vB Easy Archive - new i-phone questions

Pages: 1

new i-phone questions
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: cingman66

Anybody else p-o'ed about this new i-phone and the fact that only Apple stores and COR stores will be able to sell them? Unless I am misinformed (and please tell me if I am), it appears that Agents and Indirects will not be allowed to sell this phone. Well, unless they train Apple employees on how to sell Cingular service, just who does Cingular think is going to activate these behemoths? Are customers supposed to shell out $600 for the phone, then go home and call an 800 number and hope that everything goes ok? Are the phones being priced "with" service agreement, or just as outright sales? Will it be similar to how Pay as you go phones are sold...un-activated until the customer calls in to Cingular?

Also, from what I've heard, the phone isn't even going to be 3G...so what's the point?

Posted by: Madcat455

Quote:

Originally Posted by cingman66

so what's the point?

Agreed... What's the point of another useless thread about a phone that's not hitting the market for another 4 months.. a phone that nobody knows anything about(for sure)??

Cingular/Apple can and probably will change thier minds 4-6 times with how the distribution for this thing is going to happen...

SO.. just sit tight and WAIT!!!. (I know.. somehting lost on most people in todays world).

I'll save my Griping for when it's actually available, when the phones features are CONFIRMED, and not actually in my store.

Posted by: cingtd

I agree that it is far too premature to make any speculation on a phone that does not exist in its final product stage yet. Kind of like tying to assume what a computer will be like 5 years from now.

Posted by: Soopafly

Theres already a million threads about this... and yes its a outdated Mac PDA... and everyone will want to buy it cause it has a Apple logo on it.

Posted by: drewyehboi

I still want the N75

Posted by: SmokinTrickster

Quote:

Originally Posted by drewyehboi

I still want the N75

Me 2

Posted by: Soopafly

Quote:

Originally Posted by drewyehboi

I still want the N75

its coming... after being shelved once... LOL

Nokia & Cingular have a love/hate relationship...

Posted by: JonnyJ

How about only offering the iPhone in stores as opposed to core stores and Apple Stores? It sure would be nice to have a exclusive product that only agents and core stores carry. As opposed to only on-line and box stores like with the red c417. At least that's how it is in my market.

Posted by: kimo_kata

Why not have it online only and piss everybody off.

Posted by: cingman66

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonnyJ

How about only offering the iPhone in stores as opposed to core stores and Apple Stores? It sure would be nice to have a exclusive product that only agents and core stores carry. As opposed to only on-line and box stores like with the red c417. At least that's how it is in my market.

Finally, somebody else gets it--Cingular loves us when they need us to help customers with problems (as evidenced every time someone comes in stating they were told by customer service to go to ANY store to make a payment/get a free SIM exchange/transfer their phonebook (for free!) to a new phone they purchased on-line/etc.)--but they continue to stick it to us when it comes to phone pricing and availability/exclusivity of new phones, ie. the red c417, the blue v3, Motorola L6, Sony w300i, etc. For example, right now there are 13 phones being offered free on Cingular.com--12 of which we either don't carry or aren't allowed to carry in our stores. Cingular is very happy to take commission out of the stores and sell to customers on-line, then turn around and expect us to service these customers with a smile on our faces.

Posted by: JonnyJ

Preach on brother, testify!!

Take it too the bridge.

Posted by: Cingular13

Well said. (Although most of those exclusive online phones are nothing special).

Quote:

Originally Posted by cingman66

Posted by: Jayden0606

Too bad it is not our decision... It is Apple's decision. This is why Verizon will not be getting the phone before us. They could not accept Apple's T&Cs. Do you guy understand how much theft goes on at in-direct dealers/agents compared to a COR and APPLE store? I'm not saying that it is obsolete, but a 600$ phone (with a 2yr agreement) deserves to be only sold by the designer and the company pushing it out. Would you trust some college friends with running (or selling at) your business without you being there over family that are part owners in the business? (Sorry, I've been drinking a few "L.I.T.s" and couldn't come up with a better analogy)

This is not to say that I agree or disagree with my company, but there is a lot of money to be made, which means a lot of money could be lost.... The more hands that do touch it, there higher the risks.... and Apple will never take those chances.

Posted by: cingman66

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayden0606

Too bad it is not our decision... It is Apple's decision. This is why Verizon will not be getting the phone before us. They could not accept Apple's T&Cs. Do you guy understand how much theft goes on at in-direct dealers/agents compared to a COR and APPLE store? I'm not saying that it is obsolete, but a 600$ phone (with a 2yr agreement) deserves to be only sold by the designer and the company pushing it out. Would you trust some college friends with running (or selling at) your business without you being there over family that are part owners in the business? (Sorry, I've been drinking a few "L.I.T.s" and couldn't come up with a better analogy)

This is not to say that I agree or disagree with my company, but there is a lot of money to be made, which means a lot of money could be lost.... The more hands that do touch it, there higher the risks.... and Apple will never take those chances.

What does the cost of the phone have to do with anything? We stock $650 Treo's and 8525's. We're paying for the phones that are in our stores, so how does Cingular lose out? What do they care what we do with them AFTER they've sold them to us? That's like saying that the publisher of a book will not let stores carry the book...the publisher makes money on the sale of that book to the stores, so regardless of whether the store turns around and sells the book to the public, the publisher has already made their money. And I don't believe that trust is the issue...

The real reason they are restricting the distribution is so that they can jack up the price...it's just the law of supply and demand...they know the demand will be high, so with limited sales outlets, the few retailers that have the phone can pretty much charge what they want. In fact, I'm thinking about using a couple upgrades that I have coming to me to get some and then turn around and sell them on ebay.

Posted by: cingtd

Quote:

Originally Posted by cingman66

The real reason they are restricting the distribution is so that they can jack up the price...it's just the law of supply and demand...they know the demand will be high, so with limited sales outlets, the few retailers that have the phone can pretty much charge what they want. In fact, I'm thinking about using a couple upgrades that I have coming to me to get some and then turn around and sell them on ebay.

Apple is very fickle on who they will allow to sell their products. That is the same reason why you can only buy Apple computers at select stores. Apple has always done business this way.

I know that virtually any electronics store sells the I-pod (at the same price as everyone else) but only by following strict licensing agreements with Apple. One wrong decision by a reseller and no more Apple products for them. Not Cingular's decision necessarily.

And then again, in June things may change. Let's stop speculating and just wait until it is actually available.

Posted by: allenlikewo

Quote:

Originally Posted by cingtd

im with you
i used to work for a software reseller
a large well known one
and we tried for years to carry apple products (specifically final cut pro)
and we could never meat their requirements like having apple techs in house

anyway, that aside i do not look forward to this product at all
but for diffrent reasons, i work in ANS and i dont look forward to whiney mac users
i hope apple agrees to provide a good amount of support on this prodct

that aside, im still interested to get my hands on the product
but i love new devices