Did Stringent Requirements cut into iPhone Holiday Sales?

[Jeff Campbell]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://adage.com/article?article_id=133872' target='_blank'>http://adage.com/article?article_id=133872</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"As she ticked off her holiday-shopping list, public-relations executive Rebecca Sullivan prepared to buy her husband an iPhone. But like many other potential gift-givers, she was thwarted in trying to put the hottest handset around under the Christmas tree."</em></p><p><em><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1232400520.usr105634.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></em></p><p>When I bought my first iPhone, it was a lot easier since I could take it home and activate it right from my computer. For some consumers wanting the element of surprise, the current requirement to activate in-store may have put a damper on it, and I suppose could have actually affected sales. One alternative that is offered is a gift card from Apple, but that certainly doesn't have the same effect as being able to watch someone open up a package and see the iPhone box. For me, though, I just worked around it. I was told by AT&amp;T when I purchased my wife's iPhone 3G, that her current iPhone would be in service for about 3 hours and then would no longer be active, which gave me a small window, but a window nonetheless. And for my daughter's iPhone, we surprised her with a visit to the Apple Store, which is a treat in and of itself when you live where we live. If you want the iPhone bad enough I don't think this roadblock will stop you.&nbsp;</p>

[doogald]

Goodness, people just need to take a breath and relax sometimes.

[Vincent Ferrari]

Goodness, people just need to take a breath and relax sometimes.

You have to wonder if people just churn this crap out just to get under people's skin. I don't get the "stringent requirement" claim. I've worked in the wireless business most of my life (12 years in August, more than 1/3 of my life) and we've NEVER done anything else. You can't get a phone from us without activating it either, and by us I mean all the carriers we serviced then and the two we service now.

Sorry, folks, but that's just the way it is in the wireless business. I don't know why everything AT&T and Apple have done, which is run of the mill in our business, is perceived as something they concocted.

Made up controversy is so de rigeur these days.

[Tim Williamson]

Or you could buy a used iPhone, unlock, jailbreak, and not have to worry about any "stringent requirements". ;)

[ucfgrad93]

Goodness, people just need to take a breath and relax sometimes.

Agreed. Some people will go to great lengths to have something to piss and moan about.:rolleyes:

[Fritzly]

You have to wonder if people just churn this crap out just to get under people's skin. I don't get the "stringent requirement" claim. I've worked in the wireless business most of my life (12 years in August, more than 1/3 of my life) and we've NEVER done anything else. You can't get a phone from us without activating it either, and by us I mean all the carriers we serviced then and the two we service now.

Sorry, folks, but that's just the way it is in the wireless business. I don't know why everything AT&T and Apple have done, which is run of the mill in our business, is perceived as something they concocted.

Made up controversy is so de rigeur these days.

You should look around a little bit more; I was already using a cellular phone, here in the US, when 90% of the people were still carrying a beeper and I never bought one of these crippled, Carrier locked phones you are talking about.
I bought my iPhone in Europe, SIM free, Carrier free, and I can use it with whatever provider I decide to use.
Btw I crunched some figures and guess what? In spite of the € exchange TCO is cheaper than an AT&T locked one; not to mention that freedom is priceless....
Sites like these should enlighten people not do the opposite.
So long AT&T.....

[Vincent Ferrari]

You should look around a little bit more; I was already using a cellular phone, here in the US, when 90% of the people were still carrying a beeper and I never bought one of these crippled, Carrier locked phones you are talking about.
I bought my iPhone in Europe, SIM free, Carrier free, and I can use it with whatever provider I decide to use.

When you bought your analog phone, there was no such thing as a carrier-locked phone. NYNEX Mobile started that trend and in 1998 (when I started in the business) AT&T introduced their DMN One Rate plans, which required a Nokia 6160, the only phone available for the service (it was TDMA PCS). You couldn't get on that service if you didn't have that exact carrier locked phone. Sprint was just launching and had two phones: A Sony and a Qualcomm, both of which were carrier locked. Omnipoint was around also, same deal; they were SIM locked. In fact, the only phones that weren't locked were analog phones that weren't on Verizon's prepay plans, and eventually that went away, also.

While you were walking around "using" your phone before everyone else, I was in the business and selling phones to people like you, so don't lecture me on how the business works.

Secondly, in the year 2009, that's how the business works in the United States. Every carrier requires activation to sell you a phone and most require contracts also. AT&T is not unique in any respect. Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, Nextel, Alltel, Cricket, Urban, and Nextel all work the same way, meaning you can't buy a phone, in 2009, in the United States, that isn't locked to the carrier unless you buy it from someone who imports them from Europe or who sells GSM phones directly and isn't affiliated with a carrier, but again, that's not what we're talking about.

[Pony99CA]

Secondly, in the year 2009, that's how the business works in the United States. Every carrier requires activation to sell you a phone and most require contracts also. AT&T is not unique in any respect. Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, Nextel, Alltel, Cricket, Urban, and Nextel all work the same way, meaning you can't buy a phone, in 2009, in the United States, that isn't locked to the carrier unless you buy it from someone who imports them from Europe or who sells GSM phones directly and isn't affiliated with a carrier, but again, that's not what we're talking about.
There was a Best Buy commercial about somebody wanting to give a phone for Christmas. The premise was that the sales associate told the customer how to make that work (and the associate said the customer could then call the new phone under the tree). That sounds like they delayed activation.

Also, if you buy a phone from the carrier's Web site (at least with Verizon), it doesn't come activated (otherwise you'd lose phone service if you were replacing one phone with another). They send you instructions telling you how to activate the phone.

Maybe carriers need to come up with a delayed activation system. They put the phone in their systems with all activation details and list it as dormant. That way the old phone works as long as necessary. When the customer turns the new phone on, the systems mark it as active and the old phone as dormant.

Then, after the return period ends, the carrier could remove the dormant phone. Or maybe not. If the customer wants, they could keep the old phone and easily switch between them by turning the active one off and turning the dormant one on (this would probably be more useful on CDMA systems; on GSM, you can just pull the SIM card as long as the phone isn't locked). That would also be useful for situations where you lost a phone -- you wouldn't have to have the carrier activate the old one, just remove the newer one from the system.

Steve