Happy hour with the iPhone
The American public will get its first chance to buy the iPhone at 6 p.m. in each local time zone, Apple confirmed Wednesday.
We don't recommend putting your iPhone in a pint.
(Credit: Casimir Fornalski/CNET News.com)Somehow, I don't think Apple and AT&T will have two-for-one specials on the iPhone, but my New York-based colleagues will be the first to see how crowds react to the release of the iPhone at 6 p.m. ET. Those of us out here in California will have to wait until 6 p.m. our time for the official release of the phone, in yet another blatant example of East Coast bias.
And yes, Chicago and Denver residents who have to be first on the block with an iPhone will also get to spend Happy Hour standing in line, although you'll probably want to take the day off if you really want to get one. Apple and AT&T are being coy about how many units they expect to have on hand in major stores around the country, but it's not expected to be very many, and presales are not an option.
It also means that those of us following TMHGIH (The Most Hyped Gadget In History) will have to work late on what will probably end up being a beautiful Friday summer evening, thanks very much, Apple. After weeks of speculation about the launch date itself, Steve Jobs decided to end all speculation during his Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, revealing the iPhone would go on sale at 6pm. It took a couple days, however, to confirm whether Apple was aiming for a simultaneous launch or a rolling New-Year's-Eve style event.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. 
- How will this work????
- by ajajaj55 June 13, 2007 6:12 PM PDT
- Ok I have a question on how the service contract will work if I get my iphone at an apple store. I understand it would be like any other phone purchase if I was getting it at an ATT store going through the service contracts, etc.... However are the apple stores going to have service stations set up to get your cell account/plan/options up and running ?
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- "How will this work?"...Their way ONLY!!!
- by MamaGrizX4 June 13, 2007 7:36 PM PDT
- Cingular/ATT is the only carrier. You won't be able to get them at an Apple store or ATT store. But don't waste your time trying to find out what the service plans will be. I tried yesterday. The empolyees don't know a thing!! Or have been sworn to secrecy. They claim there are vaults being installed to house the iPhones in each store, until the release time. I've done lots of research. My top pick was the MOTO Q until I found the iPhone. I have really researched and learned everything about the iPhone- I'll be able to use it out of the box. The only draw back right now is the service plans. Each (MOTO Q & iPhone) belongs to different companies offering different plans. If Cingular can't come up with a plan as good as or better than what MOTO Q has, then I'll kiss the iPhone goodbye. Right now the plans that Cingular offers for DATA service run about $80-$90 more per month, than the plan I can get for the MOTO Q at the competitor. You do the math...
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(5 Comments)Or will you buy the phone straight up in the store with no activation and then call att customer service when you get home and set everything up over the phone with them.
It doesn't seem like apple stores are set up new accounts as opposed to the ATT stores are because they do this every day. I am switching providers as well just to get the iphone so I am wondering how this is going to work....??