AT&T Blocking Out June 15-July 15 for iPhone Launch

[icaruscollapse]

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Every advertising guy and gal out there knows that getting rid of the name CINGULAR is the stupidest thing that AT&T could do.

Every teen in the USA knows Cingular, raising the bar. AT&T was for like us 80s kids.

Well, yeah, every teen in the USA knows Cingular. But AT&T is like the third most recognized logo in the world, so it's a bit more important. It's going along with Verizon's whole deal, where they are going to offer TV, internet, home phone, and cell phones all combined into one bill, where you get discounts for getting all of the above.

I don't think it was a bad move at all.

 

[devilot]

ATT will be running a month long promotion in June where you can get out of your contract with other carriers.

If you have a single line and stay with ATT for 3 months you will be credited $100 if you port your number over or the full amount after 1 year.

Do you have a link that shows that this will be an official promotion? I was already about to wait for my Verizon contract to end and then switch to AT&T, but hell, if they'll pay the full $175 for the termination fee if I stay with AT&T for over a year? I'd sign up today! June is too far away.

 

[grafikat]

...shuffles off to the AT&T store to see if they are open on Sunday....

 

[LxTxNx]

"cingular is the new at&t" = cingular is becoming at&t. pretty soon, they drop cingular from the name and all branding will be labeled at&t.



i don't think i'll be lined up to buy one; i'll just order one online from the apple store.

Yes as of mid May "Cingular Now The New ATT" will be just AT&T. I for sure know that the phone would ONLY be for sale with 2Year Contract. I heard rumors that the Radio part of the phone wont work with out the 2year on the customers account. Somehow the SIM card will communicate between the network and the phone telling the phone if there is or thete isn't a 2 yr. But there will be lines at the stores...

 

[bretm]

They do seem to making a huge deal about it. Do they think it will sell so well? I love just as much as the next person, but 500-600 is a lot of money, especially in todays society. I guess we will just have to see what happens.

Someone's been drinking the kool aid. "In today's society?" Playstation 3 costs just as much. Many of the Palm and Blackberry type phones cost this much (or real near it) and they're not even comparable in most areas of their use. More on today's society - Dow just set record high in record time. Inflation is low. Unemployment is low. Seems like no better time to release the iphone to me.

 

[Telp]

Someone's been drinking the kool aid. "In today's society?" Playstation 3 costs just as much. Many of the Palm and Blackberry type phones cost this much (or real near it) and they're not even comparable in most areas of their use. More on today's society - Dow just set record high in record time. Inflation is low. Unemployment is low. Seems like no better time to release the iphone to me.

Also keep in mind that the PS3 is not doing so well.

 

[MacbookSwitcher]

Someone's been drinking the kool aid. "In today's society?" Playstation 3 costs just as much. Many of the Palm and Blackberry type phones cost this much (or real near it) and they're not even comparable in most areas of their use. More on today's society - Dow just set record high in record time. Inflation is low. Unemployment is low. Seems like no better time to release the iphone to me.

The Treo does not cost $500. The Treo 750v came out for $99 or free with Vodafone in Europe, when it was first released. Most Treos these days go for about $249 with contract plus mail-in rebates, making them about half the price of the iPhone. Most Blackberry devices are going for $99-$199 with contract plus rebates.

So the iPhone is in fact significantly more expensive than pretty much every available phone right now.

Also remember that the Playstation 3 is not selling well for $600.

On the other hand, alot of people will say how the iPod originally cost $499 when it came out. But one discongruity here is that the iPod did not require you to buy a potentially expensive monthly service plan that was locked in for 2 years.

So I believe the iPhone will sell out initially at launch purely due to pent-up hype and popularity, but continued sales will depend on price decreases, and how good the device actually is once people start using it.

 

[LxTxNx]

...shuffles off to the AT&T store to see if they are open on Sunday....

Yes Most stores are open on Sundays 11am-6pm

if you guys have any questions about AT&T you guys can PM me and I'll be more than happy to help you answer any questions. I work for AT&T by the way.

 

[celavato]

Oh, shut up. You're talking like their employees are all robots designed to be the ultimate selling machines. They're people, dude. They have lives, families, things they like to do outside of work, etc. To set aside an ENTIRE month to where NONE of their employees can take time off just shows what kind of company they are, only worried about their bottom line. Yeah, its gonna be busy. But, they should have taken the necessary steps to ensure things would go smoothly by bringing more people in, instead of screwing their current crop of employees for the summer. They've certainly had time.

Are you serious? First, many of these people are probably very excited about the launch. You make it seem like work is never any fun. Second, those upset about this minor inconvenience (if you can even call it that) can always quit and work at Verizon. There's a month called August in which kids are still out of school -- perfect for a summer vacation. Sorry, no sympathy here.

 

[adamj]

I don't understand how Apple kept this a huge secret, but they are letting this little stuff slip out. Seems very...strange...

 

[LxTxNx]

I don't understand how Apple kept this a huge secret, but they are letting this little stuff slip out. Seems very...strange...

What little stuff is slipping out? Are you talking about the news that it will be released June 15th - July 15th? if so they got that info from an internal EMAIL to all AT&T employees. No leaks really just info we already know. A June release! It looks like it'll be a mid to late June release but they are expecting a lot foot traffic increase between June 15th thru July 15th.

That's all...

 

[Cult Follower]

Well i suppose this means apple will be on time with it. I am so excited, only a little more than a month to go.

 

[twoodcc]

wow, this is a big deal. can't wait to get my hands on one

 

[maniacmedia]

I've been patiently waiting for the iPhone. But I'm also curious to see what price tag that AT&T is going to put on the monthly plan. Considering their lowest plan is now $39.99 (around $50 per month after "taxes and other charges" are added), they could be hitting iPhone users up for between $49.99 and $69.99. That would end up in the $60-80 per month range after "taxes and other charges".

No matter how cool, I can't justify that kind of expense for a mobile phone.