AT&T is still struggling to convey the fact that it is a seamless blend of two companies--the "old" AT&T with Cingular. Cingular was a brand sensation, having been created out of whole cloth and gaining massive market and mindshare in a very short amount of time. I remember the first time I saw an ad for it, in a subway station in San Francisco, and was struck by how fresh it was, from the name to the color to the lively logo. At the time I knew nothing of its provenance (a merger of SBC and BellSouth), and the impression it left was clean and hip.
AT&T's logo had been updated shortly before this latest merger, an uninspired update of Saul Bass' classic ("Hey, it's 3D!"). According to BusinessWeek, in trying to combine the two identities AT&T is struggling to find the right balance of its old self with young upstart Cingular:
"The new proposition sees the company heading back to basics in an attempt to convey the seamless blend of both merged companies. And, in a move that suggests executives may regret having been so quick to ditch all things Brand Cingular (its quirky but memorable "Jack" logo, often shown bouncing around the screen in ads, was officially retired in May) the wireless company's characteristic effervescent orange will now get more prominent play throughout AT&T's wireless operations."
The warm orange color is the only carryover from Cingular days, and really it doesn't work harmoniously with the cool hues of blue and white in the AT&T logo. The combination feels forced.
Living on a fence like this is dangerous territory for a brand. AT&T is going to have to pick sides, and do it soon. Its relative weakness in the brand balance with Apple shows that it is not dealing from a position of strength, and its lack of clarity on who it is as a company is a part of that.
These days companies must have clear personalities to connect with customers who are more relationship-driven in the way they relate to products and brands that ignite their passions. No one particularly wants a relationship with someone who has a split personality--it's too unpredictable and trust can't develop. AT&T is hurting what trust it had to begin with by staying on the fence.
SGH-A717
(Credit: Samsung)AT&T/Cingular has been a bit quiet lately, but that all changed this week when the carrier announced three new cell phones. Tuesday it was the RIM BlackBerry Curve, and today it's the Samsung SGH-A717 and SGH-A727. Though the handsets aren't brand new (we saw the former at CTIA and the latter at CES), this is the first time they've landed at a U.S. carrier. And it's interesting to note that these are two of the first handsets to show the new AT&T branding. Both offer multimedia features, and this being Samsung, both sport thin designs. Would you expect anything less?
The SGH-A717 is a minimalist flip phone that somewhat resembles Sprint's Samsung SPH-M610. That means it's decidedly trim (0.5 inch) but it's saddled with a ridiculously small external display. Inside, find support for AT&T's 3G UMTS networks, access to the carrier's music and video applications, a 2.0-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, an MP3 player, world phone support and a speakerphone.
SGH-A727
(Credit: Samsung)The SGH-A727's candy bar design won't be new to Samsung fans, as it resembles no less than three other phones from the manufacturer. It shares its design (0.35 inch wide) with the Samsung SGH-X820, the SGH-T519 and the SCH-R510. Its features include quadband world phone support, compatibility with AT&T's 3G network and services, a 1.3-megapixel camera, a digital music player, Bluetooth 2.0, and a speakerphone.
The AGH-A717 will be available Monday but we don't know an exact release date for the SGH-A727. Samsung said only that it will be "soon". Both phones are $149 or $99 with a two-year contract.
Apple iPhone open to third party applications?
(Credit: CNET Networks)During the interview with Walt Mossberg at D5, Steve Jobs apparently let slip (according to the transcript from Gizmodo and Engadget), that even though the Apple iPhone won't start out of the gate with support for third-party applications, Apple is open to it and is working on making that possible later this year. Both transcripts imply that Jobs was concerned about security issues, which is what presumably was holding up the process. The lack of third-party support was one of the biggest complaints about the iPhone when it was first announced earlier this year, so if Apple actually makes this happen, it'll make a lot of people happy. (And one of them is me.) Now if only they'll work on 3G support as well.
Prepaid iPhones? We think not.
(Credit: The Boy Genius)The Boy Genius came across AT&T screenshots that show the Apple iPhone will be available to the carrier's Go Phone prepaid users once it launches next month. Such news is contrary to everything we've heard about the iPhone so far (and granted, that isn't much), so we're a bit skeptical the screenshots are authentic. The iPhone's price with a plan is already sky-high at $499 for a 4GB version and $599 for an 8GB version, so it's not far-fetched to suggest that the cost of an iPhone sans any service rebates would be astronomical. And since prepaid plans are typically marketed toward cell phone users who don't want to pay a monthly fee, it's hard to imagine a Go Phone customer forking over that much cash. It just doesn't make much sense, but we suppose it could happen. Like everything with the iPhone, we'll have to wait and see.
The rebranded AT&T 8525
(Credit: Cingular/AT&T)Today, AT&T/Cingular announced a rebranded and upgraded version of the Cingular 8525 called ... wait for it ... the AT&T 8525. Aside from the new name, the 8525 brings push-to-talk capabilities and support for the carrier's Mobile Music and Cellular Video streaming service (aka Cingular Music and Cingular Video). This is, of course, in addition to the 8525's already powerful feature set of push e-mail, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, HSDPA support, and a 2-megapixel camera. The AT&T 8525 will be available starting May 14 for $399.99.
And hey, Cingular 8525 owners, don't get all worked up now. You can also spruce up your current device by downloading the software update from HTC's site. Cingular/AT&T says there are plans to release a Windows Mobile 6 upgrade for the smart phone later this year, but no specific date was announced today.
Click on the image above to start the BlackBerry Curve slide show
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)Ooo, we'd hate to be a RIM BlackBerry 8800 owner right now. Just months after the 8800's release, Research In Motion and Cingular/AT&T have released a sleeker, sexier model that will make you wish that you had waited a while longer. How the world of technology can be so cruel. The RIM BlackBerry Curve (aka BlackBerry 8300) is the smallest and lightest, full-QWERTY BlackBerry to date, and we're absolutely stoked on the design. We want to be clear that the BlackBerry 8300 is more about the revamped design rather than new features (read: still no Wi-Fi or 3G support), but what can we say? We're a sucker for a pretty face. Unfortunately, Cingular didn't announce an exact availability date or pricing today, but we'll keep you updated as we get the information. In the meantime, check out our full review and First Look video of the BlackBerry Curve for all the glorious details.
Apple iPhone
(Credit: CNET Networks)When it comes to Apple's iPhone it appears that the more we know, the less we know. Engadget was able to get its techy hands on a Q&A document sent to Cingular/AT&T employees. We can't confirm whether it's legit, but it almost reads like a script for an episode of TV's Lost. In other words, it tells us more of what we knew already while throwing us only the occasional bone. Meanwhile, the main details (such as an exact release date) remain wrapped in secrecy.
Still, there are a couple of items worth mentioning. The carrier will offer no subsidies on the handset (hence the $499 for the cheapest model) and both new and current customers will pay the same price. Also, it appears that customers off their contracts will have to sign a new two-year agreement and that only certain rate plans will be eligible. The document also says that the iPhone is just the first in a series of "revolutionary new wireless" products being developed by Apple and the carrier.
And in other iPhone news, Apple dropped a couple other tidbits during its Q1 earnings call. The company sidestepped a question asking whether the iPhone will be widely available in June by stating that it can't yet predict demand for the device. Also, Apple wouldn't say how many iPhones it would release in June and that it will develop new apps and software for the handset. Read more at tuaw.com.
UPDATE on 6/4: Some weeks after this item was posted, Apple revealed its release date for the iPhone: On the first Sunday in June, the company said the iPhone would be available June 29 and began running a series of ads featuring the device.
ORIGINAL POST STARTS HERE: Ever since Steve Jobs' keynote at the Macworld Expo in January, we've known that the iPhone is being released sometime in June. But we haven't known exactly when.
Now Cingular is confirming that the release date will be June 11. A customer service manager at Cingular (we called 800-947-5096 and were transferred to sales) gave us that date late Thursday, but, alas, said he didn't have any additional information beyond that.
That date is no coincidence. It's the first day of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, scheduled to be held in San Francisco from June 11 through June 15. (Incidentally, the agenda includes a focus on Leopard, the next generation of OS X that's supposed to be released sometime in the second quarter of 2007.)
Rumors have been swirling about the iPhone release date. One blog pointed to a release date of June 15 based on alleged documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission, but those have been shown to be a hoax.
Here's some information from our sister site, CNET.com, about the iPhone.
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