18 months. Even if it did take 18 months that does not explain why if I was going through AT&T to get my 3GS at the $199 or $299 price, I would not be eligible until 3/13/2010 which is 20 months after I purchased my 3G.

[aeaglex07]

crazy. I still got to wait another week :mad:

Lol tell me about it. Apple counts my purchase even tho it didn't ship today lol. It's all good tho I'm stoked about the 3GS

[JGowan]

This is the 3rd phone for Apple --> seems to reason that they would be learning from any past mistakes they made with selling this thing and getting it activated for millions of people. Also, the things they got right have been tweaked also to be more efficient.

You don't need lines and lines of people if you're going to really sell stuff. You just need an effective routine.

You only need lines that take forever if you want to give the illusion of selling a lot (Palm Pre and Sprint's slow-on-purpose Sales team) -- let's keep the lines long for as long as possible!

That's BS.

Apple rules.

[KaiMac]

I was just in and out of the McArthur Apple Store in less than 45 minutes with a new 32GB 3GS iPhone. Totally painless and well worth the upgrade. The video alone is already a big hit with me and my daughter! Thanks Apple!

[*LTD*]

I was just in and out of the McArthur Apple Store in less than 45 minutes with a new 32GB 3GS iPhone. Totally painless and well worth the upgrade. The video alone is already a big hit with me and my daughter! Thanks Apple!

Nice to hear! ;)

[Banyan Bruce]

You do know that O2 has already stated they have/will sell 50% more than they did of the 3G in a single day right?

O2 ran out of stock with the 3G as they under estimated demand last time. So 50% more than not a lot, is still not alot ! We'll see how many they sell when the final numbers come out.
Empirically, I haven't seen the queues this time and many of those with the desire don't have the money this time around. I'm one of them.
It looks like a great tool but not at the total price of ownership this time. I'll wait for iPhone 4G, partly because I have too and partly because I want too.:(

[jroug]

My issue is with the bar they set for the upgrade - if I had spent $5 a month more on additional texts and I presumably would have qualified. I also agree that annual launches were in the cards and that they ought to have planned some sort of loyalty program upgrades. Finally, if they can offer me that price in December, what's the big deal with offering it to me today if I'm signing on for additional months anyway? Seems shortsighted, and although the deal is better than initially offered, the revision only happened weds, so again, the whole thing was not well planned.

[i make movies]

What are the chances of selling out this weekend? I have to wait about a week and half and I'd hate for it to sell out, making me wait an additional week or 2.

Any info out there?

[freedomwan]

I dont know when the last time everyone checked their upgrade status but i know for me i checked on wed and it said i wast eligible until dec but i checked again yesterday and i was upgrade eligible!!! i just bought a 3G S oh and my bill is under a 100$ so you may want to check again just in case :)

[DoubleU]

I would have bought a 3GS today, if there was somewhere that sold a Pay as You Go version near where I work. There aren't any Apple Stores in the North East of England and I commute away from the major cities (so O2 opening at 9am wasn't helpful). The town I work in doesn't have an O2 store (appalling local coverage) and the Carphone Warehouse who gave a store there only have contract phones on offer.

I hope the apparent lack of the demand means there will be a phone for me tomorrow morning.

[old-wiz]

Macmall

They don't have a very good reputation at resellerratings.com. If I get a DOA macbook from the Apple store, I can take it back the next day and get a new one. Macmall seems to require you send it back to them and then they make sure it really is DOA and then you get a new one. waste of time. I want the Apple warranty.

[itsmenyc]

Actually, I am posting his quote below:



His words use the word "sold" (quote marks added by me) in the PAST TENSE mode, thus indicating that Palm had already SOLD 2 million Pre's. If he meant ever (which I conclude he didn't), he should have said something like, "Palm will be lucky if it ever sells 2 million of the Pre." :p

Ummm... And I ended with a "LOL" and just to make sure you understood it was a joke, a :D

I guess i should've filled in the title bar with: " warning! I am being facetious!"

[GQB]

They can do damn near anything they want and people will still flock to the iphone.

But IMO, there actually is a "good" reason to not have tethering and MMS right away... I think AT&T is frantically upgrading their network in advance of yet millions more high-volume 3G data users. I just don't think the network can take the strain of all the 3G S users + tethering + MMS. AT&T knows this and is working to increase capacity, but it takes time.

Spot on!
It cracks me up to hear gripers 'expertly' advise on what it takes for a carrier to support the kind of volume that iPhone tethering will generate.
All you have to do is look at the mobile web traffic percentages generated by iPhone to fathom the kind of bump that it will produce in tethering.
Not that I particularly like any cell carrier, but AT&T is no worse or better than the rest.
I do look forward to de-linking however, in order to actually generate some competition between the carriers.

[SlappyJoe]

Just curious, is there anyone that DID NOT pre order a phone but managed to get one today? :confused:

[emaja]

Just curious, is there anyone that DID NOT pre order a phone but managed to get one today? :confused:

Me. Walked in at 9 AM and walked out 20 minutes later with a GS.

[SlappyJoe]

Me. Walked in at 9 AM and walked out 20 minutes later with a GS.

Apple store or ATT store? :confused:

[emaja]

Apple store or ATT store? :confused:

Local AT&T store.

[ceehjayem]

I went to two different Apple Stores in San Diego county that had no 32GB's available for non-preorder customers. I had to go to a semi high volume AT&T store to pick mine up. Looks like they're selling well over here.

[SlappyJoe]

This does not bode well for me!

[CharlesInCharge]

This may seem like a diatribe not related to the thread but my 3GS buying experience has me pissed.

I reserved my 3GS on 6/9 and went to the Apple Store at 6 PM to pick it up. I had to wait one hour in a line to even get into the store. Like many around the country, my Apple store decided to segregate those who reserved the phone with those who didn't into 2 separate lines. The reason? There were plenty of iPhones available (although the hipster Apple employee predicted a total sell-out by 11 PM). I don't understand why Apple doesn't put proper cash checkout stations in their stores as they certainly have the volume. I was even more dumbfounded when I heard that Apple Stores don't accept cash. To restate in different words: An American business does not accept federally issued paper currency. While the store layout and concept of not having cash registers is pretty neat, it is also remarkably inefficient, especially when there was no imminent shortage of product. Customers who were even buying iPods were forced to wait in the lines outside of the store. I asked one iPod customer why he was even putting up with the B.S. and he agreed and immediately left for a Best Buy.

Back on topic, I upgraded my first generation 4 GB iPhone for a 16 GB 3GS and the difference is day and night. This thing is blazingly fast in comparison and the Compass feature, when incorporated with Google Maps is a very powerful addition. Good luck to everyone still on the hunt!

[brop52]

This may seem like a diatribe not related to the thread but my 3GS buying experience has me pissed.

I reserved my 3GS on 6/9 and went to the Apple Store at 6 PM to pick it up. I had to wait one hour in a line to even get into the store. Like many around the country, my Apple store decided to segregate those who reserved the phone with those who didn't into 2 separate lines. The reason? There were plenty of iPhones available (although the hipster Apple employee predicted a total sell-out by 11 PM). I don't understand why Apple doesn't put proper cash checkout stations in their stores as they certainly have the volume. I was even more dumbfounded when I heard that Apple Stores don't accept cash. To restate in different words: An American business does not accept federally issued paper currency. While the store layout and concept of not having cash registers is pretty neat, it is also remarkably inefficient, especially when there was no imminent shortage of product. Customers who were even buying iPods were forced to wait in the lines outside of the store. I asked one iPod customer why he was even putting up with the B.S. and he agreed and immediately left for a Best Buy.

Back on topic, I upgraded my first generation 4 GB iPhone for a 16 GB 3GS and the difference is day and night. This thing is blazingly fast in comparison and the Compass feature, when incorporated with Google Maps is a very powerful addition. Good luck to everyone still on the hunt!

You chose to not have it shipped to you and then you complain about it?

[carletonguy]

The Apple Store at South Coast Plaza was on hyper control today. It was really dumb. Sure, they sold out of the 32gig phones by mid-day, so there was heavy traffic because of the iPhone...as to be expected...but they wouldn't let ANYONE in the store ALL DAY unless you waited in a line. I went at 8:30, shortly before the mall closed, to avoid the iPhone crowd, with the idea of buying a new iMac. There were 7 people in a line that I thought was an iPhone line... but nope, they were just not letting anyone in the store unless they waited in line. The store was as dead as it is at 11am on a Tuesday (which, honestly, is still busy...but no where near weekend traffic levels). They had 4 Apple employees waiting to at the door to stop people from going in. It was rather dumb.

I told them I was here to buy a computer and leave. I didn't need help and they could even swipe my card outside the store if they wanted since I knew what I wanted and called ahead to confirm stock... When I called they didn't tell me I'd have to wait in a line just to get in the dumb store. They said no, today you had to wait in a line no matter what. That's about as dumb as it gets. They had reps walking around, not helping customers, but they wouldn't let me in. When I said I just called and no one told me I had to wait in a line when I came down, they gave me the "oh well, get in line" speech.

So, eff that, I went home and bought it on Mac Mall. The kicker... when I was walking back a lady said she'd been waiting in line to get in the store just so she could buy a case for her iPhone for the last 20 minutes...3 or 4 other people nodded and gave a frustrated look. I can understand wanting to control the crowds, but that late with that few people? C'mon, they have a line to check out all day, every day... and on the weekends I've seen that line twist it's way through queue ropes from one end of the store to another... why they had to make it so much more difficult today is beyond me.

[CharlesInCharge]

You chose to not have it shipped to you and then you complain about it?

Oh believe me I would have had it shipped if I knew their system at their stores was going to be this ass-backwards. I'm lucky enough to have 2 Apple Stores within close proximity to my place so I thought that would be more convenient, especially considering I wasn't going to be at the office or my residence all day on Friday so I didn't trust the UPS guy to just leave it by my door.

[Stenar]

I waited in line for nearly an hour this evening to get in the Salt Lake City Apple store, by the time I did get inside, they were sold out of the 32GB Black iPhones. (I'd called 30 minutes before and they still had them in stock then.) Couldn't they have come out and told us which models they were sold out of so we didn't waste any more time in line???

[Banyan Bruce]

Amazing...the first iPhone queue I've seen this time around. Clearly, you need a full time job to afford one, so couldn't get it yesterday.:rolleyes:

[Banyan Bruce]

It's $200 either way.So what?

Synching need, new offering and price to maximise market. Commonsense really. :confused:

[DoubleU]

I'm waiting in a Newcastle O2 store this morning. There are three people ahead of me getting their new iPhones, one upgrader and two new customers.

[cocky jeremy]

I waited in line for nearly an hour this evening to get in the Salt Lake City Apple store, by the time I did get inside, they were sold out of the 32GB Black iPhones. (I'd called 30 minutes before and they still had them in stock then.) Couldn't they have come out and told us which models they were sold out of so we didn't waste any more time in line???
Couldn't you haved asked specifically for what you wanted?

edit: I see what you're saying. I thought you meant when you called they could have told you.. my bad. lol.

[old-wiz]

The Apple Store at South Coast Plaza was on hyper control today. It was really dumb. Sure, they sold out of the 32gig phones by mid-day, so there was heavy traffic because of the iPhone...as to be expected...but they wouldn't let ANYONE in the store ALL DAY unless you waited in a line. I went at 8:30, shortly before the mall closed, to avoid the iPhone crowd, with the idea of buying a new iMac.



My point exactly; same issue at Burlington Mass store. Hopefully by perhaps Monday or Tuesday you will be able to walk into the store and buy a computer again. It's like all of a sudden they only care about iPhones, and never mind selling computers. I thought Apple's business was founded on selling computers, not expensive phones.

[iPhoneNYC]

I'm surprised at the high demand for 32 gig. I have an 8 gig 1st Gen and I'm upgrading to a 3GS 16 gig. I use about 6 gigs on my iPhone now. 16 gigs seems plenty to me: I think the iPhone is too big to be an iPod and too small to be a video player. I do have a MBP and a small Nano that I use. I do take a fair amount of photos with the iPhone but delete when I sync/charge. So all this adds up to I don't think I would ever have a need for 32 gigs.

[voltes]

I'm surprised at the high demand for 32 gig. I have an 8 gig 1st Gen and I'm upgrading to a 3GS 16 gig. I use about 6 gigs on my iPhone now. 16 gigs seems plenty to me: I think the iPhone is too big to be an iPod and too small to be a video player. I do have a MBP and a small Nano that I use. I do take a fair amount of photos with the iPhone but delete when I sync/charge. So all this adds up to I don't think I would ever have a need for 32 gigs.

If you plan to do some videos then the bigger space will definitely give you a good amount to work with which I plan to do :)

[CharlesInCharge]

I'm surprised at the high demand for 32 gig. I have an 8 gig 1st Gen and I'm upgrading to a 3GS 16 gig. I use about 6 gigs on my iPhone now. 16 gigs seems plenty to me: I think the iPhone is too big to be an iPod and too small to be a video player. I do have a MBP and a small Nano that I use. I do take a fair amount of photos with the iPhone but delete when I sync/charge. So all this adds up to I don't think I would ever have a need for 32 gigs.

Yea, you'd be surprised how quickly the memory can go when you are using the iPhone as your sole iPod. I've already filled up my 16 GB 3GS with only a couple apps and all of my music.

[Wyvernspirit]

I'm surprised at the high demand for 32 gig. I have an 8 gig 1st Gen and I'm upgrading to a 3GS 16 gig. I use about 6 gigs on my iPhone now. 16 gigs seems plenty to me: I think the iPhone is too big to be an iPod and too small to be a video player. I do have a MBP and a small Nano that I use. I do take a fair amount of photos with the iPhone but delete when I sync/charge. So all this adds up to I don't think I would ever have a need for 32 gigs.

Actually, like you, I am upgrading from an 8GB iPhone Classic to a 16GB 3G S⃣ , however the iPhone replaced my ipod 2 years ago (and a palm E2). With the 16GB I now hold more then my old 15GB ipod (3rd Gen) could.

I also use my iphone as a video player while at work, I have watched many a movie on it. It is also my book reader, using he kindle app, I have read about 6 books (and am in the middle of 3 others) on it since its release. And now that I can read white on black on the kindle app, its even easier to read.

[tivoboy]

This may seem like a diatribe not related to the thread but my 3GS buying experience has me pissed.
I don't understand why Apple doesn't put proper cash checkout stations in their stores as they certainly have the volume. I was even more dumbfounded when I heard that Apple Stores don't accept cash. To restate in different words: An American business does not accept federally issued paper currency.

I don't think you can buy a CELL phone with cash anymore, I think it requires some credential and CC, but that may just be for contract cells

[GQB]

My point exactly; same issue at Burlington Mass store. Hopefully by perhaps Monday or Tuesday you will be able to walk into the store and buy a computer again. It's like all of a sudden they only care about iPhones, and never mind selling computers. I thought Apple's business was founded on selling computers, not expensive phones.

You think the fact that they changed the name from Apple Computer to Apple Inc might be a hint here?
And hand-helds are where computers are going btw.

[SandynJosh]

Even if Apple does exceed sales of the 3G launch, I think it would be interesting to see what the sales COULD have been had they allowed all iPhone users to upgrade. At the very minimum I would think that the non-upgradable users would have accounted for 50,000+ sales. That ends up as millions of dollars in missed sales.

Keep in mind that the "they" in your post is AT&T, not Apple. So, therefore the "millions if dollars in sales" may be Apple's loss, not AT&T's. Remember, ALL of those "lost sales" are people wishing to upgrade, which does not mean a single new customer to AT&T, nor one single dollar in sales.

And, in the short run, there are no lost sales even to Apple. These old iPhone users will eventually upgrade, just later than they wished. The cash registers will ring and everyone will eventually be content. In the mean time, these "upgraders" won't be clogging the lines which are filled with a lot of first-time buyers switching to AT&T, and that means REAL sales to AT&T and Apple.

Meanwhile, back at Sprint, the Palm Pre, which is mostly being sold to the old Palm crowd, the cash registers are staying very quiet. I suspect that the total sales of the Pre, including the head start they got, won't total what Apple/AT&T did in this one weekend of sales alone.

I heard at one time that the total downloads from the Palm store was only 18,000 aps since the Pre went on sale. That doesn't say much for the total sales volume of Palm phones, both old and the Pre.

[SandynJosh]

This is the 3rd phone for Apple --> seems to reason that they would be learning from any past mistakes they made with selling this thing and getting it activated for millions of people. Also, the things they got right have been tweaked also to be more efficient.

You don't need lines and lines of people if you're going to really sell stuff. You just need an effective routine.

You only need lines that take forever if you want to give the illusion of selling a lot (Palm Pre and Sprint's slow-on-purpose Sales team) -- let's keep the lines long for as long as possible!

That's BS.

Perhaps. There are a lot of people that enjoy the shared anticipation of being part of a group of people who are part of something special. That's why we wrap Christmas presents and store them under the tree. That's why we have the little rituals of marriage and birthdays.

If you don't get a kick out of that, and delayed gratification is just a hassle to you, then buying your own presents on-line is the way for you.

[SandynJosh]

I own 3 macs and stock but the phone sucks. Now if it was called something other than a phone then things might be different but I need one that I can use to call .

The dropped call problem is/was with the carrier, not the iPhone. Place the fault where it belongs.

I am waiting for either a different carrier or for AT&T to improve the local coverage where I live before I buy an iPhone. (and the waiting is driving me nuts)

[casmith07]

The Apple Store at South Coast Plaza was on hyper control today. It was really dumb. Sure, they sold out of the 32gig phones by mid-day, so there was heavy traffic because of the iPhone...as to be expected...but they wouldn't let ANYONE in the store ALL DAY unless you waited in a line. I went at 8:30, shortly before the mall closed, to avoid the iPhone crowd, with the idea of buying a new iMac.

Why would you go during launch day for the 3GS to get a computer?:confused:

Wait a few days then go...? Seems like common sense.

[ontheplains]

i'm in Chicago on vacation and was traveling until just past 10 yesterday. all of the Chicago stores i've called are sold out. so there's obviously a pretty big demand for them, if all the units here have sold.

any advice on how to get one before i have to go home to my smaller hometown Monday night? i'm not sure the local store will have stock and the guy said it'd take 2 weeks to ship (which i don't think is right, but i still want one while i'm here)

[Kid Red]

Despite the seemingly shorter lines at the iPhone 3G S...

Dude, it's called 1st iPhone 3G launch, no online purchasing, recent 3 GS launch, apple.com and at&t both offer online ordering. Is it really that hard to figure out why the lines were shorter?!?!!

[skeebers]

I was third in line and second one to get the iPhone 3GS. When I went to AT&T shop only two guys were there at 6:45am. When I came out at 7:30 no one was waiting. Only 6 people by 7:30, crazy!! :confused:
And yes, the AT&T guy took 30 minutes to setup my preordered account!! Crazy! He also scratched the bazel...GRRRRRR!!:mad:
Video cam is awesome...loved it! Now restoring my backup to make the phone usable.
Happy to have it....

Is it just me or is there a pattern to every post where someone was in line? Everyone is like first or second in line.... Nobody saying " I was like 20th in line" seems to me getting your hands on a new phone is nothing like the first two launches. The thing was getting your phone and everyone else waiting for another week (hehe).

Be interesting to see speed comparisons right out of the box and after 6 mo of usage...

[SandynJosh]

Be interesting to see speed comparisons right out of the box and after 6 mo of usage...

Why do you expect the iPhone to slow down with usage? The iPhone should not be affected by use.

Or are you meaning that AT&T's service to become more clogged and slow as more people use the service (which is possible)? I suspect that the delay of MMS being allowed is one of the ways AT&T is buying time as they beef up their infrastructure.

It's my understanding that Verizon (the next most likely iPhone carrier) will have an equally robust 3G/4G network by 2011/2012. So if they are allowed to carry the iPhone at that time, it will be like an instant doubling of carrier capacity and all iPhones (and any other brands of phones that need 3G/4G speed) will finally have the infrastructure to support the need.

By then MicroSoft should have a mobile OS that will be almost as good as the version-one iPhone once had, and announced once again their plans for an app store. That's the year Palm will have sold their two millionth Pré and expanded their store offering to 24 apps.

The additional carrier capacity will have Apple introducing a newer faster iPhone using all custom Apple chips and video conferencing (at long last the fabled video phone of the 1960s will be a reality). The other new offering will be a lighter weight MBA that, when closed, will have a working touch-tablet on the top. When opened, the touch-tablet will become a 3D full-motion screen-saver designed to raise the heart-beat of all the other people in the coffee shop/public area entrapping them a RDF that will induce them into buying only products Apple sells (whether they have last year's model or not).

While Apple may announce the iCEO during this period of time, this prediction is a bit speculative, but if so, the iCEO will announce itself along with the new products. The distribution of the iCEO will be tightly controlled. For example, only one model will be sold to the auto industry to the highest bidder. Other industries to follow, with government sales a possibility.

[jknightx]

[QUOTE=skeebers;7898767]Is it just me or is there a pattern to every post where someone was in line? Everyone is like first or second in line.... Nobody saying " I was like 20th in line" seems to me getting your hands on a new phone is nothing like the first two launches. The thing was getting your phone and everyone else waiting for another week (hehe).

I got to an apple store at 10:15 Friday no line i just walked in and picked it up and was out in 45 minutes

[jknightx]

Is it just me or is there a pattern to every post where someone was in line? Everyone is like first or second in line.... Nobody saying " I was like 20th in line" seems to me getting your hands on a new phone is nothing like the first two launches. The thing was getting your phone and everyone else waiting for another week (hehe).

Be interesting to see speed comparisons right out of the box and after 6 mo of usage...

I walked in at 10:15 to an At&t store on friday and was in and out in 45 minutes

[cocky jeremy]

I'm surprised at the high demand for 32 gig. I have an 8 gig 1st Gen and I'm upgrading to a 3GS 16 gig. I use about 6 gigs on my iPhone now. 16 gigs seems plenty to me: I think the iPhone is too big to be an iPod and too small to be a video player. I do have a MBP and a small Nano that I use. I do take a fair amount of photos with the iPhone but delete when I sync/charge. So all this adds up to I don't think I would ever have a need for 32 gigs.

Same here. I bought a 16GB white 3g last year, and i still only use about 3-4GB of it. I'll stick with 16GB until 32GB is the new minimum. No need for more than 10GB for me.. ever, probably.

[carletonguy]

Why would you go during launch day for the 3GS to get a computer?:confused:

Wait a few days then go...? Seems like common sense.


it was actually an impulse buy. i have 4 macs... don't really NEED another one. i just gave my older G4 PowerMac to my folks so all I have are laptops. I wanted to get a newer desktop machine, but no longer need (or want) a beast of a computer. A top-tier iMac will suit me fine now. But, the store lost the sale...there was no way I was going to stand in a line just to get in the store when it was empty.

[brop52]

it was actually an impulse buy. i have 4 macs... don't really NEED another one. i just gave my older G4 PowerMac to my folks so all I have are laptops. I wanted to get a newer desktop machine, but no longer need (or want) a beast of a computer. A top-tier iMac will suit me fine now. But, the store lost the sale...there was no way I was going to stand in a line just to get in the store when it was empty.

It's probably better for you then to save your money rather than an impulse buy. Next time order online so you can cancel your order before they ship it. ;)

[johnyboy]

went to the store today SAt,,, no one buying the latest model,,, they had plenty in stock,, i & my grandson decided not to purchase after hearing the prices,,,,,,,, johnyboy

[.:R2theT]

Same here. I bought a 16GB white 3g last year, and i still only use about 3-4GB of it. I'll stick with 16GB until 32GB is the new minimum. No need for more than 10GB for me.. ever, probably.

Whereas I am waiting for the iPhone to hit 64 GB before I upgrade from my 8 GB 1st. gen.

This iPhone OS/App Store thing is still in its infancy. We are going to see many more productive/fun/cool, memory intensive apps. and features in the coming months and years. Go big or go home is my motto on this type of thing. You can always have space but it isn't like the iPhone has user upgradeable drives.

[carletonguy]

It's probably better for you then to save your money rather than an impulse buy. Next time order online so you can cancel your order before they ship it. ;)

i actually just called apple and ordered it from them :p i started to order from mac mall, then canceled and ordered from apple so i could get the ed discount, free ipod, etc :p

[tivoboy]

Looks like they sold more than 1 MILLION 3Gs over the weekend, matching or beating the 3G launch.

It was probably all the active international locations that tied the knot.