AT&T breaks sales records with iPhone 3GS launch
(Credit:
Apple)
The first day the Apple iPhone 3GS went on sale was the biggest sales day ever for AT&T, according to an internal memo sent to company employees that has since been published in various blogs.
That's right, iPhone Day 2009 beat out the two previous iPhone launch days, as well as surpassed traditionally heavy retail sales days such as Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, and December 26th, the day after Christmas.
The new iPhone may not have added a whole bunch of new bells and whistles, but it seems to have certainly been a crowd pleaser. It took Apple and AT&T about two and half months to sell one million phones. The iPhone 3GS hit that milestone in just the first weekend.
But it's hard to say for sure how many iPhones have been sold to date. Apple won't divulge sales figures until later this month when it reports its quarterly earnings. And AT&T has only said that it sold "hundreds of thousands" of iPhones during its pre-order process. But the company has indicated that iPhone 3GS sales were off the charts.
Of course, I may have found the one guy who went to an AT&T store to buy something other than an iPhone. Collins Osei, who had bought an iPhone 3G last year, came to the AT&T store on iPhone launch day not to buy the iPhone 3GS, but instead he wanted to downgrade to a less expensive Nokia phone.
Marguerite Reardon has been a CNET News reporter since 2004, covering cell phone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate, as well as the ongoing consolidation of the phone companies. E-mail Maggie. 
And I was an existing ATT customer, so this is comparing the iPhone to my previous phone.
But that's Los Angeles, where service is good. It varies from city to city, and people just don't seem to digest that. "My experience is the only experience anyone can have!" Hardly.
YMMV. :)
One day, maybe the whole country will unite under the same 4G network using a lower frequency that is more reliable, and everyone can finally choose companies based on price, phones and customer service only, but until then, we have to trade off too much in some places and can't get what we want.
http://www.appletell.com/apple/comment/iphone-3g-has-a-bad-3g-chipset/
I justified the expense by getting rid of my landline and using it for business and personal use.
Waiting for a Verizon/iPhone marriage
P.S. Verizon Android phone a definite possibility
But we shall see what this madness gives iPhone users
Sure, beefing up the network is a great idea...on paper...but let's see what happens. It honestly sounds like a good idea, because the lower spectrum can go through walls and travel further than the higher spectrum
The point? Call quality, reception and dropped calls is regional but also more than simply due to one company. Some people who say "I can never keep a call with XYZ person" might simply have a situation where, for whatever reason, the phones of the two people don't like each other and one or the other phone disconnects part or all of the signal.
Not sure what I would do in the USA, but it sounds all pretty scrappy and that's sad. I hope Apple sees fit to make it carrier neutral for u mob like it is here. Actually in oz Apple now sells the iPhone unlocked direct from it's website, maybe the same will happen in the USA.
PT Barnum was right there is a sucker born every minute. And ole Jobsy knows this!!!
- by shores11 July 7, 2009 5:55 AM PDT
- I agree that network coverage varies from region to region. My old (Verizon) phone was essentially a brick when I visited family in rural Missouri and Illinois. (I live in Atlanta) I switched to the iPhone 3GS and have had no problems with coverage. For the first time ever - I'm able to check my email on my phone while visiting. Verizon may have better service in some areas, but that V-Cast business was all but unusable as far as I'm concerned.
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