AT&T Gears Up for the iPhone

ElvaWSJ writes "In preparation for its exclusive launch of the cellphone industry's most anticipated device, AT&T is pulling out all the stops. It is adding about 2,000 temporary employees to cope with the influx of shoppers in the first few months. And it is planning for enhanced security to control the potentially large crowds and avoid theft of the phones, which will go for a steep $499 or $599, depending on memory capacity. Some sales agents expect to see people camping outside the night before. 'Apple, which plans to start selling the phone in all of its 162 retail stores on June 29, did not disclose any plans around training or staffing for the launch. Apple will also start selling the phone online on the launch date, but AT&T will first launch only in its stores ... AT&T, which is requiring iPhone shoppers to sign up for a 2-year contract, has not yet revealed the service fees it will charge iPhone customers.'"

No Apple Stores, and new hire reps?

[us7892]

Not on sale at Apple stores?

So, the user interface is so easy, that a just-hired AT&T customer service person can't screw it up. This user interface must be the best of all time!!

Re:Other Carriers

[Vellmont]

...as with every phone before it, if it's on AT&T's network, it's GSM. That means no, you can't use it on verizon, yes, you can use it on T-Mobile.

Ever heard of locked phones? Just because the phone uses GSM doesn't mean it'll work on anyone but AT&T. There's unlocking methods available, but that doesn't mean they'll work.

Re:Am I the only one...

[businessnerd]

No you're not the only one. But I wouldn't exactly say it's going to flop. I think it will do well, just as most other smart phones and pda's do well. Nothing overwhelming. It may seem like a flop just from the amount of hype that Apple and AT&T are trying to generate. There certainly will not be any long lines or opening day campers. There will be no fights breaking out and there will not be riots in the streets when the supply iPhones runs short. When people are in the market for a new phone, they will likely look into the iPhone. Some will bite, many won't. I can certainly see market share picking up in the next few years though.

Stupid Data Plans

[lord_sarpedon]

The iPhone is pushing in the direction that the cell phone industry should have moved a long time ago. Limitations now are not largely technological. And yet I somehow doubt that, the day of release, they will suddenly be awestruck at the recognition of their horrible, shameful pricing plans. Sure, data plans are poised to become much more main stream, but carriers will keep making arbitrary distinctions between voice and 'data' just because they can, and it will be a cold day in hell when we start paying a flat rate for unfettered wireless access as we do with the internet. Their customers are sheep. It's that that will most hinder the adoption and spread of anything iPhone-like... Perhaps when the day comes that Apple bundles a VoIP client the industry will finally feel fear...you know, some kind of competition that forces them to adopt sane policies. I refuse to pay for cell phone service until that happens.

2 year contract?

[fermion]

For the normal customer looking for the cheapest phone, a two year contract is often required. However, I have in the past been able to pay $50 and get a one year contract. Why do I do this? To prevent the contract hell in which one loses a phone after the first year, then has to sign another two year contract to get another phone, and so on. In any case, it saves on the insurance which would be at least $50 for the year.

I hope that ATT is going to use this opportunity to improve it's reputation for customer service. However, I suspect that they will simply create innovative new ways to force people into contracts they don't want. I was kind of up on this iPhone thing, I don't really have a problem with ATT, but as we get closer, I don't know if ATT isn't going to return to it's scumbag roots.

iPhone recently Shrunk

[Anonymous Coward]

They also tweaked the iphone design to make it smaller [boingboing.net].

Watch the demo, then comment again

[EmbeddedJanitor]

Go to http://www.apple.com/iphone/ [apple.com] then watch the launch keynote. Then try to honestly say you'd rather have that current ugly lump you call a phone. I am not a fanboy, but I realise that there is the iphone and there is the rest.

Yes, there will be rabid KoolAid-drinking fanboys that will throw away a phone + plan bought yesterday and buy one of these. However, the fans would most likely have held off buying phones since the January announcement. There will be a lot of people who have plans that have expired or will expire in the next few months. Apple can achieve their sales goals within the normal upgrade stream.

AT+T already has almost 60M subscribers. Apple has set a target of selling 10M iphones in 2008. They coupld probably do that within the AT+T client base without getting anyone to switch.

From a manufacturing stand point, the last thing Apple wants is for everyone to dump their phones and buy iphone on the day of release. Manufacturing huge numbers is very difficult. With the goal of selling 10M phones in a year, almost 1M per month, they'd rather have customers roll in slowly than in one big wave. Plan lock in helps because it means that people will wait until their current plan completes (or nears completion), thus providing a smoothing effect.

Re:Am I the only one...

[TrippTDF]

I'll bite

Huge Apple Fanboy that I am, I just don't think this one is going to fly- it's too pricey for personal use, and it doesn't have the features to attract the business professional. Other similar devices (like the Motorola Q) run about $200, and can integrate nicely into exchange. I just don't know who is actually going to buy these things, other than people looking for a status symbol (ok, that's going to be everyone at first).

I think the amazing Apple marketing machine is stopping right here, folks.

Re:Stupid Data Plans

[Khisanth Magus]

In Japan, the cell phone plans are for a flat amount of bandwidth. Doesn't matter if it is data, voice, whatever. This does have its drawbacks, however. Almost no one calls in Japan anymore. Because text messaging drains so much less bandwidth than calling, thats all anyone ever does. Admittedly it is becoming more common here in the US as well, but at least we are willing to call someone on occation.

Sorry, I don't understand

[JamesRose]

I live in the UK, and when I walk into a mobile phone shop, I get shown a selection of phones, all of which work on every tarriff (orange, o2, virgin etc.) and I look, and a nice helper comes up and explains all the features, and after a lonhg explanation I choose a phone I would like. After this, we sit down and I say how much I will use the phone, and the sales assistant will say, well, you could go for pay and go, and that means the phone will cost you £150 (average high end example) and that I can top up any time I want and the amount I top up will give me so many minutes. He will also say you can get this phone on contract, and will present me with several 1 or 2 year contracts for this phone ranging from £15-£50, and of course minutes, and off-peak minutes and data transfer provided will vary. However, what will not happen is when they ask me if I want a contract, they will never charge me for that phone, that's how it works, the phones don't cost them much to produce, and they are gaurenteed your income for 1-2 years so they don't charge for the phone, in absolute extreme cases they will charge £50 for a top end phone on a short contract. Does that really not happen in America? Or does it work the same way for everyone but Apple in America? I mean $600 on a phone where you are probably paying out $75 a month for 2 years anyway?!

Re:What is this "iPhone" thing you speak of,

[i_like_spam]

I don't know, but it seems to have become a little bit smaller recently.

Apple uses big-handed model to "shrink" iPhone [boingboing.net]

Re:I just don't get one thing...

[frdmfghtr]

I think a lot of people want to seem important. Put it down. Walk away. You'll feel better. I know I sure as hell do.

You are quite correct. There is a paper written by Hans Geser of the University of Zurich entitled "Towards a Sociological Theory of the Mobile Phone" [socio.ch]. In the paper (I haven't read the whole thign yet but it could be interesting) he states the following (pages 8 and 9 of the pdf version of the paper):

3.2 Accentuated differences between socially integrated and socially marginal
individuals
Under traditional no-tech conditions, the difference between socially integrated and socially isolated
individuals is levelled by the fact that even very highly integrated individuals are "lonely" during certain
times: e.g. when they are on the move or physically distant from their kin and friends.
Today, mobile phones allow these well-integrated people to display their social contacts even under
such conditions of mobility and absence: standing thus out against socially isolated, marginal individu-
als at all times and places.

In other words, mobile phones amplify pre-existing differences in social participation and integration,
rather than attenuating them (Puro 2002: 28).

The reason why so much cell phone activity goes on in public may well stem from the symbolic status
display functions associated with the availability and actual usage of this new technology: "status" not
in the sense of higher wealth or education, but in terms of intense social integration:
"If you are without a mobile phones it means that no one depends on you for urgent direction,
and no one needs to get in touch with you at all times. It means you are not cutting deals, giving
orders; in short, not get-ting around all that much." (Bautsch et. al. 2001)

I read another article once where the trend in Japan was to have a cellphone to your ear, even if you weren't talking to anybody--it was a means of emphasizing your social status. I wish I could find that one, but in my hunt for it I came across the Geser paper.

Thats all they need

[tacokill]

That's all they need.

The real money is in version 2.0

Ver 1.0 is just to get a foot in the door. It didn't matter if it was wildly successful but the fact that it is, just means 2.0 will be easier (and more profitable).