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AT&T Dead Quiet After PR Hell Week
One crisis analyst says that's a big mistake...

AT&T's had about as bad of a public relations week as you can have, taking a beating across all fronts for delayed support for new iPhone features (MMS, tethering), poor wireless network performance, application crippling, and steep upgrade costs for existing iPhone users eager to buy the new iPhone 3GS. One "crisis communications" expert for a PR firm says AT&T had about 24-48 hours to respond to all of the criticism, and that was yesterday.

While to some degree the upgrade complaints are silly because users were under contract and shouldn't expect subsidized pricing for a new phone, the complaints still hurt AT&T -- as they ride tandem with ongoing complaints about AT&T network quality and pricing. The expert says AT&T could greatly help their image by backing down anyway and showing flexibility and customer appreciation:

quote:
If AT&T was his client, Lawrence said, he'd urge the company to immediately own up to its error and tell all iPhone owners that they can upgrade to the iPhone 3G S as soon as it's available for $199 or $299.

"And they should say they will do that for every iPhone that Apple launches because they want the iPhone users to be part of the AT&T family for life," said Lawrence. "That would be the type of statement that would be leading -- outside the industry norm -- and would let iPhone users know they can make a commitment to AT&T because AT&T has made a commitment to them."
So far though, AT&T's been dead quiet to criticism of any kind, be it the costs of upgrades or their lagging support for iPhone 3.0 functionality. Even the normally industry-friendly Wall Street Journal has gotten in on the action, taking AT&T to task for those data plan reductions that were rumored but never arrived. Can't a giant, immensely powerful and wealthy telecom conglomerate catch a break?
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baineschile
2600 ways to live
Premium Member
join:2008-05-10
Sterling Heights, MI

baineschile

Premium Member

shhh......

The silence of no one replying to this article is a testament of att's lack of network enhancement.

Please please Apple, come to verizon.
glinc
join:2009-04-07
New York, NY

glinc

Member

Re: shhh......

second this.

Verizon Network and EVDO is much more reliable. Heck, even sprint's EVDO is more reliable than AT&T

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

1 edit

en102

Member

Re: shhh......

Yuck - please not Verizon Wireless.

T-Mobile - definately (its already GSM based anyways)
Sprint - well, it does work
VZW - yuck. When I had it, it was h3ll in Los Angeles. Bad billing, dropped calls ensure that I'll never go back.

I personally use AT&T, mostly because of a good discount from my employer - 28%. It does work well in my area, but it has had its issues here in the past.

Frink
Professor
Premium Member
join:2000-07-13
Scotch Plains, NJ

1 edit

Frink

Premium Member

Re: shhh......

you should see the stuff being put in at vzw...holy crap...what recession...

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

1 edit

1 recommendation

en102

Member

Re: shhh......

Until VZW's CEO comes and kisses my a$$ and offers an apology on TV for attempting to ruin my credit rating (their corporate store lost my cancellation and kept billing me, and attempted to send me to collections), VZW will not have any business from me.
They also need SIM cards, IMO, and no brew/gin unified screen for me to make use of it.
dcdeadbeat5
join:2008-10-07
Washington, DC

dcdeadbeat5 to en102

Member

to en102
said by en102:

Yuck - please not Verizon Wireless.

T-Mobile - definately (its already GSM based anyways)
Sprint - well, it does work
VZW - yuck. When I had it, it was h3ll in Los Angeles. Bad billing, dropped calls ensure that I'll never go back.

I personally use AT&T, mostly because of a good discount from my employer - 28%. It does work well in my area, but it has had its issues here in the past.
I second that. I think the problem is with the iphone and not AT&T. I really wish the Pre was on AT&T to give me a better choice. My friends with Bolds never have problems but I can be standing right next to them and have problems.

Shame on Apple for producing such a subpar product.

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102

Member

Re: shhh......

I personally think its a bit of both...
iPhone is a high volume data device (full HTML) compared to pretty much every other device out there.
AT&T has had poor 3G deployments, and in areas are spectrum starved, causing a lot of issues.

I have an HTC Tilt and V9x, and they work great. On Sprint, I have a Treo 800w, and Sprint has very good coverage in SoCal. I dislike it for making calls, as the calls are highly synthesized compared to what I get on AT&T. To be fair, I rarely drop calls on either - probably 3 dropped calls since last November, and many of my calls (work) are 1-3 hours during the day.

bnope2088
@cox.net

bnope2088

Anon

Re: shhh......

I KNOW its a bit of both, dropped calls on ATT, switch to T-Mobile sim (yes jailbroken and unlocked) - flawless - and I' dont mean standing in one spot, I'm talking about driving all over town with each one to make this statement.

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102

Member

Re: shhh......

A lot of that can also vary by location.
T-Mobile is also very good out in SoCal (one of the oldest GSM networks - and was built from the ground up as one, vs transformed into it).

S_engineer
Premium Member
join:2007-05-16
Chicago, IL

S_engineer

Premium Member

Re: shhh......

said by en102:

A lot of that can also vary by location.
T-Mobile is also very good out in SoCal (one of the oldest GSM networks - and was built from the ground up as one, vs transformed into it).
T-Mo is horrible in big spots in Chicago. Verizon also had bad reception on the South Side at least, however, Verizon recognized that issue with my zip, and released me from my contract without paying an ETF. T-Mo will still charge the ETF no matter what the reception is. From that standpoint, Verizon did not burn the bridge!
yabos
join:2003-02-16
London, ON

yabos to dcdeadbeat5

Member

to dcdeadbeat5
Sorry but that's complete BS. My iPhone works completely fine on Rogers

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102

Member

Re: shhh......

Rogers has what... 7.7 million customers and what 65MHz of spectrum ? AT&T has almost 10x that, and less spectrum in most markets.

I also suspect that Rogers has less overall 'load', due to its expensive options - like having to pay for long distance, voice mail and caller id on most plans.
yabos
join:2003-02-16
London, ON

yabos

Member

Re: shhh......

Which is why it's AT&T not the iPhone that has the problem. Their network is not designed to handle the iPhone in a lot of places.

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102

Member

Re: shhh......

I will agree with that. I suspect that the Los Angeles market (or NYC market) has as many or more customers as Rogers does total. IF AT&T had at least 2 carrier channels/market from the start, AND in the markets that had 850MHz they had deployed 3G on 850MHz from the start.

AT&T's deployment was anything but smooth in many areas. If they had purchased spectrum (like T-Mobile did with AWS), it might have been less of an issue... but then again, there aren't a whole lot of devices on AWS 3G (iPhone included).

Canada only has 3 wireless carriers, there's typically 4 in most urban markets (VZW/AT&T/Sprint/T-Mo) and a handful of smaller carriers (Cricket, MetroPCS, USCC) all using pieces of spectrum. I don't count Nextel/Boost, as they use 800SMR spectrum.
Point being - 3G UMTS channels consume 5MHz (10MHz paired) of spectrum - unless you have a lot of spectrum, its not an easy fit and migration. AT&T 'needs' to manage its voice/data.
dcdeadbeat5
join:2008-10-07
Washington, DC

dcdeadbeat5 to yabos

Member

to yabos
said by yabos:

Which is why it's AT&T not the iPhone that has the problem. Their network is not designed to handle the iPhone in a lot of places.
I disagree with that. I can make a call to my office (on my iphone) and someone else standing right next (on a blackberry bold) can call the same number for a conference call and I get disconnected but not the person using the bold. It's definitely not just AT&T. The iphone is subpar in sound quality as well.

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102

Member

Re: shhh......

That makes me glad that I have the HTC Tilt.
It has excellent audio quality. Comparing it to the Treo 800w is a joke (Treo's speaker has to stay low otherwise its clipping/distorted). Headset is better - but the audio codec on the Treo 800w (Sprint) makes the sound noise free (no background noise), but also highly synthesized, and if I'm not mistaken, either the phone and/or headset is half duplex, causing many issues during a conference call.

NOCMan
MadMacHatter
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Colorado Springs, CO

NOCMan to yabos

Premium Member

to yabos
Agreed we went overseas, popped in a SIM card and worked great..

AT&T has a crappy network..

VZW will have LTE starting this year.. AT&T will complete HSPDA upgrades in 2011.. They just want VZW to do the upgrade so they can let users roam on it while they build a pittance of a LTE network as slowly as they can. I hope VZW rapes them on roaming charges.
Big Dawg 23
join:2002-03-27
Northfield, MN

Big Dawg 23

Member

Re: shhh......

I don't understand how roaming has anything to do with this. AT&T has GSM and Verizon would have LTE.

Those networks are not compatible.

No current handhelds have LTE.
ImBatman
join:2004-04-21
Lancaster, CA

ImBatman to NOCMan

Member

to NOCMan
said by NOCMan:

Agreed we went overseas, popped in a SIM card and worked great..

AT&T has a crappy network..

VZW will have LTE starting this year.. AT&T will complete HSPDA upgrades in 2011.. They just want VZW to do the upgrade so they can let users roam on it while they build a pittance of a LTE network as slowly as they can. I hope VZW rapes them on roaming charges.
I'll second that. But, then again, EVERYTHING AS&S is inferior. (Altho, regrettably, i did purchase a set of cordless phones from costco (receipt in hand in case they should die a typical AT&T death) and that is so far so good).

ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium Member
join:2005-03-14
Woodstock, CT

ptrowski

Premium Member

I don't agree about the upgrades....

People forget that there is a contract piece to getting the subsidized phones. I wanted a 3G and was not eligible so I paid full price. It is what you do when you want something out of contract. AT&T/Apple set a bad precedence the first time around, but a contract is a contract.

Sometimes it costs more money to be on the bleeding edge. If you really need the toy NOW, you have to pay to play.

gigahurtz
Premium Member
join:2001-10-20
USA

gigahurtz

Premium Member

Re: I don't agree about the upgrades....

said by ptrowski:

People forget that there is a contract piece to getting the subsidized phones. I wanted a 3G and was not eligible so I paid full price. It is what you do when you want something out of contract. AT&T/Apple set a bad precedence the first time around, but a contract is a contract.

Sometimes it costs more money to be on the bleeding edge. If you really need the toy NOW, you have to pay to play.
I agree. They did set a precedence the first time but remember that customers paid much more for the original iPhone. It was not subsidized as the 3G and 3G S. I paid $599 for my first iPhone and while I extended my contract two years when I activated it I did not pay the subsidized price.

AT&T is going to need to take a serious look at their network if they plan on keeping the iPhone exclusive.

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert to ptrowski

Premium Member

to ptrowski
said by ptrowski:

People forget that there is a contract piece to getting the subsidized phones. I wanted a 3G and was not eligible so I paid full price. It is what you do when you want something out of contract. AT&T/Apple set a bad precedence the first time around, but a contract is a contract.

Sometimes it costs more money to be on the bleeding edge. If you really need the toy NOW, you have to pay to play.
Maybe AT&T should do 1 year contracts on iPhones instead of 2 years.

ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium Member
join:2005-03-14
Woodstock, CT

1 recommendation

ptrowski

Premium Member

Re: I don't agree about the upgrades....

said by Robert:

said by ptrowski:

People forget that there is a contract piece to getting the subsidized phones. I wanted a 3G and was not eligible so I paid full price. It is what you do when you want something out of contract. AT&T/Apple set a bad precedence the first time around, but a contract is a contract.

Sometimes it costs more money to be on the bleeding edge. If you really need the toy NOW, you have to pay to play.
Maybe AT&T should do 1 year contracts on iPhones instead of 2 years.
Why though? I don't see any reason as to why they should make any exceptions at all. A phone is a phone no matter who makes it.

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert

Premium Member

Re: I don't agree about the upgrades....

said by ptrowski:

said by Robert:

said by ptrowski:

People forget that there is a contract piece to getting the subsidized phones. I wanted a 3G and was not eligible so I paid full price. It is what you do when you want something out of contract. AT&T/Apple set a bad precedence the first time around, but a contract is a contract.

Sometimes it costs more money to be on the bleeding edge. If you really need the toy NOW, you have to pay to play.
Maybe AT&T should do 1 year contracts on iPhones instead of 2 years.
Why though? I don't see any reason as to why they should make any exceptions at all. A phone is a phone no matter who makes it.
Because the iPhone has given AT&T a huge boost in customer base and if they want to keep riding this wave, they better make better accommodations, or come 2010, Apple will take their phone to another carrier - and so will the millions of iPhone users.

ptrowski
Got Helix?
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join:2005-03-14
Woodstock, CT

ptrowski

Premium Member

Re: I don't agree about the upgrades....

said by Robert:

Because the iPhone has given AT&T a huge boost in customer base and if they want to keep riding this wave, they better make better accommodations, or come 2010, Apple will take their phone to another carrier - and so will the millions of iPhone users.
They very well might, but to me it would be a bad business practice to the rest of their customers that don't use an iPhone. I could see that creating a big problem with them.

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert

Premium Member

Re: I don't agree about the upgrades....

said by ptrowski:

said by Robert:

Because the iPhone has given AT&T a huge boost in customer base and if they want to keep riding this wave, they better make better accommodations, or come 2010, Apple will take their phone to another carrier - and so will the millions of iPhone users.
They very well might, but to me it would be a bad business practice to the rest of their customers that don't use an iPhone. I could see that creating a big problem with them.
Problems never seem to have stopped AT&T before

On a serious note, it could turn out to be better for everyone. The iPhone is already forcing AT&T to upgrade their network, and even bring their data price down (rumored). Other changes could impact other phone users, in a positive way.

tubbynet
reminds me of the danse russe
MVM
join:2008-01-16
Gilbert, AZ

tubbynet to Robert

MVM

to Robert
said by Robert:

Because the iPhone has given AT&T a huge boost in customer base and if they want to keep riding this wave, they better make better accommodations, or come 2010, Apple will take their phone to another carrier - and so will the millions of iPhone users.
exactly. att is trying *everything* to keep customers happy with the iphone (short of giving everyone who has an iphone a free "rub and tug"). however, what they've done is cater to the whiniest people who feel that they should have anything they want when they want it, contract be damned.

q.
sonicmerlin
join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH

sonicmerlin

Member

Re: I don't agree about the upgrades....

Wow. And I suppose in your opinion we should assuage the aches and pains of a giant, ultra-wealthy corporation the likes of which we haven't seen since Ma Bell, is that right?

What you call "whiny", I call power users constantly riding the wave of new technology, subsidizing it with the exorbitant fees they pay for the inevitable masses of followers.

tubbynet
reminds me of the danse russe
MVM
join:2008-01-16
Gilbert, AZ

tubbynet

MVM

Re: I don't agree about the upgrades....

said by sonicmerlin:

What you call "whiny", I call power users constantly riding the wave of new technology, subsidizing it with the exorbitant fees they pay for the inevitable masses of followers.
but they signed a c-o-n-t-r-a-c-t. that c-o-n-t-r-a-c-t stipulates that the user has a window to upgrade their phone for a discounted fee. i call the i-tards in question whiny, because they are saying that "even though we signed a contract, we should still be able to upgrade early". no other carrier, no other phone even, offers this deal. why should the iphone be made an exception other than att giving a reacharound to anyone and everyone to try and protect exclusivity while keeping the apple fanboi-fanbase happy.

q.

kfsutops
Premium Member
join:2002-08-19
Lutz, FL

kfsutops

Premium Member

Re: I don't agree about the upgrades....

I don't have a problem with concept of being under contract and all that jazz..I don't like it, but I can't complain.

I just want to know if I pay the higher price will my contract still get extended? This what AT&T has done in the past.

tubbynet
reminds me of the danse russe
MVM
join:2008-01-16
Gilbert, AZ

tubbynet

MVM

Re: I don't agree about the upgrades....�

said by kfsutops:

I don't have a problem with concept of being under contract and all that jazz..I don't like it, but I can't complain.

I just want to know if I pay the higher price will my contract still get extended? This what AT&T has done in the past.
if they do, then att does have issues. normally, you should be able to purchase a phone outright and just flip phones. you have not agreed to take a subsidized phone (which is why the contract is there in the first place). honestly, if att did that, i would tell them to shove it.

q.�
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx to tubbynet

Member

to tubbynet
yeah. Stoopid elitist whiny pigs...

*drools over new MacBook Pro*

Anyway, not going with AT&T on the iphone, still. They're EDGE-only here and though their network is faster than anyone else's it's still only 70-100 kbps. On the CDMA side we've got 3G from Sprint and VZW...

kfsutops
Premium Member
join:2002-08-19
Lutz, FL

kfsutops to ptrowski

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to ptrowski
I bet you AT&T tries to add another two years to your contract if you pay at full price (not getting any subsidized, reduced price).

Noone seems to be asking this question. If I pay the full price because I don't qualify for the reduced price will they extend my contract?

I bet so. They tried to do that when I returned a phone for warranty work. AT&T are the scumbags of the earth.

But then again, Apple isn't much better.

ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium Member
join:2005-03-14
Woodstock, CT

ptrowski

Premium Member

Re: I don't agree about the upgrades....

said by kfsutops:

I bet you AT&T tries to add another two years to your contract if you pay at full price (not getting any subsidized, reduced price).

Noone seems to be asking this question. If I pay the full price because I don't qualify for the reduced price will they extend my contract?

I bet so. They tried to do that when I returned a phone for warranty work. AT&T are the scumbags of the earth.

But then again, Apple isn't much better.
They did when I bought the 3G. I asked them about how that could be, and they said that it was the way it was done with the iPhone.but have since changed it. I told them I should then receive a credit since I did not get the susidized price but my contract was extended. We are still going round and round.
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx to kfsutops

Member

to kfsutops
AT&T will allow you to get the iPhone unsubsidized, no contract extension. it's just $400 more than a contract purchase. Likewise if you're halfway through your contract and are willing to sign another 2-year agreement they'll give you a $200 discount over retail.

Personally, since nobody else in the US has 3G on 850/1900 via GSM, my first-gen iPhone is just fine if I don't want to use AT&T.

Steve B
Premium Member
join:2004-08-02
Auburn, WA

1 recommendation

Steve B to ptrowski

Premium Member

to ptrowski
I have to agree with this. If you under contract you need to wait. Eligible customers should be able to get the discount. Otherwise you pay full retail price for the device. It does not matter if one thinks its too expensive, its a brand new PDA device by Apple....think about that for a second....APPLE......PDA....those two combined would = very expensive.

djrobx
Premium Member
join:2000-05-31
Reno, NV

2 edits

1 recommendation

djrobx to ptrowski

Premium Member

to ptrowski
People forget that there is a contract piece to getting the subsidized phones
Yep. I think people got confused because original iPhone owners got to upgrade to the 3G without having to pay the higher price.

They paid $399+ for that original iPhone. The subsidy was already "paid off". The whole point behind the new lower pricing is that you'd pay it off over the course of 2 years. If you didn't keep it that long, well, of course they need to charge you the "ineligible for upgrade" price. Seems pretty logical to me.
Noone seems to be asking this question. If I pay the full price because I don't qualify for the reduced price will they extend my contract?
If you're not eligible for the reduced pricing, it means you're still in the process of paying off your previous phone. So, figure the extra money you're paying is going to pay off previous phone, and now you're getting a new subsidy on your new phone. So they should extend your contract again.

There's another price point ($599) for a completely contract free phone. You'd need to buy that to not extend your contract.

tubbynet
reminds me of the danse russe
MVM
join:2008-01-16
Gilbert, AZ

tubbynet

MVM

a subset of iphone users make me sick...

"And they should say they will do that for every iPhone that Apple launches because they want the iPhone users to be part of the AT&T family for life," said Lawrence. "That would be the type of statement that would be leading -- outside the industry norm -- and would let iPhone users know they can make a commitment to AT&T because AT&T has made a commitment to them."
but what about all of the other carrier-subsidized phones? i'm with att on a blackjack2. where is my ability to upgrade *any*time to a new jack or an epix? its ludicrous to say that att *must* allow the upgrade of all iphone users regardless of their contract progression.
i don't understand why it happened in the first place. so the first-gen iphone users got a less capable phone than the second-gen users. big whoop. thats what you get for being "bleeding edge". att thought it would be a good idea (and keep apple fanboi loyalty up) by allowing it the first time. now everyone is *expecting* it. the sense of entitlement these people must have.

now, what i'm going to say isn't designed to offend. i have seen the mention of a lot of people here that understand how contracts work, even with the iphone. i am not targeting those people. my complaint is that *a lot* of the iphone users are part of the younger generation who expect everything handed to them, regardless of what piece of paper they signed. i am simply disgusted that they feel att *must* allow them to upgrade, even on contracts that are less than a year old. you bought a piece of technology. it was only a matter of time before it wasn't "top o' the line" anymore. simply astounding. these *are* the people that deserve to be called itards. whiny ones at that...

q.

••••••••••••
cajun4x4
join:2000-10-02
Rayne, LA

1 edit

cajun4x4

Member

I want it now!

I really hate it when people continually whine that the are not treated fairly and will continue to kick and scream until they get what they want. A contract is a contract and if people want the freedom to have the option to upgrade every year then pay the full price of the device and move on. Call me an AT&T fanboy if you want, but any other carrier would treat their customers in just the same way or even worse.
sonicmerlin
join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH

sonicmerlin

Member

Re: I want it now!

Ok, you're an ATT fanboy for not seeing the entirety of the situation.

gdm
MVM
join:2001-06-15
Mchenry, IL

gdm

MVM

AT&T is just screwed up

I understand the 2 year contract but they really are shooting themselves in the foot with that, mms and tethering.

I got my iPhone last December and it says I am eligible on 11/2009. Yet my wife's BJII which we got May of 2008 says it's not upgradable till 1/2010. Explain to me how that makes any sense what so ever.

••••••••••••••••••••
witmer1
Premium Member
join:2002-09-23
Llewellyn, PA

witmer1

Premium Member

promises....

AT&T failed on so many fronts with WWDC announcements. On top of that if anyone remembers the Microcell product promised and updates to iPhone released. AT&T seems to be really losing it.
anderboy
join:2007-07-23
Leander, TX

anderboy

Member

iPhone 3GS, huh?

Suckers!

•••

rahlquist
Redeye
join:2001-10-30
Villa Rica, GA

rahlquist

Member

The Ipone is not everything nor their only problem.

I am sitting here in my office with my Tilt plugged in charging watching it drift in and out of network coverage, from 2 bars to zero. FFS Its like plaing craps.

Hookem99
Deep In The Heart
join:2007-07-18
Pflugerville, TX

Hookem99

Member

I was going to call at&t....

.....to complain about no MMS and tethering, but the first time I tried the call failed and when I called back, as the CSR was answering, the call was dropped!

spewak
R.I.P Dadkins
Premium Member
join:2001-08-07
Elk Grove, CA
·Consolidated Com..

spewak

Premium Member

Curiouser and curiouser!

Isn't is curious how Apple is producing options for their phone so fast that At&t cannot keep up. Or is it that they will not keep up? I believe they (At&t) know Apple is going to dump them as the exclusive carrier once their contract is up in ott'10. Verizon is up next and appears to have all their apples in the cart, so to speak!

•••

donnyb
join:2001-01-06
Sacramento, CA

donnyb

Member

Negative PR

With AT&T receiving such a wave of negative PR they need to do something. I think silence at this point will only be more detrimental to the company. With the upgraded prices for current iPhone 3G being $200 more then new and qualified upgrade. I think this price should have been limited to a $100. If and when Apple opens up the iPhone to different carriers in the United States, AT&T will lose millions of subscribers, and is failing on all fronts at this point. AT&T is also failing to creating a loyal customer base, which will hurt their bottom-line in the long run. People that are current iPhone users if the iPhone was available for Sprint tomorrow would you switch? I'm using Sprint as example because most would switch to Verizon because of the better network. I am thinking because of the negative PR, people would choose to switch to a smaller carrier at a cheaper monthly rate. I pre-ordered a new iPhone 3GS with the extra $200 premium. I am also waiting to see how AT&T will respond to the negative PR. I can say that if the iPhone does come out for a different carrier. I'll consider paying the ETF on two phones to switch at this point.
SyNiSt3r
join:2007-04-26
Morristown, TN

SyNiSt3r

Member

Re: Negative PR

They will bend or they will break. Its up to them. They dont really have much of a choice. They can offer everyone a set date of July 19th to upgrade if they wish or they can simply do nothing and in the end lose phone sells and probably being exclusive carrier of the iphone after its all said and done.
Verison or any other company would be happy to take on the iphone at this point and they will allow us the use of the options on the phone to boot.
I seen an article that stated they had a petition of nearly 10k people who signed busting ATTs balls over the upgrade situation.
I have a feeling it wont be long till ATT speaks.

Hpower
join:2000-06-08
Canyon Country, CA

Hpower

Member

.

So glad I don't have a damn iphone. Takes forever to do anything on it. I always see my friends just sitting there waiting for things to load. Not to mention always being low on battery lol.

But yea its time for verizon or sprint to get the iphone. AT&T has been a pain in the a-ss.

xxzone
@64.55.39.x

xxzone

Anon

Re: .

What a retarded comment. It doesn't take forever to do things unless you have jailbroken and loaded too many mobile substrates on it. The iphone has always been considered one of the fastest smartphones out there. Get your facts straight. I really hate apple, but when looking for a new phone I got sick of every other phone being compared to the iphone, so it really made sense to get one.

With double the ram I'm all over the new one, now you can have a ton of mobile substrates with now lag. I'm not a fanboy by any means, but I was easily won over once I started using the phone. Credit where credit is due, apple did a damn nice job overall with this phone. There are plenty of area's where you can criticize the iphone, so pick one that is actually true.
Celia
join:2001-12-05
Chicago, IL

Celia

Member

why att does things like this lol :)

lol here is my story, i bought iphone 3g like about a week ago, and i saw they came out with new iphone 3gs so i went back to see if i can get the 150 price different between the 299 i paid and the new 149 price. The sales who helped me before trying to give me back 150, but his manager only allow 100, so i call ATT try to see if i can get credit that way, they said even tho the refund should be 150 but it is up to the store to give w.e the hell they want to pay back and told me i can bring the phone back return it since it is has 30days full refund on it and buy it again for the price i want, only down side to this is i lost the number i got already + 36 activation fee and they get used phone. I mean it is a lose-lose situation, why wouldnt the damn att store just give back what they should.
sonicmerlin
join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH

1 recommendation

sonicmerlin

Member

Re: why att does things like this lol :)

Dude what are you, 8? I couldn't understand a single "sentence" you wrote.
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx to Celia

Member

to Celia
Moral of the story: don't buy an iPhone in the summer if it's been out a year

HomeLvr
Premium Member
join:2002-01-01
Atlanta, GA

HomeLvr

Premium Member

moved.

I just moved to verizon because of the lack of a reasonable upgrade option for the new iPhone.

drew
Radiant
Premium Member
join:2002-07-10
Port Orchard, WA

drew

Premium Member

Re: moved.

What isn't reasonable, in terms of the overall cell phone market, about AT&Ts plan for the 3GS?
dmelling
join:2009-02-26
New Paris, OH

dmelling

Member

Sprint

I have the same issue with Sprint - tried to get a Pre but they would not let me have the lower price as if I am a new customer. I have only been with them 13 years....and in the past 12 months they have got just over $2500 from me!

SLC 96
join:2005-04-03
Chicago, IL

SLC 96

Member

Re: Sprint

You should be a premier customer and able to get the pre for the new customer price. I would talk to someone else.

Sprint customers can get a new phone every year for the intro pricing if they have been a customer or 22 months or longer.

ConfusedInTexas
@sbcglobal.net

ConfusedInTexas

Anon

apple good for AT&T

I'm sure it's painful for AT&T to take abuse from all this stuff out there, justified or not, about their wireless products/services.

But I think the Apple relationship, assuming AT&T is able to and wants to nurture and continue it, is great for AT&T. Apple is not one to settle for sub par consumer experiences and might just drag AT&T, kicking an screaming, to the forefront of technology and speed and turn it into a market leader instead of a follower.

gball
Master Yoda
Premium Member
join:2000-11-28
South Bend, IN

gball

Premium Member

ME TOOOOOOO!!!

I WANT TO BE ABLE TO UPGRADE MY PHONE EVERY YEAR WITH SPECIAL PRICING CAUSE IM SPECIAL ALSO JUST LIKE ALL THE IPHONE USERS!!!!

MAKE IT HAPPEN AT&T
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx

Member

I'll bet the investors have iPhone...

All of a sudden even investors are up in arms, feeling entitled to get special treatment with the iphone by getting a full discount of $400 rather than $200 as would be somewhat nromal halfway through the contract.

Heck, usually carriers only subsidize a phone about $300 (for a smartphone) or $150 (for a regular phone) over two years, with a $75 subsidy at one year. AT&T is probably making a tidy profit selling iPhones at full retail since an iPod Touch of similar capacity costs about $300 less. Still, a $200 per year subsidy is no small potatoes. Though the $10 per month data plan fee increase over the first-gen iphone means that the net discount is $80ish per year, in line with other AT&T phones.

OTOH, other smartphones don't get a $200 discount per year and they also need a $30 package for data.

Which gets me thinking...seems like the 1-year-into-the-contract pricing for the 3gs is about what you'd pay for a comparable first-gen iphone after the price cut. Since a new iPhone comes out every year, the math works out.

So why is everyone whining, other than being entitled Apple brats? Apple isn't giving away the farm on this one but nobody's getting screwed. If you're *that* worried about money, sell your iphone. I'm sure it'll bring in at least $200 unless you've abused it, so you effectively get the same price as new contract buyers. Simple!

highhatsize
Norm, The Basset For All Time
Premium Member
join:2001-02-08
Madison, WI

highhatsize

Premium Member

OT Remark

As a Verizon customer, I take advantage of every opportunity, however tangentially appropriate, to excoriate them for the mendacious, incompetent, indifferent plankheads that they are. After my numerous Kafkaesque transactions with Verizon, I would like to take that Verizon technical "guy" and drop him in the middle of an anti-cellular riot, (which I would, happily, organize), with only a Verizon cellular phone with which to telephone for help.
flyingjoey
join:2005-11-07
Jersey City, NJ

flyingjoey

Member

how I got my Iphone

I went to the stupid store, bought a 16gb iphone paid 299, requested the cheapest available plan available, had the service for 31 days, then canceled paid the 170 bucks, and I got to keep my damned phone.

Better yet I took the sim card out of my company's crackberry and that's what I've been using for the longest. To make a long story short, I refuse to pay ATT's ridiculous prices the only reason why I'm using the iphone is because someone else is paying the bill.

Btw, look to the newsgroups and you can find the the 2G and 3G 3.0 software.

Already updated my phone... no big difference between the 2.2.1 and 3.0 except for the cut/copy/paste and the

RiseAbove
Premium Member
join:2004-01-30

RiseAbove

Premium Member

Re: how I got my Iphone

said by flyingjoey:

I went to the stupid store, bought a 16gb iphone paid 299, requested the cheapest available plan available, had the service for 31 days, then canceled paid the 170 bucks, and I got to keep my damned phone.

Better yet I took the sim card out of my company's crackberry and that's what I've been using for the longest. To make a long story short, I refuse to pay ATT's ridiculous prices the only reason why I'm using the iphone is because someone else is paying the bill.

Btw, look to the newsgroups and you can find the the 2G and 3G 3.0 software.

Already updated my phone... no big difference between the 2.2.1 and 3.0 except for the cut/copy/paste and the
ATT never billed you the difference in cost from the 299 to the full retail for canceling early?
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