Apple’s Success and AT&T’s Failure
Today was a bittersweet day in the tech world. Apple’s announcements were big and well received. But, the subsequent failure of AT&T to keep up with Apple’s successes, left me ho-hum.
Here’s the deal. Apple announced software and hardware changes today. Including…
-New Macbook Pro’s. Including a 13″ version for only $1199 (Available today)
-New OS upgrade “Snow Leopard” will be available in September for $129 or $29 for upgrade.
-Reworked Quicktime with new interface and editing capabilities.
-Safari 4. With some great new stability features. (Available today)
-The expected, 3.0 OS for the iPhone. Which will be free (available on the 17th) And it includes tethering and MMS!!!
-But, the biggee! A new iPhone. The iPhone 3GS. The “S” stands for speed which is the biggest feature.
So, here’s where it gets bittersweet. Although there is a new iPhone. AT&T is not offering the new price discount(subsidized pricing) to all existing customers for the iPhone. Only for new customers and existing customers, eligable for an upgrade. And, although the new OS includes tethering and MMS, AT&T isn’t even going to have these feature available on their network till, possibly fall! And it looks like tethering could be EXPENSIVE! (some reports are at $70 a month)
For a new or upgrade eligable AT&T customer, the pricing is…
$99 for existing 8g 3G iPhone (This is available today!)
$199 for new 16g 3GS iPhone (Available the 17th)
$299 for new 32g 3GS iPhone (Available the 17th)
Nice pricing, considering, you can now own the existing 3G for $99! A highlight for Apple in this process, all their prices have been lowered and become almost unbeatable in comparison pricing.
Here is what you get if you are an existing customer not eligable for an upgrade.
As an existing AT&T customer, I would have to pay $200 more, than a person that has never handed AT&T a dime in their life. Not cool! I have never understood why companies choose to devalue their existing customers and increase opportunity for people who may never even be customers. I have been with AT&T for about 10 years and I still get zero, special privilege, Something’s backwards.
UPDATE:
I just talked to a friend and he said that AT&T has released some new info. Neither the rep I talked to at AT&T nor the Apple site knew this info, but it looks like it is for real. Here is a quote from apple insider…
“To qualify for the iPhone 3G S at the advertised $199 (16GB) and $299 (32GB) price points, existing iPhone 3G users will have to have remained customers for what appears to be a year following their purchase. That means current users who bought their iPhone 3G shortly after its launch last year will have to wait a year from their iPhone 3G purchase date to qualify for the new price.”
So, if this is true, it means that I would be able to purchase the new iPhone after July 11th, which is when it was released and I purchased it last year. Funny that even though I have been a customer for 10 years, this still is not enough for me to qualify.
So, yes, I am bummed about AT&T’s decision. But I am very excited about the new iPhone and here is why.
-Speed! Between 2 to 4x faster than the existing 3G iPhone. Although the new iPhone looks exactly the same, the insides have been completely redesigned.
-New 3mp camera. With auto focus and video. Although jailbroken apps can give you video capabilities on the 3G, the new 3G with a better camera, built in video, video editing and auto focus is pretty slick
-Digital Compass. this actually really excites me. I love the ability to have the Maps app actually point me the direction I am going! The built in digital compass auto orientates all maps applications and apps can take advantage of this feature as well.
-Voice recognition. Almost all features of the iPhone can be accessed and managed via voice commands. Make calls, listen to music, select certain system settings. Nice.
All of these features are enough for me to want to own the new version. I even have a buyer for my old iPhone, but alas, I am stuck waiting to see if AT&T will allow any other pricing. In the past, AT&T has allowed all AT&T customers, new and existing, to take advantage of new iPhone pricing for a period of time.. I am hoping in the next week, before the iPhone 3GS is available (the 19th) that AT&T will reconsider.
In addition, I am super excited about the new 13″ Macbook Pro. This option now allows for much cheaper pricing for us as a church as we continue to upgrade office, video and audio systems!
just tweeted you, but in case you miss it … what is “tethering”?
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I answered you on Twitter, but I’ll answer here for anyone else that might not understand.
Computers access the internet via a cable or WiFi. AT&T’s 3G network is essentially a WiFi network that allows the iPhone (and other data devices) to access the internet anywhere, anytime as long as their is cell signal.
Tethering allows me to use the iPhone as my “modem” for my computer. Say I am in a car traveling on vacation and the kids want to take my computer and go online to play some online video games. Obviously, the computer doesn’t have access to the internet. we are traveling, there is no WiFi access to connect to the internet. But, with tethering, I can connect my computer, wireless to my iPhone and use it’s data network access to gain access to the internet.
you can actually do this now with a jailbroken iPhone and an app called PDANet. It is beautiful. With the new iPhone 3GS, this comes as a standard ability and you can gain complete access to AT&T’s 7.2mbps 3G network. that’s faster than my cable internet access at home!
I feel like the leading communication companies are actually slowing our progress in technology. When is a comm company going to lead us into the future rather than stumble along trying to keep up with hardware. It’s like comm companies react to advancements in technology rather than create them.
Lame….
When they decide that progress is more important than profit…
i know what my birthday present is going to be!!!!
btw…you do a great job w/ your “then/than” usage.
impressed!
stegall´s last blog post…lessons learned on the job search journey: order, order
Ha! Thanks
so glad you did your review in “brandi” language!
brandiandboys´s last blog post…Have You Ever Played?
Ha! i’d have it no other way. Exited for you to pick yours up!!!
“Exited for you to pick yours up!!!”
“EXITED”.
now THATS not brandi language.
dude.
your awesome wife´s last blog post…which is worse?
Quite happy with my pre.
portorikan´s last blog post…Dangerous Intersection: Live Oak Plantation Road and Thomasville Road, Tallahassee, Florida
The Pre looks good. It will be interesting to see how well it integrates with apps once they start getting more of them. Anxious to see battery life to. My buddy in town has had anymore luck than the 3G so far.
Battery life is pretty weak with it, especially if you work in a roaming area, but other than that very nice. Looking forward to better twitter apps.
portorikan´s last blog post…Dangerous Intersection: Live Oak Plantation Road and Thomasville Road, Tallahassee, Florida
I love the look of it. And I am sure it feels good.
It really does. The smaller size feels really good in your hands although the keyboard feels a little cramped, and is quite different coming from a Blackberry. I have a friend who likes to call it a cute compact. He has an iphone.
The last 2 comments I typed have been from my pre. If you’re a google user, it’s a bit like having mobileme for free. Push email is very nice, especially coming from a Blackberry. Also having my ical and pre calendars sync ota is very nice as well.
portorikan´s last blog post…Dangerous Intersection: Live Oak Plantation Road and Thomasville Road, Tallahassee, Florida
Have you owned an iPhone before? I know a lot of people hate the keyboard, but it’s never been an issue for me.
Also, I love Google Sync for iPhone which allows calendar and contacts to sync OTA and in turn google syncs to ical and address book. Although, I am using just the iPhone to Google sync right now. Sounds similar to what the Pre is doing.
I’ve played with one and a touch but I have no desire to have ATT as my service carrier. From what I’ve noticed from folks that have it, the service is poor and costly (I have an unlimited family data plan, unlimited text messages, unlimited roaming, nights and weekends at 7 and 1500 anytime minutes for about $215/month for 5 phones). You can’t beat that price plus ATT hates the internet. Have a hard time supporting them.
If/whenever the iphone is free of ATT’s lock, I would seriously consider it, but not before then.
portorikan´s last blog post…Dangerous Intersection: Live Oak Plantation Road and Thomasville Road, Tallahassee, Florida
I think I live in a unique area, cause I have had zero issues with AT&T service ever. I am pissed at what they are doing right now, in not supporting the new features though.
Why do you think they don’t like the internet? I’m not sure what you mean.
And we have 4 lines, 3 iphones all with data, 1500 minutes free nights and weekends and unlimited texting for all lines and we pay around $210 a month. Of course $90 of that is data plans.
Some of it is just me being silly. If you read some of the history of how the internet was created or being created, they (ATT general) saw it as a threat and tried to stifle its progress. Their Internet plans are pretty weak sauce as well (granted, what ISP has awesome plans right?) but a lot of what they’re trying to do with caps at 5 GB or data is a bit ridiculous.
That’s not bad actually with the pricing, but if you were to add another iphone or two I’m guess the data rates would go up? That $215 I mentioned includes data on any phone (Blackberry, pre or otherwise), and our nights and weekends start at 7 as opposed to 9pm.
portorikan´s last blog post…Dangerous Intersection: Live Oak Plantation Road and Thomasville Road, Tallahassee, Florida
Bottom line AT&T is in it to make a buck and they are proving that right now with their failure to provide service for Apple’s product. It is only a matter of time before Apple changes or allows others to be involved.
Crazy!
Very true. Can’t really fault them for that I guess.
LOL. I looks like the thread got too tight there.
I think once the iphone gets released from ATTs clutches in the states, it will blow up more than it already has. It will be interesting to see how that affects ATT overall.
portorikan´s last blog post…Dangerous Intersection: Live Oak Plantation Road and Thomasville Road, Tallahassee, Florida
Haha. Indeed.
The problem is there is only Verizon, Sprint and Tmobile really.
Verizon can’t handle multiple data setups at once. Sprint’s network is way too small for coverage and Tmobile is still a baby.
I think AT&T will always be a part of iPhone and the most widely used, but I hope Verizon comes up with something. They are building a new network that should hand;e multi function devices like the Pre’s and the iPhones.
Let me start by saying I’m no ATT apologist. I just dumped them after 8 years because I’ve had enough.
But offering subsidized phones only to people within their renewal window or new customers has not only been their policy for years, but for most other carriers as well. It makes no business sense to pay most of the price of the device if they are not getting anything out of you. Early adopters will pay the bucks, and the iPhone will be like every other device – subsidized for new or renewed contracts.
The tethering thing is baffling. I was tethering my old Nokia on ATT’s GPRS network years ago (from the Cingular days) , and had no problem tethering my LG to the 3G network. This is clearly an effort to add a “value added” (read: additional cost) service to the phone at a future date. (apparently this is the case with my current Sprint plan – looks like I’ll be hacking!)
What is the point of Apple announcing the phone can be tethered if the only carrier they sell to will not? Seems like a little marital spat to me.
The video and nav things are perplexing. Perplexing in that video is pretty much old news in every other phone on the market, and GPS is pertty common as well. I guess that’s “planned obsolescence” from Cupertino.
I will give you that the iPhone is a slick package, and what is on it does seem to just work. Some like style, some like substance. Let’s hope the iPhone gets a little more substance without yanking too much out of everyone’s pocket.
Mike Mahoney´s last blog post…Album Review – Back & Forth – Lanae Hale
Subsidized phones is a standard for all carriers. But, the iPhone is different.
Mobile Phones are proprietary to the carrier. Every Blackberry, Motorola and Sony, etc, is made for the specific carrier. i cannot take a blackberry made for AT&T and use it on Verizon. It is a way for AT&T to buy large quantities of product for little to no cost and for the phone manufacturers to have guaranteed product purchased.
Here’s where the iPhone is different. Apple owns it. Apple builds it. Apple sells it. An iPhone can be used on other carriers by way of a small software change. It is not a hardware thing. Also, AT&T has placed an agreement on the table that Apple will work with them and AT&T will provide service for their product to work. AT&T is no longer doing that and has gone out of their way to make a heavier profit on the new iPhone…a part from Apple.
AT&T has always allowed subsidized pricing for Apple’s product for all customers exisiting or new. even for a limited time. We should have seen this coming, but the routine was that AT&T would continue to provide Apple’s product to their customers as usual. They did not. Exisitng iPhone customers are not happy about this, because they are Apple customers first and AT&T has created an obstacle to them owning it. They are now back tracking at the end of yesterday and allowing some options. We may even see more, but I doubt it.
My opinion is that AT&T and Apple have worked out a “tier” style release of this phone so that they can handle demand and product flow. Shutting out existing owners of the iPhone and allowing only new customers to purchase the new iPhone for the first 3 weeks, will allow this management. It’s harsh, but I think that’s what;’s happening. If there are no lines for the iPhone on June 19th (or at least not like in the past), it is AT&T doing Apple (if they don’t have a part in this) another disservice with bad press. People will think the iPhone didn’t live up to the hype, while in reality, it is the corporation that is determining what the customer can do or have.
“What is the point of Apple announcing the phone can be tethered if the only carrier they sell to will not? Seems like a little marital spat to me.”
Absolutely. we’ve known for a while that Apple is unhappy with AT&T. Why wouldn’t Apple continue to provide a product with the features we want, whether or not the carrier can handle it. Apple has lived up to their end of the bargain. Now if AT&T can determine what they want to charge us for this, we can get moving on.
“The video and nav things are perplexing. Perplexing in that video is pretty much old news in every other phone on the market, and GPS is pertty common as well. I guess that’s “planned obsolescence” from Cupertino”
Yes and No. The iPhone as meant to be the best ipod/iphone package on the market. They threw an onboard camera on their for fun. At the time, bery few mobile’s produced video and no one had GPS. It was unheard of. As time progressed, these options are demanded by the consumers and the products are released with them in play. Apple has done this. Apple’s priority on the iPhone has always been 3rd party application integration. Now they have a hardware package with a solid camera that can allow applications to be released that no other mobile device can match. It’s Apple’s routine. they provide the cleanest and most efficient packages. the consumer demands an addition. Apple listens and adapts. Yesterday, Apple was behind. Today, Apple shot ahead again. Their new Macbook Pro line with 64bit will be unstoppable and at a price point that now can’t be beat in comparison as a package.
“Let’s hope the iPhone gets a little more substance without yanking too much out of everyone’s pocket.”
not sure what you mean by substance. The iPhone has always been about substance. The integration and application base for the iPhone is #1 by a landslide. There can’t be much more substance than that. And with the integration of user community and product quality and longevity. Hands down…
Any GSM Blackberry can be unlocked and used on any GSM network, and AT&T will give you the unlock code for the Blackberry for free.
ckroboth´s last blog post…Love more deeply.
Maybe it’s because you posted it over the weekend, but it’s a little disconcerting that “Country Club or Birthday Party?” received only 1 comment to date, but this discussion of the latest Apple technology has generated 22 comments and counting…
I thinks it’s because we agree with the video, but we don’t with this
Tension always breeds discussion.
Interrupt this Mac geek fest…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L2fsubA2-c
ckroboth´s last blog post…Love more deeply.
I have always loved that clip
“Mobile Phones are proprietary to the carrier. Every Blackberry, Motorola and Sony, etc, is made for the specific carrier. i cannot take a blackberry made for AT&T and use it on Verizon. ”
Only true to a point. You can take an ATT-branded GSM phone and “unlock it” and use it on any GSM network. Technically, it is the same with CDMA phones, but those carriers tend to be a little ham-fisted about allowing non-branded phones on their networks. As with the iPhone, the locks are software-based, not hardware based. And the iPhone is physically incompatible with a non-GSM service in any case.
“At the time, bery few mobile’s produced video and no one had GPS.”
Um… no. GPS in phones became availible from Sprint and Verizon in the early 2000s as part of a Federal 911 requirement. (Cingular used triagulation) By mid-2006 there were already consumer apps available to utilize the millions of GPS-enabled phones already out there. (I had a Nextel with a GPS locator in 2004.) And video was pretty common in free phones by the 2007 launch of the iPhone. I got my first video phone in 2005. And it was free.
“Apple listens and adapts. Yesterday, Apple was behind. Today, Apple shot ahead again. ”
I would say “today, Apple caught up.”
“Their new Macbook Pro line with 64bit will be unstoppable and at a price point that now can’t be beat in comparison as a package.”
WHAT? You can buy a fat lot of 64-bit PC for $2k.
Apple makes a great collection of products, to be sure. And the fact that they are so closed-source gives them the edge on integration, that is certainly true. But it also leads to isolation in certain circles. For example, our recording studio has a G4/Leopard. It cannot open my portable hard drive. That drive can be automatically opened in any flavor of Windows or Linux. Little annoyances like that bug me.
I really dig the ipod touch and might get one (though I loathe iTunes.) It would be my first Apple product since my old Apple IIc.
Mike Mahoney´s last blog post…Album Review – Back & Forth – Lanae Hale
Blackberry’s are able to do that on a GSm network now. But 2 years ago they weren’t. At least not AT&T Blackberry’s. They were proprietary.
As for GPS. There is a difference between “basic location services” which has been demanded for years by manufacturers(kind of like gas milage on cars), and GPS navigation. GPS navigation has not bee a part of mobile phone until recently and only on higher end models.
“WHAT? You can buy a fat lot of 64-bit PC for $2k.”
Exactly. I can buy a fully loaded 64 bit 2.5ghz, dual processing, widescreen, 4g ram, fully integrated 9400 graphics card and longevity and battery life for under $1700
There is no PC that can match the package, track record and longevity of a Mac. I work with both. I’m a system IT director for our church. I don’t replace Mac’s. Mac’s are faster. Mac’s are cheaper to maintain and use. As for the PC’s, we work our but o to keep them running software and hardware wise. Even with quality components. I can’t even remember how many times I’ve had to repair or reload OS on PC’s in our office. It’s ridiculous. A product should work from opening a box to it’s final breath. Our Mac’s do that in our office.
“For example, our recording studio has a G4/Leopard. It cannot open my portable hard drive. That drive can be automatically opened in any flavor of Windows or Linux. Little annoyances like that bug me.”
That’s because it is formated with windows code. Stripe it for multiple system use and your good to go. I have zero peripherals in our office that won’t work with our Mac’s and half of them do not integrate because of OS and driver issues with the PC’s.
Hands down, Apple is ahead. I cannot buy a PC package that matches the integration, speed, price and longevity of the Mac’s in our office.
I think i might just keep holding out til 2010 for hopefully, a deal w/ Verizon. I heard two peeps today screaming about how many calls dropped over here on AT&T service. Randy and Chris (Elrod) said it was pretty bad for them, too. Lousy.
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I hope other carriers get involved. It will make the pricing of the iPhone more competitive. Verizon in it’s current state is not able to run the iPhone though. their data network does not allow multiple apps or network accesses to run at the same time. They are working on a new network. (fingers crossed) This is why the Pre ultimately went to Sprint.
Also, as said earlier, I’ve had zero issues with AT&T, but we are well covered in our area. Depending where you live and which carriers are available, some will be stronger and others will stink. When we were in Nashville/Franklin, i didn’t notice any issues with data or phone service. But I was only there for 9 days.
” GPS navigation has not bee a part of mobile phone until recently and only on higher end models.
”
Tru dat, except for the “high end” part. My current Rant is not high end, and has turn-by-turn route guidance, real-time traffic updates, location sharing, web-based locating and 3d maps. And it was free!
“Exactly. I can buy a fully loaded 64 bit 2.5ghz, dual processing, widescreen, 4g ram, fully integrated 9400 graphics card and longevity and battery life for under $1700″
I was looking at a Vista laptop spec-ed out like that (17″, Harmon-Kardon sound, HDMi and DVi, 4gig, 5in1, Bluetooth,DVD-RW+/- and a 3ghz dual core) for $699.
“Even with quality components. I can’t even remember how many times I’ve had to repair or reload OS on PC’s in our office. It’s ridiculous. A product should work from opening a box to it’s final breath. Our Mac’s do that in our office.”
I hear this all the time. I used to maintain a facility with 50-odd Compaq XP machines. I can count on one hand the OS-related failures during the five years I did that. My own Acer $500 laptop has been running since 2005 with the original XP install, and I do video editing, sound editing, streaming, recording, you name it. The disc is dual booted with Linux. The case broke, the keyboard is sticking, but the OS is plugging away with four years of daily, heavy use. (Apple does have some purdy hardware, I’ll give you that.) Our studio guy has tons of problems with his G4 – a couple of hard drive crashes and a video card, IIRC. And it freezes up and crashes ProTools all the time – at least once per session.
“That’s because it is formated with windows code.”
That’s not it, at least I don’t think it is. Linux reads it fine. From what I understand MacOS does not play well with NTFS. No biggie.. Windows doesn’t play well with HFS+. (Funny, Linux sees them both.)
I like Apple hardware. Not crazy about the OS, but that may just be a familiarity issue. To me, there’s not enough “bang for the buck” to make it worth the price premium.
Mike Mahoney´s last blog post…Album Review – Back & Forth – Lanae Hale
“I was looking at a Vista laptop”
What brand and components??? Dell, Acer, and other cheapies are falling a apart around here. Been rebuilding them…if applicable.
You got lucky on your cheapie laptop. OS around here is a constant issue. When networks are involved, the OS constantly gets gunked up and rebuilding is almost weekly. Now that the server is not involved. I am having to restripe all the machines just to clean them out. I’ts nutty. I should be able to say no to server support and be done with it, but then permissions, drivers, access points and profiles are all gone.
NTFS is Windows code. not universal. all drives we ever used int he studio were striped Fat32. That is the stripe that everyone could see and use. we never allowed drive s in or our without that stripe. that was they are accessible and readable everywhere on every machine.
Familiarity is a huge thing. Some people like the UI of PC’s and some like the UI of Macs. I’ve used both and the Mac is a lot faster for me and my working environment. I hate menu’s and menu driven systems. Mac is all keystrokes and shortcuts if you want it that way.
Battery life is a big thing for us here in the office as well. Our PC’s have a tough time with longevity. But the Mac’s are doing well. It’s fun to see the PC run for outlets when we go into meeting.
Now, as an audio guy, you be happy to know that the #1 live console for me is the Digidesign Venue. been using it for a couple of years and love it! Oh, and it’s XP based
i am having SUCH a good hair day.
your awesome wife´s last blog post…eight hundred
And, you own a MAC
and a great curling iron
your awesome wife´s last blog post…eight hundred
as you were…
your awesome wife´s last blog post…eight hundred
I talked to an ATT agent yesterday I actually mentioned the lack of effort on ATT’s part to honor its current customers by not offering the upgrade. She agreed w/ me.
I feel bad for some of those agents who are def. getting the heat from ATT’s crappy (at times) customer service.
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I can imagine they are some pretty upset people. I know I am bummed, but I am not an Apple freak, so I definitely wouldn’t take it out on an AT&T rep. Maybe the boss though
Oooh! A digital compass! Is that so you can find your way home…
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…from the church HAHHAAA! I kid!
Cheryl´s last blog post…Life… sometimes feels like a Tsunami
Ha! I only live a block away, but if this iPhone does that, I’d still love it
“I was looking at a Vista laptop”
What brand and components??? Dell, Acer, and other cheapies are falling a apart around here. Been rebuilding them…if applicable.”
It was a Toshiba. I relooked at the specs. It was a 2ghz dual core, 4gig, 320gig SATA. 17″ WXGA, DVD supermulti with labelflash, HDMi out, SATA in, HK sound and speakers, webcam, FM radio (weird) 5in1, loaded. 860 list, they had it in-store for 699.
Buddy of mine just bought a seriously tricked out HP for 600.
I would not ever get a Dell. Complete junk. I’ve fixed more Dells than I can shake a stick at. We have several guys here at work with Acer laptops. The problem with them is never the electronics or software – it’s always stuff like the keyboards or the power sockets. On the Dells it’s always the hard drive.
My daughter wants a MacBook when she goes to college in Sept. The cheapest one the school store offers is a 13.3″, 2gig, 160, Intel Core Duo for $1400. That’s pretty decent, I think, but for the same money I can get a 15.4″, 4gig, 160, 2.4 duo HP.
I can tell you from experince, that having navigation on your cell is life-altering!!
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