The reason for early deliveries...

[samcraig]

If I had to guess the reasons why people are getting emails saying their phones will be delivered now on the 23rd - here are a few..

1. Simply because they can.
2. To lighten the load on AT&T for activationson the 23rd/24th
3. To put the phone in as many hands in possible.

re: #3 - Apple and ATT aren't stupid. They know what at least a lot of hard core Apple fans continue to do. Without name calling - I'll just say that "some" choose to not only purchase their phones online, but make reservations all over town "eating up" other potential sales/etc because they can't wait for their phones.

If the phones are delivered before they hit the street - then all of those phones can be released on launch day.

The "problem" is - they should have made this decision sooner and adopted methods in which people could actually cancel their reservations. Because as it stands now - Apple and ATT will still have to hold those phones until the 25th before selling them.

 

[mrblack927]

Good thoughts. I agree that they probably want to lighten the load. As a suggestion for "number 4"... many people have mentioned that this could take the wind out of the Droid X's sails a little bit.

 

[Hawklight]

If I had to guess the reasons why people are getting emails saying their phones will be delivered now on the 23rd - here are a few..

1. Simply because they can.
2. To lighten the load on AT&T for activationson the 23rd/24th
3. To put the phone in as many hands in possible.

re: #3 - Apple and ATT aren't stupid. They know what at least a lot of hard core Apple fans continue to do. Without name calling - I'll just say that "some" choose to not only purchase their phones online, but make reservations all over town "eating up" other potential sales/etc because they can't wait for their phones.

If the phones are delivered before they hit the street - then all of those phones can be released on launch day.

The "problem" is - they should have made this decision sooner and adopted methods in which people could actually cancel their reservations. Because as it stands now - Apple and ATT will still have to hold those phones until the 25th before selling them.

Or not.

 

[upthespurs]

how about thé most obvious one? Released in 5 countrys? Japan is 16 hours ahead of LA therefore at 8am on the 24th that is 4pm on the 23rd in LA! The same for the UK France and Germany. All ahead of Usa.

 

[Interstella5555]

Frankly, I don't really care why, I'm getting my phone on the 23rd

 

[S1njin]

how about thé most obvious one? Released in 5 countrys? Japan is 16 hours ahead of LA therefore at 8am on the 24th that is 4pm on the 23rd in LA! The same for the UK France and Germany. All ahead of Usa.

Nah. Apple is a US company and they make no bones about it. The date is US centric - if they are going early its for another reason.

 

[caligurl]

Frankly, I don't really care why, I'm getting my phone on the 23rd

this

 

[Sketchr]

It's apparent they certainly didn't count on the massive number of pre-orders. This may be a recent decision by Apple to allow a 23rd delivery simply to avoid chaos and pissing off customers by not being able to complete all orders on the 24th. In the light of demand, the last minute decision makes sense.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

If I had to guess the reasons why people are getting emails saying their phones will be delivered now on the 23rd - here are a few..

1. Simply because they can.
2. To lighten the load on AT&T for activationson the 23rd/24th
3. To put the phone in as many hands in possible.

1) They always had the option to tell FedEx to deliver on any day they wanted so that isn't a real explanation.

2) iTunes activation for home deliveries isn't going to be hard on the servers b/c ATT already has our billing info and no need for another credit check. It's the new activations in-store that are going to tax ATT servers.

3) This is really the same explanation you give in #1, worded differently. Again, Apple could have done this at anytime. It doesn't make sense they would change their marketing course overnight for that reason.

The most logical reason IMHO is that FedEx told Apple that it needed to start delivering phones as soon as it rec'd them or they might not be able to deliver them all on the 24th. I doubt FedEx is in a "Xmas mode" right now w/ staffing and a lot of drivers are probably on vaca, which means temps that don't know their route as well as the main driver.

 

[Steviejobz]

Occam's razor would suggest it is just another error in a string of errors starting from day 1 of this pre order process.

Only this time, the error is in our favor

 

[sparkomatic]

All I know is that I woke up this morning with that early delivery email in my inbox. So nice!

I think it might be to lighten the load on activations personally.

But, my iPhone better get moving if it's getting to my doorstep tomorrow cause it's still in Alaska!

 

[elephunkman]

What if these phones don't come on the 23rd.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Occam's razor would suggest it is just another error in a string of errors starting from day 1 of this pre order process.

Only this time, the error is in our favor

I don't think so. I think it would suggest the opposite -- that Apple wants to prevent delivery issues. Occam's Razor = take things to logical conclusion and don't over think or get to fanciful.

 

[Ferris23]

Kind of annoying we have all these posts about the same thing, the OP thread title states a fact then I come in to read "If I had to guess"

 

[BeyondtheTech]

The only reason is because they trust that AT&T will continue to fail them and all of us. Pretty sad, when you really think about it.

 

[uberamd]

Kind of annoying we have all these posts about the same thing, the OP thread title states a fact then I come in to read "If I had to guess"

I agree. The title should have been "I am guessing that the reason for early deliveries..."

I don't think so. I think it would suggest the opposite -- that Apple wants to prevent delivery issues. Occam's Razor = take things to logical conclusion and don't over think or get to fanciful.

Apple and AT&T both have logistics experts from shipping companies coordinating launches. Apple knew they would sell all of their produced iPhone 4 devices. Because of this, I highly doubt it was an issue of not being able to deliver devices as needed. This isn't their first rodeo.

 

[samcraig]

The most logical reason IMHO is that FedEx told Apple that it needed to start delivering phones as soon as it rec'd them or they might not be able to deliver them all on the 24th. I doubt FedEx is in a "Xmas mode" right now w/ staffing and a lot of drivers are probably on vaca, which means temps that don't know their route as well as the main driver.

I disagree. This is not an overburden to FedEx. They are far more capable than you think/want to believe - even not in "xmas mode."

And FedEx has never dictated terms before just like you want to argue that Apple could have done this before.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Apple and AT&T both have logistics experts from shipping companies coordinating launches. Apple knew they would sell all of their produced iPhone 4 devices. Because of this, I highly doubt it was an issue of not being able to deliver devices as needed. This isn't their first rodeo.

Riiiiight. And they have server engineers too to make sure pre-ordering is smooth as silk. Did you just wake up today from a two week sleep? Hint: 6/15.

 

[michael31986]

fed ex still says 24th for me but emal said 23rd anyone on here have their fed ex tracking also say 23rd

 

[frenchie0101]

well i think theres actually no way for UPS FedEX to just hold onto to shipments until 24th, unless they risked delaying the release from china

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I disagree. This is not an overburden to FedEx. They are far more capable than you think/want to believe - even not in "xmas mode."

And FedEx has never dictated terms before just like you want to argue that Apple could have done this before.

Do you work for FedEx? Otherwise how can you definitively say FedEx didn't call up Apple and tell them they can't guarantee delivery for all phones on the 24th and they need to start delivering immediately? Given the pre-ordering CF I imagine Apple is a little gun shy to more bad pub. They are likely trying to get ahead of the curve here.

Also where did I say FedEx "dictated" terms. Apple has a contract w/ FedEx. Both parties negotiated those terms. I have no idea what the terms are. Regardless it doesn't preclude either party from asking for a wavier or a change.

 

[uberamd]

Riiiiight. And they have server engineers too to make sure pre-ordering is smooth as silk. Did you just wake up today from a two week sleep? Hint: 6/15.

Server load and delivery load are two entirely different things, for you to even relate the two shows a lack of understanding on all fronts. 600,000++ people hitting a server at the exact same time to check eligibility status, etc will cripple most networks. Couple that with the fact that once there is one issue a giant queue of people forms hammering the system the moment the system comes online which makes things worse.

The amount of expansion both Apple and AT&T would have needed to do to make everything run without a hiccup on order day would have been insane given that they only needed these systems for a 24 hour window. Chances are AT&T servers are also too antiquated to expand on a whim like that anyway.

Shipping is a different story. Apple knew since production that every single produced device would sell. They also knew what quantity that would be ahead of time, and worked with FedEx and UPS logistics experts to ensure that they could handle the load. If you think Apple didn't plan this with the shipping carriers, you are nutso.

 

[frenchie0101]

if the courier was to hold a certain parcel dont you think it would just cause massive congestion in the sorting system, there will be hundreds and hundreds to pick out and then store for one day and then drop them back in to re sort again.

 

[babby]

Under promise ove deliver

Something Apple does often (not all the time) is under promise and over deliver. It is a good business practice. Something a lot of these other companies don't understand when they promise these great products and never deliver them.

Apple will have a lot of happy customers tomorrow. It is not bad for business. Nothing ever wrong with exceeding expectations. Might even make many forget about last weeks fiasco. The lasting impression people will have is they got this wonderful phone a day early. Not all the problems they had ordering it.

 

[OneMike]

Frankly, I don't really care why, I'm getting my phone on the 23rd

ha

all that matters to me too