last year the apple store did not accept pre-orders, or orders of any kind until the minute the stores actually released them for sale. you can COUNT on apple.com selling the new iphone on july 11th, but it is unknown if that will be just the phone you activate later as in the past, or like other cellphones you might actually now be signing on the dotted line for the at&t rate plan contract as part of the online purchase order. sadly i expect apple/at&t will return to the model of "activate when you buy" as a way to stop the jailbreak issue, as many won't jailbreak the phone if locked into a at&t 2 year contract.
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Expect long lines 7/11: AT&T requires in store activation
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last year the apple store did not accept pre-orders, or orders of any kind until the minute the stores actually released them for sale. you can COUNT on apple.com selling the new iphone on july 11th, but it is unknown if that will be just the phone you activate later as in the past, or like other cellphones you might actually now be signing on the dotted line for the at&t rate plan contract as part of the online purchase order. sadly i expect apple/at&t will return to the model of "activate when you buy" as a way to stop the jailbreak issue, as many won't jailbreak the phone if locked into a at&t 2 year contract.
The required in-store unlocking is a totally unethical business practice. Just because I bought an iPhone, why does it lock me into a deal that Apple and ATT made with each other>
They are giving you a large discount on the phone in return for you signing a new service contract. If you don't like it, don't buy an iPhone.
I stand corrected, Diode.
I can't believe they are doing this! Boo!!
It's not like I am going to unlock my iPhone (i'm fine with AT&T). It's just annoying to have to go to the store and do it.
do they realize the problems this would cause?
just imagine the 5th AVE apple store, if it truly does take 10 minutes to activate every single phone then people will be in line for hours, no matter how many employees they have activating them...
just imagine the 5th AVE apple store, if it truly does take 10 minutes to activate every single phone then people will be in line for hours, no matter how many employees they have activating them...
That's how it works with almost every other cell phone... Why is it unethical for Apple to do that when it perfectly fine for Nokia, RIM, etc to do that?
That's how it works for every other phone. Why the problem with the iPhone? This is the point where they're lucky that the 5th ave store is open 24/7.
Like others have said what about upgrading? Will we have to go back to the store? The other thing it says is that people will be penalized for not "activating" within 30 days or something. So maybe when you buy it, you give them the account it's on, and they add the 3G service, and you go home and activate it from there.
I wonder for current iPhone users we can just walk in and buy the new iPhone and just put in the 1G iPhone's SIM card. The new iPhone will register the SIM card as activated and upon sync to iTunes, sends the data to Apple/AT&T and billing info changes accordingly. The 3G iPhone does come with a SIM removing tool after all.
I would really suggest to everyone that you go to the store a few hours after the launch. Last year, they stayed open until midnight, but the stores tended to clear out between 2000 and 2100. I remember going into the store at about 2045 and buying a mac. There were only two other customers in the store at that time, while there were 420 in line at 1800. Now this year, it'll probably take longer due to the in-store activations (although I'm sure they'll figure out some process that's at least a bit more efficient than the norm for this type of stuff), but if the stores stay open until midnight, it will clear out eventually.
Now if they don't have an evening launch and just make it available in the morning, then I'd imagine that the numbers of people would be much more staggered, reducing the potential problems with on-site activation.
Now if they don't have an evening launch and just make it available in the morning, then I'd imagine that the numbers of people would be much more staggered, reducing the potential problems with on-site activation.
I think I'll wait to see how it pans out. They might start selling it online, or to activate at home if you buy it in store.
I'll want to hack it (which is obviously what they want to stop) and use it on a different network.
I'll want to hack it (which is obviously what they want to stop) and use it on a different network.
This is what I think will happen in the UK as well. Since they are offering a pay as you go option, whereas before we'd just buy one and unlock it. Goodbye to the days of paying £169 and chucking in your sim from another contract. Luckily the contract is okay and the phone is cheaper now, and 3G.
This makes the most sense to me, no need to do a night launch.. (or maybe i'm missing something there??) with this slower activation they are going to have to give a longer time hopefully from when the store opens..
Expect 30%-40% of the people who might have bought a phone right off not buying one that day.
I don't think this will be a big issue. You won't have people buying for friends, buying for re-sale and all the rest. So you will only have people there are actually ready to activate phone service at that moment, which means you will see a lower demand than you saw last year, by a significant margin.
I think over time the numbers will surpass, but the launch week sales will be slower than for the initial iPhone.
I don't think this will be a big issue. You won't have people buying for friends, buying for re-sale and all the rest. So you will only have people there are actually ready to activate phone service at that moment, which means you will see a lower demand than you saw last year, by a significant margin.
I think over time the numbers will surpass, but the launch week sales will be slower than for the initial iPhone.