Demand for iPhone

I'm visiting San Francisco from So California and local radio here is
awash with reports about iPhone hoopla. The Early Adopters were
standing in line, as I'd expect. There was even a radio report that
Steve Wozniak was in line in San Jose and he'd declined Jobs' offer
of a free iPhone today, Saturday, so he could get his Friday.

Dave Clark
http://home.earthlink.net/~dc1999/
http://web.mac.com/dave28c
http://www.clarklawfirm.com

On 6/29/07 10:21 AM, "John Massengale" <johnmassengale.com> wrote:

> I walked by New York's 24-hour Apple store this afternoon. It was 90 degrees
> outside, and 9 people were waiting in line in the full sun for Friday at 6 pm.

I assume you didn't mean "this afternoon" as in Friday, June 29th (I think
Adam's moderation occasionally plays havoc with the timeline) because I was
in that line (#67) and there were a lot more folks behind me. And it was a
balmy 80 degrees. :)


[Yes, moderation does bad things to fast-breaking or time-specific posts. -Adam]


> If the store is like that Friday I will not be in the line.

It was so you weren't. :)

> If this is like the X-Box mania, it's Apple's fault.

It is and Apple will happily take the "blame" for that. Other companies wish
they had the kind of availability problems Apple has.

Although I will admit that not having my iPhone activated a full 24 *hrs*
after launch is awfully frustrating. But that's not Apple's fault - that's
AT&T.

--
Shawn King (sent from my iPhone!)
Host/Executive Producer
Your Mac Life
http://www.yourmaclifeshow.com

On 6/21/07 12:20 PM, "Dave Scocca" <davescocca.org> wrote:

> --On 6/20/07 4:49 PM -0700 Jeffrey McPheeters wrote:
>
>> (There may be those who will buy the iPhone even though they have no
>> carrier, just to use the other features, and perhaps Apple is
>> anticipating this.)
>
> But the question is--without a carrier, what does the Internet end of things
> get you?

The question was never answered but it gets you nothing - as we now know,
the iPhone won't work without AT&T activaion.

They question we have now is - what happens when you *stop* paying your AT&T
bill? Does the entire functionality of the iPhone stop working or just the
phone bits? In other words, if you stop giving money to AT&T - will your
iPod in your iPhone stop working?

--
Shawn King (sent from my iPhone!)
Host/Executive Producer
Your Mac Life
http://www.yourmaclifeshow.com

On Saturday, I went to the Apple Store in Short Hills Mall at 9am. Expecting a long line, I was pleasantly surprised to find the line only a dozen people long with plenty of iPhones on hand. I was in and out in 10 minutes. I bet those people who spent hours in line just to get a 1 day head start on the rest are feeling pretty silly right about now.

Apple says that they are shipping new shipments of iPhones to Apple Stores every night, and are selling them at 9am on a first come first served basis. You can check availability the night before at:

http://www.apple.com/retail/iphone/

Since the other stores in the mall didn't open until 10, I sat in the Starbucks. It took all of 10 minutes to get the iPhone set up, and my existing AT&T number transferred and activated on the iPhone. (The big plus was that it was all done via iTunes---I didn't have to talk to an AT&T customer service rep, which is always a bother.)

Tomoharu

Quoting John Massengale <johnmassengale.com>:

> In my post below I meant to say the AT&T 3G network "is in place in
> 160 cities." In other words, there are a lot of people (like me) who
> could already use AT&T's 3G network if Apple had included that in
> the first generation iPhone.

Perhaps it is in there and like 802.11n chipsets in the older Macs,
you'll have to pay $1.99 to activate it. Don't know why they would
wait with this one, maybe at AT&T's request?

> This is the main reason I won't buy an iPhone. AT&T (Cingular) service is
> terrible compared to Verizon and Sprint. Big mistake not offering it to all
> services.
>
I've read that Apple approached Verizon first, but Verizon turned them down.
Anyone know if there is any truth to that?

--
Allen Watson . Writer/Webmaster [ p. 503 .281 .0250 m. 503 .916 .9411
e. watson.allencomcast.net
homepage.mac.com/allen_a_watson/

On 7/2/07 15:40 PM, "John Massengale" <johnmassengale.com> wrote:

>>>>> There is also a lot of complaints that iPhone's network connectivity
>>>>> is slow because it works on the old Edge network and not the newer 3G
>>>>> network. That is not a limitation of the iPhone as much as it is due
>>>>> to AT&T's network. I bet the iPhone is already compatible with the
>>>>> faster 3G network, and as soon as AT&T has deployed it, the iPhone
>>>>> will be able to take advantage of it.
>
> But now we read in s Steve Jobs interview that the 3G hardware has problems
> for a small phone and that Apple chose to go with Edge for that reason.

AT&T also upgraded the heck out of their EDGE network. It's not EV-DO fast,
but it's noticeably faster than my PPC-6601's connection, which was also
pre-EV-DO, (1xRTT). It's not as fast as 3G, but it's not unusable either.

--
John C. Welch Writer/Analyst
Bynkii.com Mac and other opinions
jwelchbynkii.com

Shawn King wrote:
> On 6/21/07 12:20 PM, "Dave Scocca" <davescocca.org> wrote:
>
>> --On 6/20/07 4:49 PM -0700 Jeffrey McPheeters wrote:
>>
>>> (There may be those who will buy the iPhone even though they have no
>>> carrier, just to use the other features, and perhaps Apple is
>>> anticipating this.)
>> But the question is--without a carrier, what does the Internet end of things
>> get you?
>
> The question was never answered but it gets you nothing - as we now know,
> the iPhone won't work without AT&T activaion.
>
> They question we have now is - what happens when you *stop* paying your AT&T
> bill? Does the entire functionality of the iPhone stop working or just the
> phone bits? In other words, if you stop giving money to AT&T - will your
> iPod in your iPhone stop working?

Interesting question. And it may be the answer is in the name. By calling it a phone with lots of other features they may have avoided the obligation for it to do anything else when not a "phone".

David Ross

On Jul 2, 2007, at 1:48 PM, kevinvanhaaren.net wrote:
> Quoting John Massengale <johnmassengale.com>:
>> In my post below I meant to say the AT&T 3G network "is in place in
>> 160 cities." In other words, there are a lot of people (like me) who
>> could already use AT&T's 3G network if Apple had included that in
>> the first generation iPhone.
>
> Perhaps it is in there and like 802.11n chipsets in the older Macs,
> you'll have to pay $1.99 to activate it. Don't know why they would
> wait with this one, maybe at AT&T's request?

 From what I've heard, it's because the 3G chipsets used too much
power. If this is indeed the case--and it seems very plausible to me--
the first-generation iPhone does not contain 3G hardware and
therefore will never be able to use the 3G network.

On Jul 2, 2007, at 4:48 PM, Allen Watson wrote:

>> This is the main reason I won't buy an iPhone. AT&T (Cingular)
>> service is
>> terrible compared to Verizon and Sprint. Big mistake not offering
>> it to all
>> services.
>>
> I've read that Apple approached Verizon first, but Verizon turned
> them down.
> Anyone know if there is any truth to that?

Not quite. Apple negotiated with a number of carriers, and demanded
that they accommodate the features that are incorporated in the
iPhone, and that they keep the monthly service charges for below
what's being charged for Blackberry and Windows Mobile. They insisted
that iTunes be music retailer (I'm not sure about video retail, but I
suspect this would be the case too). This was a take it or leave it
deal, I've read.

Apple was also very aware that Cingular/AT&T is the largest mobile
carrier by far, and has the widest available network, which was an
important factor in the decision.

Regarding AT&T's motivation to cut a deal, there was this interesting
observation in the NY Times a few days ago:

---
The new phone comes at a challenging time for AT&T and an inflection
point for the industry.

AT&T's share of new monthly wireless subscribers has fallen steadily
over the last year, notably since it purchased BellSouth and changed
its wireless brand to AT&T from Cingular. In the second quarter of
last year, 29.5 percent of new cellphone subscribers chose AT&T, but
that figure was 25.8 percent in this year's first quarter, Mr.
Hodulik said.

At the end of the first quarter, AT&T had 62.2 million subscribers,
slightly more than Verizon's 61.5 million, said Jonathan Atkin, an
analyst at RBC Capital Markets. But Verizon is catching up a little
bit each quarter.

AT&T is already doing worse than Verizon in terms of customer
turnover, or churn, Mr. Atkin said. AT&T is now losing around 1.7
percent of its subscribers each month, compared with 1.1 percent at
Verizon. T-Mobile's churn is 2.6 percent, while Sprint's is 2.3 percent.

AT&T executives say the buzz created by the iPhone will generate
interest in their other products and inspire customers who do not buy
the Apple device to perhaps buy a different phone from the company.
To accommodate the expected demand this summer, AT&T is hiring an
average of one extra temporary worker in about 1,900 of its wireless
stores who will be trained to sell the iPhone.

''This is going to drive a tremendous amount of traffic and energy to
our stores,'' said Glenn Lurie, president for national distribution
of AT&T's wireless group. He added: ''It'll help our growth not just
in iPhones but in our overall business.''

Mr. Lurie declined to say how much money AT&T is spending to market
the iPhone or how many phones it expects to sell. He said he was not
concerned that consumers would balk at the price of the iPhone, which
costs $499 or $599, depending on how much memory it has. The phones
require a two-year service contract and, unlike most other phones
AT&T offers, it will not be subsidized by the company.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/23/technology/23cell.html/partner/rssnyt

Marilyn

On Jul 2, 2007, at 1:48 PM, David Clark wrote:
> There was even a radio report that
> Steve Wozniak was in line in San Jose and he'd declined Jobs' offer
> of a free iPhone today, Saturday, so he could get his Friday.

There are also reports that Woz "worked" the line, meeting folks,
helping with problems, etc etc, and that the line people then voted
him into the #1 spot just before 6PM.

He's even more overweight than I am. Too much Segway instead of
walking. ;-)

   --John

On Jul 2, 2007, at 1:48 PM, Shawn King wrote:

> I assume you didn't mean "this afternoon" as in Friday, June 29th
> (I think Adam's moderation occasionally plays havoc with the timeline)
> because I was in that line (#67) and there were a lot more folks behind me. And
> it was a balmy 80 degrees. :)
>
>
> [Yes, moderation does bad things to fast-breaking or time-specific
> posts. -Adam]

Which is part of the reason I would write the "this afternoon" as
"this afternoon, Friday, June 29" (with the year for a message likely
to be archived where context isn't clear). Doing so hurts the beauty
of my prose (hah!) while helping understanding.


[And with that, two threads collide - time to start shutting down both, I think. :-) -Adam]


   --John

On 7/2/07 4:48 PM, "Allen Watson" <watson.allencomcast.net> wrote:
> I've read that Apple approached Verizon first, but Verizon turned them down.
> Anyone know if there is any truth to that?

It's true. It was reported by Verizon's CEO. No word on why Verizon turned
Apple down.

--
Shawn King (sent from my iPhone!)
Host/Executive Producer
Your Mac Life
http://www.yourmaclifeshow.com

On 7/2/07 4:40 PM, "Marilyn Matty" <mmattynyc.rr.com> wrote:

> On Jun 29, 2007, at 10:21 AM, John Massengale wrote:
>> I walked by New York's 24-hour Apple store this afternoon. It was
>> 90 degrees outside, and 9 people were waiting in line in the full
>> sun for Friday at 6 pm.
>
> And there were more than a few severe rain/thunderstorms on Wed. &
> Thurs. nights too. From what I understand, most of the faithful did
> not relinquish their spots in the lines at 5th Ave or Soho.

We were there through Thursday night - it lightly misted - no thunderstorms.

> BTW, Dave Pogue has a funny video about the iPhone:

Glad you enjoyed it - we worked hard on that video. :)

--
Shawn King (sent from my iPhone!)
Host/Executive Producer
Your Mac Life
http://www.yourmaclifeshow.com

On 7/2/07 4:48 PM, "John Massengale" <johnmassengale.com> wrote:

> I'd estimated the Apple Store line at 500 to 600 (maybe more),

By the time the store reopened, the line was significantly longer than that.

> which is a lot
> fewer than they had when the store opened and they gave away a MacBook every
> hour.

LO And if Apple had been giving away iPhones, the line would have been
longer. :)
 
> There are many NYC AT&T stores closed. It seems they did this on purpose.

Yup. Apple store employees were getting there iPhone training during the
time the store was closed from 2-6pm.

--
Shawn King (sent from my iPhone!)
Host/Executive Producer
Your Mac Life
http://www.yourmaclifeshow.com

On Jul 2, 2007, at 4:40 PM, David Ross wrote:

> John Massengale wrote:
>> Pogue liked the phone very much but complained that some basic
>> functions were not well thought out. Those will presumably be fixed,
>> also leading to more sales in round two.
>>
> If half the UI is half baked that makes it a better design than
> almost every other phone on the planet.
>
> I have a fairly new Samsung 500M from Sprint. Nice to use. Nice
> features. Digging down through 5 menus to bring up the calendar
> that I can't even sync to my computer without paying an extra
> monthly fee is nuts. I can turn on the speaker phone during a call
> but have yet to figure out how to turn it off. And if I'm using
> voice commands why isn't there a "never mind" option? And on and on
> and on. And I expect these issues to NEVER be addressed or fixed as
> both Sprint and Samsung are very likely only putting real effort
> into the replacement of the replacement of this model. (The
> replacement is very likely feature frozen by now.)

In addition to the same speaker phone problems, on both the Samsung
(business) and LG (personal) cell phones I use I have a big problem
with stuff hitting the buttons for the camera and voice commands,
esp. when the phone is in my purse. This just is one reason why I
find the touchscreen/off features of the iPhone very appealing.

 From what I've read, rival mobile phone manufacturers are in
overdrive to get competitive products out there ASAP, and Sprint,
Verizon, T-Mobile, etc. are introducing big budget new ad campaigns,
promotions, pricing and products. But one problem they face is AT&T's
exclusive agreement with iTunes and the iTunes store, and Apple is
the 800 lb. gorilla in the music space.

But however much I want an iPhone, my sister, mother and other
friends and family members live in an area in which AT&T doesn't have
good service, and I spend quite a bit of time visiting them out
there. So it doesn't make sense for me to change carriers at this time.

>
> I'm firmly convinced that the execs at the cell phone companies
> know we mostly hate the choices they give us but figure as long as
> we keep buying why change. But as the market saturates maybe things
> will get different. We'll see.

I agree with this, and now they have to face the music, literally and
metaphorically.

Marilyn

On 7/3/07 10:07 AM, "Shawn King" <shawnyourmaclifeshow.com> wrote:

>> I've read that Apple approached Verizon first, but Verizon turned them down.
>> Anyone know if there is any truth to that?
>
> It's true. It was reported by Verizon's CEO. No word on why Verizon turned
> Apple down.

Knowing Verizon, it was because Apple wouldn't play the role of supplicant.

--
John C. Welch Writer/Analyst
Bynkii.com Mac and other opinions
jwelchbynkii.com

OK, you know it's gotten totally silly when someone writes a music video
for the iPhone. David Pogue did. Completely hilarious.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vniMR6Ez9cE&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fngalaxy%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F2007%2F07%2Fdavid%2Dpogues%2Diphone%2Dmusical%2Ehtml>

lyrics here:
<http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/07/06/iphone-the-musical-lyrics/>

And featuring, the solo (debut?) talents of Shawn King from Your Mac Life
and participant in this thread.

On 7/8/07 6:31 AM, "Kevin van Haaren" <kevinvanhaaren.net> wrote:

> And featuring, the solo (debut?) talents of Shawn King from Your Mac Life
> and participant in this thread.

No, I've sung before.

This is the first time singing sober though. :)

--
Shawn King (sent from my iPhone!)
Host/Executive Producer
Your Mac Life
http://www.yourmaclifeshow.com

On Jul 8, 2007, at 6:31 AM, Kevin van Haaren wrote:

> OK, you know it's gotten totally silly when someone writes a music video
> for the iPhone. David Pogue did. Completely hilarious.
>
> <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vniMR6Ez9cE&eurl=http%3A%2F%
> 2Fngalaxy%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F2007%2F07%2Fdavid%2Dpogues%2Diphone%
> 2Dmusical%2Ehtml>
>
> lyrics here:
> <http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/07/06/iphone-the-musical-lyrics/>
>
> And featuring, the solo (debut?) talents of Shawn King from Your
> Mac Life and participant in this thread.

ROTFL! IMHO, it's a ballad of longing and desire fulfilled that ranks
up there with anything from the musical versions of Les Miserables,
Oliver, etc. Frank S. must be chuckling in his grave.


[Shawn's the big guy with the shaved head who's the last person in line to sing. Double points for anyone who can identify his wife Lesa. -Adam]


Marilyn

PS: Which one is Shawn?