Best Buy Canada touts iPhone, but lacks sales contract
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Blog: North of the border, Best Buy's Web site is promoting the iPhone. But it's not selling them, of course, and doesn't have any plans to do so, at least yet.
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What&#39;s the best way to beat the  commitment involved in iPhone ownership? Bad credit. AT&T Inc.   said on Friday that people who buy Apple Inc.&#39;s   much-hyped iPhone but do not meet its credit requirements will  still be able to keep the phone without having to commit to a  two-year contract.
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What's the best way to beat the  commitment involved in iPhone ownership? Bad credit. AT&T Inc.   said on Friday that people who buy Apple Inc.'s   much-hyped iPhone but do not meet its credit requirements will  still be able to keep the phone without having to commit to a  two-year contract.
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Can't get an iPhone? Here's how some hot cell phones from other manufacturers measure up.
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Apple Inc.'s  iPhone may be  too expensive for most Americans, but the much-hyped device is  expected to help AT&T Inc.  win quality customers and  drive shoppers into its stores.
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(InfoWorld) - Now that Apple's iPhone is finally on sale, the race is on to see who can unlock it. Locked phones can only be used with cellular service from one carrier, a move designed to guarantee carriers recover the cost of subsidizing a handset through monthly service charges. But the cost of the iPhone, which is priced at either US$499 or $599 depending on the model, is not subsidized by AT&T. Users must pay full price for the handset and sign a two-year contract, which requires them to pay from $59.99 to $99.99 per month for cellular service. Unlocking the iPhone will enable the handset to be used with any cellular provider with a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) or EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) network, not just AT&T's network. That's an attractive proposition for users who already have a cellular contract with another carrier, or users outside the U.S. who can't wait to get their hands on Apple's new handset. Efforts to unlock the iPhone are being tracked on several Web sites, including Hackint0sh and the iPhone Dev Wiki. Initial signs look promising, although the iPhone remained locked at the time of writing. Like other GSM phones, the iPhone uses a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card, a removable smart card that contains a user's phone number as well as limited storage space for contacts and messages. SIM cards are designed to be swapped between phones, allowing users to change handsets while using their cellular service. They can also be switched when users travel, allowing them to avoid international roaming charges with the purchase of a prepaid, local SIM card. A removable SIM card is a good sign for hackers, because it indicates the phone is locked using firmware, which can likely be cracked. Of course, unlocking the iPhone requires more than simply changing the SIM card. Swapping the AT&T SIM card used with the iPhone for a SIM card from another carrier results in an error message that reads, "Incorrect SIM. This iPhone must be used with an approved SIM." To unlock the iPhone, hackers must first circumvent the handset's activation process. New iPhone users are required to activate their handset using the latest version of iTunes, released on Friday, before they can use the phone. Without activation, which requires users to sign up for an AT&T service plan, none of the iPhone's functions, including the camera and music player, can be accessed. If hackers can circumvent the activation process, the next challenge will be to unlock the SIM card itself. That could happen as soon as Monday. By Sunday night, U.S. time, hackers had made progress towards circumventing the iPhone activation process, gaining access to key system files and finding two passwords used with the phone, according to the iPhone Dev Wiki. "I think by the end of tomorrow we'll have an activation crack," one user wrote on the site.
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Apple Inc. slashed the price of the top iPhone by $200 Wednesday to bolster holiday sales, but also angered loyal customers who paid top dollar in the gadget's first 10 weeks on the market.
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Apple Inc  Chief  Executive Steve Jobs on Thursday offered a $100 store credit to  early buyers of the iPhone, seeking to calm customers angry  over an unexpected and steep price cut.
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People looking to walk into an Apple retailer and buy an&#160;iPhone&#160;with cash will be out of luck. The company is now accepting only credit or debit card payments for the devices so they can track who purchases the phone, according to an employee at the Apple Store in New York&#39;s SoHo neighborhood.The new policy is Apple&#39;s attempt to prevent people from purchasing and then unlocking and reselling iPhones, a situation that has been a problem for the company. Apple won&#39;t let anyone without a credit card or debit card in their name purchase iPhones, according to an unidentified Apple Store employee in a phone interview.&quot;We need to track the purchases of the iPhone [because] we have people buying the phones, unlocking the phones and selling them,&quot; she said.A report by the Associated Press last week said Apple was limiting the purchases to two devices and allowing users to purchase them only with credit or debit cards. According to store employees, the two-device limit has always been in place, but the noncash policy is new.Apple&#39;s public relations team did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the new policy. However, it&#39;s no secret the company is trying to stem the tide of unlocked and resold phones, now totaling about 250,000. Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook mentioned that number last week in a quarterly results conference call as the difference between the number of handsets sold -- approximately 1.4 million -- and those actually connecting via AT&amp;T Wireless, the iPhone&#39;s exclusive U.S. carrier.If one analyst&#39;s estimate is correct, those unlocked phones are costing Apple millions of dollars. Piper Jaffrey analyst Gene Munster said that he believes Apple receives US$18 per iPhone per month from AT&amp;T Wireless, based on iPhone-related revenue Apple reported in its latest quarterly earnings , totaling more than $4.5 million in lost revenue.REFERENCES:AT&amp;T paying Apple $18 per iPhone per month?, Macworld.co.uk, Oct. 25, 2007Apple: 250,000 iPhones unlocked from AT&amp;T, Network World (US), Oct. 25, 2007
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(InfoWorld) - Apple'sÂ iPhone launchÂ has been marred by delays in AT&T's phone activation system, leaving some people unable to use their new toy throughout the weekend. People who buy the iPhone, which went on sale in the U.S. Friday evening, are required to activate it through Apple's iTunes software on their home computer. They choose a rate plan, authorize their credit card number, and the phone should be activated soon after. Apple has said the process should take only a few minutes for people being assigned a new phone number, and "up to six hours" for people transferring a number from another operator. But for some the wait has been much longer, according to postings on Apple's iPhone message board and elsewhere. "It has now been 48 hours and my iPhone is still the prettiest paperweight I own," wrote one frustrated user. "Nightmare indeed," said another. "I've been waiting 11+ hours now. I got the phone after a somewhat reasonable one-hour wait at the Albany, NY store, then spent 4+ hours talking to AT&T and Apple trying to get the thing activated." Others said their phone was activated in a matter of minutes. AT&T was not available to comment in Europe on Monday morning, and Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An AT&T spokesman told the Wall Street Journal newspaper that most activations were occurring in a few minutes, and that the operator was working to fix the remaining issues. An unnamed source told the paper that about 2 percent of users were being affected. The delays cast a shadow over what appears -- so far -- to have been an otherwise successful launch of the iPhone. The device sells for $500 or $600 depending on the amount of memory on board, plus an activation fee and the cost of the service plan from AT&T, which for now has exclusive distribution rights for the iPhone in the U.S. When people buy a new cell phone the device is usually activated in the shop where they buy it. Apple and AT&T had billed the self-activation process as "another example of how AT&T and Apple have partnered to bring innovative new features to our customers." Opinions were divided as to where to lay blame. An iPhone buyer who claimed to work for AT&T said in a message posting that delays were inevitable and not the fault of either company. Thousands were trying to activate their new phone simultaneously over the weekend, the person noted, and the activation requests were lining up at AT&T's network switches "like 30,000 or so people throwing basketballs at one hoop and hoping to make it in." Others said AT&T should have lined up additional capacity for the activations. Some said they expected the problems to be ironed out by next week and the incident to be forgotten. "Activation is going to happen eventually. Why did you invest so much of your time and energy in this?" one person wrote on Apple's board. "Life is too short to worry about this type of thing." There were some other gripes about the iPhone, although it was hard to tell how widespread issues are. Several users complained that the phone's iPod function stopped playing music when they used it as the same time as the Safari Web browser or Google Maps. Others complained of a bug that caused the e-mails they sent via GMail to appear in their inbox. Other users, including a person who responded to a posting on the iPhoneFAQ.org Web, said they were unable to transfer an AT&T business account to their iPhone, and were told they would have to start a new, individual account.
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By Reid Magney, La Crosse Tribune, Wis.  Jun. 27--The hot new iPhone might be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but you can't get one in La Crosse.   Apple's mobile phone/ widescreen iPod/Internet device, goes on sale Friday for $500 and $600.
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(InfoWorld) - Apple on Friday offered iPhone owners instructions on how to file for the $100 in-store credit that CEO Steve Jobs promised last week. The credit, whichÂ Jobs announcedÂ after customers rose in revolt on hearing that the company hadÂ cut the price of the iPhoneÂ by one-third, is good for purchases at Apple's retail stores and its online shop, or by dialing Apple's toll-free sales number. IPhone owners, who have until Nov. 30 to apply for the credit, enter their iPhone's serial number and phone number in an online form, either using the iPhone or a PC or Mac. Apple then sends a text message to the iPhone with an access code, which in turn is used to retrieve the electronic credit. The credit consists of a credit number and a PIN, which can be used immediately in the online store or printed out for use later. A Computerworld editor who owns an iPhone confirmed the process, and received his electronic credit almost immediately. The $100 credit is also not good on some items, specifically iTunes purchases or gift cards, and it's valid only in the U.S., the sole market in which Apple has sold the iPhone to date. Because customers must have the iPhone in their possession to receive the credit, those people who sold theirs -- on eBay, for instance, sometimes for a loss when the late June debut didn't end with shortages at stores -- do not receive the credit. Instead, the current owner does. Although Jobs offered the $100 credit last week, saying, "We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers," he also defended the decision to cut the price of the 8GB model from $599 to $399. "Now is the right time to do it," he said then. "IPhone is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to 'go for it' this holiday season." The day before that announcement, those who had bought the iPhone in its first two months overwhelminglyÂ gave Apple a raspberry,Â seeing the cut as a cheap shot at early adopters and a slap in the face to long-loyal customers. The 4GB iPhone, which initially sold for $499, has been discontinued. Computerworld is an InfoWorld affiliate.
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Apple Inc.  said on Tuesday  its hotly anticipated iPhone could cost as much as $3,000 with  a required two-year service contract, and a handful of eager  buyers started lining up to spend their money.
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Apple Computer has apparently missed its self-imposed deadline for launching a Canadian version of its online music store. The company had promised a November launch of iTunes in the country.
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The number of iPhones manufactured by Apple may not be enough to meet customer demand when the smart phone goes on sale tomorrow, CEO Steve Jobs said.
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Walls come tumbling down A UK firm that specialises in unlocking mobile phones reckons it's close to developing an application that would allow iPhone owners to use the device with carriers other than America's AT&amp;T.â¦
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The iPhone has arrived, but it's not made by Apple Computer Inc., which was widely rumored to be working a cell phone-iPod combination of the same name.