Reply With QuoteI'm kind of at the point where I'm over the iPhone but I'm sure the next one will be a hit.
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Post Machine
Regional retail sales managers at AT&T have been instructing store managers to pump the brakes on Apple’s iPhone. Instructions handed down from corporate state that customers seeking smartphones at AT&T retail stores should be steered away from Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone and towards Android phones or Windows Phone handsets like the Nokia Lumia 900 instead. BGR has confirmed the directive with three independent sources.http://www.androidauthority.com/att-...iphone-104947/According to existing reports, AT&T staff is required to show new customers Android and Windows Phone options even if they specifically come in to purchase an iPhone model – AT&T is the only U.S. carrier to stock three different iPhone versions including the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS. Even AT&T employees are not instructed to get an Android or Windows Phone as a company handset instead of an iPhone.
What goes up, comes down!
Deal with the devil and get the horns!Why is AT&T trying to divert attention from the iPhone? Simply put, Apple’s smartphone is a high-priced commodity for carriers. They can’t afford not to offer it to their subscribers, but they also aren’t happy with the high price of the device, not to mention the fact that the handset does not come with any carrier custom apps on board. So AT&T is basically left out of the picture, as the company doesn’t have a say in what happens with the iPhone, hardware- or software-wise.
I've got more phones than fingers
I'm kind of at the point where I'm over the iPhone but I'm sure the next one will be a hit.
Phone Collector
I fail to see the issue with this. Each iPhone costs AT&T about $200 more than an Android or Windows 7 phone. Of course they prefer users to purchase other smartphones. This also puts pressure on Apple to lower the subsidies that they require from AT&T. Users can still purchase iPhones, but this move will probably save AT&T a decent amount of money over time.Originally Posted by CA
Customers basically gain and lose nothing with this change; it's just two corporate heavyweights fighting it out for your money.
LTE is here!
Post Machine
I suspect that the profit margin on the iPhone is much lower than on Android and Windows Mobile phones, hence their new strategy. I doubt they are dumping the iPhone, just reworking their marketing of smart phones. Can't say I am too surprised. 5 year run is not a bad thing (at least 3-4 years of exclusivity. I can't remember the exact date when the iPhone 4 was released to other carriers.
BTW: It sounds somewhat familiar with the original Motorola Razr (not the Droid Razr) several years ago. Back then, At&t had exclusivity for about 2 years and after every carrier got their own version, At&t no longer pushed that model device as strongly as other, newer phones.
If I'm annoyed and you're annoyed, does that make us a paranoid ??
Sarcasm is a fine art...
"Don't believe everything you think"
It's not a matter of if you win or lose, it's how you assign the blame
I've got more phones than fingers
Yeah it won't bother me if they try to sell me anything but an iPhone. They prob have a better chance at getting me to buy the non iPhone product. I'm using an iPhone 4 and to me the iPhone feels like yesterday's news. I'll look and see what the next one offers but it better have 400hp 6 speed with massive torque and handling to entice me. 200hp won't cut it anymore
Post Machine
Are you saying that carriers make money, on the phone, when they sell phones?
Post Machine
Just wild speculation I suppose.
SDeee 0wnz!
I'm placing a bet that it was to do with the chunk of change that AT&T loses just for carrying Apple products. USCC declined to carry Apple products, while Cricket charges Apple prices. We also wonder how Sprint can actually afford to carry Apple products when they aren't in the best financial shape and in the midst of a significant network upgrade and guess whether or not C-Spire was late with LTE deployment because it was saddled with the costs of carrying Apple products.
With all the other wireless carriers experiencing their own internal issues or opting out of Apple goodies. It would be of no surprise that AT&T, if found to be true, that their RSMs would be instructing the managers and eventually the front line employees to steer customers away from the iPhone.
Sounds like the real winner is Apple.
I've got more phones than fingers
I wonder if it will get to the point where the iPhone becomes too expensive to be worth it(such as not carry) especially now that there are cheaper alternatives
Post Machine
I've been saying it too, for years, but have been bashed constantly. If ATT makes 40% on 3rd party deals, I wonder what their markup is on phones. Could this actually be the reason why phones are so expensive?Just wild speculation I suppose.
I've got more phones than fingers
The def make money on the phones they sell in most cases. iPhone may be different though
Post Machine
Yea, like an iPod with a FreedomPop sleeve!
http://www.howardforums.com/showthre...s-one-(video)!
Ain't that a bite in the ***, Sprints Lte on an iPod, hold the ATT! Watch video to get the joke!
I've climbed a cellphone tower
Oh yeah, a new startup called FreedomPop is coming up with an iPod Touch 4G-capable phone case.
You know what they call an iPod touch with a 4G connection?
AT&T's biggest nightmare (zing! pow!), or more simply "the iPhone" (double zing! pow!).
SDeee 0wnz!
Just ask USCC...
I've climbed a cellphone tower
Or AT&T can simply charge more for the iPhone, if allowed by their contract with Apple.
Of course with the iPhone being as big a seller with AT&T as it is, such a move will surely prove to be an unpopular decision. Of course, AT&T rarely makes popular decisions in the customer's favor.
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