AT&T reverses one-iPhone policy

Go ahead, buy three.

(Credit: Corrine Schulze/CNET Networks)

Just one day after instituting a policy of one iPhone sale per customer, AT&T said Thursday that it has ended the policy both on its Web site and in its retail stores. Customers will now be able to buy three iPhones per person, a limit that the carrier enacted when the device first went on sale almost a year ago.

The nation's largest carrier and exclusive provider of the iPhone imposed the new policy only Wednesday, limiting iPhones to not only one per customer, but also one per household. At the time, AT&T gave no reason for the limit, nor did it make an official announcement. An AT&T spokesperson declined to comment and even a customer service rep we spoke to over the phone was unaware of the one-iPhone limit.

According to Information Week, the carrier lifted the new limit after realizing it has "sufficient inventory" to revert to its original policy. What's more, though AT&T started selling refurbished iPhones earlier this week at a $150 discount, the refurbished models are no longer listed on AT&T's site.

It's a bizarre turn in the wait for the 3G iPhone, which is expected to launch during Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference that starts June 9. Apple has not set an official release date for the device, but recent iPhone inventory shortages in the United Kingdom and the United States have fueled speculation that a launch is imminent. Also, Apple is no longer selling the current iPhone on its online store.

[jag0]

For christ sake AT&T and Apple...release the new iPhone ALREADY!

[Seaspray0]

When they include the active sync (promissed as new addition), then it will be worthy of consideration. Until then, I will not recommend it to any of my business clients. Active sync requires 4 lines of information... server, username, password, domain... and it works. It's about time the iphone no longer was a toy and became a useful business tool. Beleive me; businessmen live and die by their emails.

[GERGreg427]

How hard would it be to put an 5 instead of a 6 in a date form ie 5/15/08 instead of 6/15/08. Could this be AT&T's way of letting us know the date without actually saying, "Hey, its going to be on the 15th of June" It seems like a good date for me. Ship on the 10th and it is recieved all over the US and World 5 days later. (Boom, instant world-wide domination)