AT&T has announced that they will be offering the iPhone for sale in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as of October 17th.Pricing will be the same as in the U.S. mainland, with the 8GB model available for $199 and 16GB $299 for new and upgrade-eligible customers; customers not eligible for the upgrade can purchase the 8GB for $399 or the 16GB model for $499. As before, each model will require a new two-year contract. “iPhone will arrive for AT&T customers in Puerto Rico on October 17,” said Jose Juan Davila, vice president and general manager of AT&T’s wireless operations in Puerto Rico. “AT&T is committed to offering the most innovative products and services to our customers, and we are pleased to be part of this great milestone in our market.”
The iPhone will require a two-year contract to AT&T; customers coming from other providers will be able to port their number over as long as they have the requisite information. AT&T's iPhone web page collects useful information for customers so that potential customers can be prepared when they come to the store.
AT&T bringing iPhone 3G to Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Oct. 17
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
China's iPhone 3G May Lack 3G And Wi-Fi
China Mobile wants Apple to remove the Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity options from the iPhone 3G before it's sold in the country, according to a report from the South China Morning Post.
The newspaper hints that the move may be a way for the telecom to keep customers from unlocking the device and running it on rival China Telecom's W-CDMA 3G networks. China Mobile is currently working on rolling out a 3G network based on the TD-SDMA standard.
Removing the Wi-Fi and 3G radios would not be difficult for Apple, but it may dilute the experience and make it less appealing to customers.
"Apple shouldn't customize a model of iPhone for the mainland market, given that it only provides a standardized product to operators around the world," Frederick Wong, a BNP Paribas analyst, told the newspaper.
But releasing a limited iPhone 3G may still be in Apple's best interests, as the company has been eager to get its handset into large markets like Russia and China. For more than a year, Apple has been in talks with China to bring its handset to the country, as the Chinese wireless market is becoming an increasingly important one.
With 600 million subscribers, China Mobile is already the world's largest wireless carrier, and the country is still experiencing explosive mobile adoption rates. The majority of customers use entry-level phones, but these subscribers are quickly upgrading their handsets to sophisticated, multimedia-capable phones like BlackBerrys, and the iPhone.
According to In-Stat, there's an estimated 400,000 unlocked Apple handsets in the country already, as well as countless iPhone clones.
"Our customers like this kind of fashionable product," Wang Jianzhou, China Mobile's CEO, said about the iPhone at a conference last November.
source: http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/iphone/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210604198
It's iPhone 3G
The newspaper hints that the move may be a way for the telecom to keep customers from unlocking the device and running it on rival China Telecom's W-CDMA 3G networks. China Mobile is currently working on rolling out a 3G network based on the TD-SDMA standard.
Removing the Wi-Fi and 3G radios would not be difficult for Apple, but it may dilute the experience and make it less appealing to customers.
"Apple shouldn't customize a model of iPhone for the mainland market, given that it only provides a standardized product to operators around the world," Frederick Wong, a BNP Paribas analyst, told the newspaper.
But releasing a limited iPhone 3G may still be in Apple's best interests, as the company has been eager to get its handset into large markets like Russia and China. For more than a year, Apple has been in talks with China to bring its handset to the country, as the Chinese wireless market is becoming an increasingly important one.
With 600 million subscribers, China Mobile is already the world's largest wireless carrier, and the country is still experiencing explosive mobile adoption rates. The majority of customers use entry-level phones, but these subscribers are quickly upgrading their handsets to sophisticated, multimedia-capable phones like BlackBerrys, and the iPhone.
According to In-Stat, there's an estimated 400,000 unlocked Apple handsets in the country already, as well as countless iPhone clones.
"Our customers like this kind of fashionable product," Wang Jianzhou, China Mobile's CEO, said about the iPhone at a conference last November.
source: http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/iphone/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210604198
It's iPhone 3G
Monday, September 15, 2008
iPhone 3G 2.1 be what 2.0 was supposed to be for?
As per usual, at the most inopportune time when I was already running late, I decided to sync my iPhone as I was getting ready to leave home today. Like clockwork, iTunes asks me if I'd like to update to Firmware 2.1. Would I? Unlike last time, I actually downloaded the update and took off to make my a Saturday class.
During a break, my fellow iPhone-laden class attendees got out their iPhones to check email, text messages and voicemail and the discussion turned to Firmware 2.1.
"Did you get it?" one fellow classmate asked eagerly.
Some of us had, and others, like me, had not. The only visual difference the few of us noted was that the iPod's song listings now listed the artists as well as the song title. But it was funny that we were talking about a firmware update like schoolgirls gossiping as the discussion quickly shifted to cool iPhone applications. Seismographs to levels to games....
On the way home, however, I ran into two of my friends who work at an Apple Store here in the Bay Area. One is a general floor rep and the other a Genius Bar rep. Both were touting the update as getting a new iPhone (essentially making the life of the Genius Bar rep a whole lot easier, me mused).
From what I've gathered from everyone I talked to today about the update (the whole point of non-geeky types talking about a firmware update is not lost on me) is the following: Somehow, Apple has increased 3G performance AND improved battery life in one fell swoop. Perhaps, some theorized, Firmware 2.1 has addressed 3G network access issues that drains battery life. Whether this involves AT&T slackening 3G access standards or if the change is on Apple's end doesn't really matter to me. The details behind the conclusion aren't critical to a lay user like me and my classmates. We saw a Firmware 2.0 iPhone placed next to a 2.1 and noting that 3G reception on the 2.0 was 2 bars while the 2.1 iPhone had 5 bars. Really? More bars everywhere for everyone AT&T?
Can't wait to see if this Firmware update finally makes good on AT&T's slogan of 'fewer calls dropped,' which has, thus far, rung hollow with the iPhone 3G.
Happy with iPhone 3G
During a break, my fellow iPhone-laden class attendees got out their iPhones to check email, text messages and voicemail and the discussion turned to Firmware 2.1.
"Did you get it?" one fellow classmate asked eagerly.
Some of us had, and others, like me, had not. The only visual difference the few of us noted was that the iPod's song listings now listed the artists as well as the song title. But it was funny that we were talking about a firmware update like schoolgirls gossiping as the discussion quickly shifted to cool iPhone applications. Seismographs to levels to games....
On the way home, however, I ran into two of my friends who work at an Apple Store here in the Bay Area. One is a general floor rep and the other a Genius Bar rep. Both were touting the update as getting a new iPhone (essentially making the life of the Genius Bar rep a whole lot easier, me mused).
From what I've gathered from everyone I talked to today about the update (the whole point of non-geeky types talking about a firmware update is not lost on me) is the following: Somehow, Apple has increased 3G performance AND improved battery life in one fell swoop. Perhaps, some theorized, Firmware 2.1 has addressed 3G network access issues that drains battery life. Whether this involves AT&T slackening 3G access standards or if the change is on Apple's end doesn't really matter to me. The details behind the conclusion aren't critical to a lay user like me and my classmates. We saw a Firmware 2.0 iPhone placed next to a 2.1 and noting that 3G reception on the 2.0 was 2 bars while the 2.1 iPhone had 5 bars. Really? More bars everywhere for everyone AT&T?
Can't wait to see if this Firmware update finally makes good on AT&T's slogan of 'fewer calls dropped,' which has, thus far, rung hollow with the iPhone 3G.
Happy with iPhone 3G
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