Apple iPhone Preparation and Testing

[MacRumors]

USAToday reports on preparations AT&T is making for the iPhone launch on Friday, June 29th.

AT&T has added 2,000 extra sales people to stores in anticipation of the iPhone launch. AT&T's senior vice president of sales reveals that regions will not have equal stockpiles of iPhones:

Carter would not say which stores will have the biggest iPhone stockpiles, but allowed that iPod users are a "natural market" for the smart phone. As such, he says, stores in areas with big numbers of iPod users — such as New York City, Chicago and much of California — will be well stocked.

If your local store does sell out, mail orders may be placed with "devices will be shipped in 3 to 5 days, inventory permitting."

AT&T will be limiting the number of iPhones that an individual can purchase, but does not give the exact limit. Meanwhile, new iPhone specific service plans will also be announced on June 29th.

AT&T has been testing the iPhone and their network in various locations in anticipation of the launch:

In the past few months, he says dozens of AT&T technicians have been secretly testing iPhones — in bars, subway stops, office buildings, rural areas and elsewhere — looking for technical hitches.

[Chris Bangle]

8 days left, 8 days, 8days.... For you americans.

6 months at least for us Europeans

[rsanuri]

Bring it on

[Grimace]

custom voice/data plans too...that was an interesting tidbit.

[bytethese]

Yeah for being stocked here in NYC. So they won't annouce the iPhone service plans until launch day? So lame. I hope they at least announce during the day so I can decide whether or not the plan is going to cost me an arm and a leg.

[liven2]

the wife would let me by one! I still feel like a gitty kid before Christmas morning and I am not even buying one of these delicious devices. I will enjoy watching the frenzy though.

[p0intblank]

You mean all this time there was probably someone around here with an iPhone and I didn't know about it? Ugh!

Can't wait until next Friday!

[MacSA]

I wish we could have a iphonerumours.com site.....

[sishaw]

It remains to be seen whether the iPhone will showcase Apple's technical genius. But there is no doubt that the iPhone showcases Apple's marketing genius.

[JPyre]

i've got the perfect location in mind, not many folks from town near it. Anybody find out if shopping mall kiosks will carry them as well?

[Update] I saw an AT&T TrailBlazer near my work on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere for no reason yesterday....

[jessegomez]

8 days left....i cant wait...we really need details on the data plan....way before the 29th....like now would be appropriate....i guess....what is the big secret....just tell us how much its gonna cost, so we can prepare ourselves....

[dernhelm]

Originally Posted by MacSA

I wish we could have a iphonerumours.com site.....

Why? This one not good enough for you?

[SiliconAddict]

I'm waiting for the post on either Engadget, Macrumors, or some other blog that has the SKU numbers and barcodes of the iPhone.

Everyone will go nuts. OMG! Its the barcode! *screams like a little girl and swoons.*

[JMax1]

Originally Posted by bytethese

... I can decide whether or not the plan is going to cost me an arm and a leg.

But it might cost MR an arn and a leg!

[SiliconAddict]

Originally Posted by jessegomez

8 days left....i cant wait...we really need details on the data plan....way before the 29th....like now would be appropriate....i guess....what is the big secret....just tell us how much its gonna cost, so we can prepare ourselves....

P. T. Barnum and every marketer on the planet loves people like you.

[io_burn]

I'm still trying to figure out if it would be smarter to camp at an actual Apple Store or at an AT&T Corporate store. On one hand, I could see the actual Apple Store having a ton of units, but probably more people as well. In my experience with AT&T stores, when a cool new phone comes out their initial shipment is like 4 units so that might not be the best avenue either.

[Squonk]

Originally Posted by bytethese

Yeah for being stocked here in NYC. So they won't annouce the iPhone service plans until launch day? So lame. I hope they at least announce during the day so I can decide whether or not the plan is going to cost me an arm and a leg.

I'm with you on this one! I hope they announce the plans in the AM via a press release to get us all rev'd up for later in the day. If the plans are close to a wash with what I'm paying right now, I'm going to be even more tempted to purchase one....

[yagran]

Originally Posted by Chris Bangle

8 days left, 8 days, 8days.... For you americans.

6 months at least for us Europeans

errr...q4 '07 steve said, and i trust that.

i see it being released say october/november? as they will want it around for xmas time. end of june now, so thats about 3 months until we will see it in europe.

[bytethese]

Originally Posted by Squonk

I'm with you on this one! I hope they announce the plans in the AM via a press release to get us all rev'd up for later in the day. If the plans are close to a wash with what I'm paying right now, I'm going to be even more tempted to purchase one....

Yeah, I wanna know the plans so I know if I really want to argue with these guys. I am being told by Cingular that since I am not eligable for an upgrade yet, that I can't even get an iPhone. I purposefully broke my contract at Sprint to come to Cingular over a year ago because they had better service and the lineup of phones was spectacular. Now for this I am going to be penalized? The HELL I am. If the plans are close to what I pay now ($70/mo with taxes for phone and data for my SLVR) then I'll politely bitch and moan until I get an iPhone.

[RnSK]

Originally Posted by bytethese

I am being told by Cingular that since I am not eligable for an upgrade yet, that I can't even get an iPhone.

Who in hell told you THAT?

[YoMamasPyjamas]

I think it's pretty interesting that no AT&T employees - not even the execs - are going to be allowed to carry an iPhone for the first few months. I heard this from an AT&T employee and thought, "well sucks for you guys," but I didn't realize this would go all the way to the top. I know someone who has had many revisions of the iPhone for a while now, and it never even crossed my mind that he would have to give it/them back. How cool would that be to have one of the first prototypes?? Oh well, I'm sure he'll have rev. 2 way before all of us anyway. Can't wait for the 29th!

[avkills]

Originally Posted by bytethese

Yeah, I wanna know the plans so I know if I really want to argue with these guys. I am being told by Cingular that since I am not eligable for an upgrade yet, that I can't even get an iPhone. I purposefully broke my contract at Sprint to come to Cingular over a year ago because they had better service and the lineup of phones was spectacular. Now for this I am going to be penalized? The HELL I am. If the plans are close to what I pay now ($70/mo with taxes for phone and data for my SLVR) then I'll politely bitch and moan until I get an iPhone.

I feel you man. I currently do not give a **** about data transfer using whatever at&t (cingular) uses, so I just have a plan that gives me 1000 minutes a month, nationwide, for around $45/month; anything else I do they bill as I do it, like SMS, etc etc. I'm going to give them an ear full if I can't buy a iPhone, plop my SIM card in and go. Since the iPhone has wifi, I'll just use that for data.

Of course this all depends on if the iPhone is actually good as a phone.

-mark

[Wes Jordan]

It is ridiculous that they would expect to not give any details of the plans for the iPhone until the day of the launch. Anyone who would wait in line all day and then purchase a phone on the spot agreeing to to whatever terms and pricing that Apple and AT&T set is ridiculous!

AT&T has always robbed people with their plans for anything but phone calls. Data and text messaging is ridiculous with AT&T. Fewest dropped calls? Yeah right. After Katrina you could not get a phone call out and the problems continued for well over a year and they still suck here in LA, which is more unbelievable because they have a monopoly on the market share here.

Now I am finished...

[b3beater]

Originally Posted by YoMamasPyjamas

I think it's pretty interesting that no AT&T employees - not even the execs - are going to be allowed to carry an iPhone for the first few months. I heard this from an AT&T employee and thought, "well sucks for you guys," but I didn't realize this would go all the way to the top. I know someone who has had many revisions of the iPhone for a while now, and it never even crossed my mind that he would have to give it/them back. How cool would that be to have one of the first prototypes?? Oh well, I'm sure he'll have rev. 2 way before all of us anyway. Can't wait for the 29th!

I wonder if this is due to limit supply?

[pgwalsh]

Originally Posted by liven2

the wife would let me by one! I still feel like a gitty kid before Christmas morning and I am not even buying one of these delicious devices. I will enjoy watching the frenzy though.

Well we know who's wearing the pants in this one.

Originally Posted by sishaw

It remains to be seen whether the iPhone will showcase Apple's technical genius. But there is no doubt that the iPhone showcases Apple's marketing genius.

I certainly think it will showcase their genius, but that doesn't mean everyone will like it.

The big winner for is the ability to write javascript apps for the phone. I can already see some nice integration with SFA and ERP. I am hoping they'll eventually have FileMaker pro capability as well.