Anyone else think there will be no lines for 3G?

[rjflyn]

With gas at $4.00+ and other factors of the economy going to crap- a lot of consumers have already spent their refund checks for day to day expenses. One would think Apple and ATT would be looking to make getting an using an iPhone easier rather than a bigger pain in the ass. Shoot I was all set too pounce on one at $70/mo recurring charges, but but upping to where it going to run closer to $100 thats to steep for me.

I look at my cable/internet/home phone at $95/mo as a good deal. My cell should be too. Unlimited everything at $50 would be ideal. Personally with more subscribers the prices should come down not up.

Some here are not old enough but ATT use to be THE phone company. One would think they would remember what happened and not go down that path, but if they are not careful they may end there again.

Rj

 

[richard4339]

I switched my home phone service from AT&T to the Comcast VoIP deal two months ago and love it, mostly. I went from paying $100/month for internet and basic cable and $35 a month to AT&T for a basic phone without so much as long distance to $100 a month for all three, and more "features" (of which I use a few)... It's sad because I really dislike Comcast, if AT&T had better pricing, I'd have dumped my TV/Internet from them and switched all 3 to Comcast, but the pricing was just much higher for my area for less service.

However, I use Verizon currently for my cellular coverage. AT&T is much cheaper, but the reception here is definitely not up to par. Verizon's coverage has been steadily deteriorating over the past year though, and I've found some info stating AT&T is turning on the new 3G hardware on their towers in my city on June 30... So, I plan to switch to AT&T and get the new iPhone. But I'll be switching four lines to AT&T when I get this done (two of which will be iPhones)... I don't know how quickly that would be able to go that night... I don't know, maybe I should switch the two other lines to AT&T beforehand, or maybe I'll just go in and not line up... who knows

 

[MacMaad]

At first I didn't think it was going to be a very big deal.

Then I spoke with my mom, who knows basically nothing about technology, and she asked if I'd be camping out for it, because it was sure to be sold out for weeks now that it's so cheap.

The fact that someone who doesn't follow or know about this stuff at all leads me to believe this launch is going to be a bit bigger than many of us are anticipating.

^^Agreed I've run into a soccer mom or two who've been wanting one forever. They're very excited about the new one.

Hey, not all "soccer moms" are completely lacking in tech savvy. Although you could probably label me as such, I have a serious technology and electronics addiction and have owned a Mac in one way or another since my SE.

I think there will be high initial demand for the 3G phone with a somewhat different demographic mix than the first one. Some early adopters will keep their original phones for lack of truly new features (especially if they do not live in a 3G capable area) or because of the rate plan, but there is more iPhone awareness in the general populace now, and the lower initial price will bring in new people that have the "play now, pay later" attitude. No doubt AT&T WILL be advertising that $199 (asterisk) price once they get the materials in place. Also you will get people like me, who would have purchased a first gen phone but were locked into contracts with other carriers and are now out of them, people who were holding out for 3G, current owners who live/work near good 3G coverage and therefore feel it is worth the extra cost, and people who just have to have the latest and greatest. Oh, and don't forget the soccer moms.

I do think it's possible the US will not maintain the consistently high demand the original iPhone enjoyed due to the fact that the gray market will likely shrink - unlocking looks amazingly difficult and the phone will now be for sale in so many geographic areas that could only get them from unauthorized outlets previously.

 

[kobefan234]

I think so too. The only thing that might make things a little slower is the in-store activation, but there aren't going to be mile long lines for the phone.

in-store activation will not be required

 

[chrisparr]

The problem with this logic is... we will...

Speak for yourself.

I have a mind of my own and will make an objective choice comparing the iPhone with other offerings. That new Samsung someone posted about a week or so ago is winning at the moment, but I'll wait until I've held and played with both.

 

[trevreyno]

Well said- and makes you wonder... what exactly was Apple iPhone hardware team working on for the past 1 year? designing a black plastic back and who to buy the GPS and 3G chip from?

i think people are missing the point.

the real reason for this upgrade was to include 3g so the iphone could be sold in a lot more countries internationally, there were many carriers worldwide who were not interested in selling the iphone unless it included 3g.

this upgrade was more for apples benefit than the end user.

hopefully the real new features will come in revision 3.

that said i will still be getting one july 11