Get Better Gear!

Premier Sponsors

Other World Computing

TechRestore

Top 5 Free Apps

Release Date: August 05, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: May 22, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: August 29, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: March 27, 2009
Release Date: August 07, 2009

iTunes New Music Releases

Release Date: September 29, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: September 20, 2009
Release Date: September 15, 2009
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: August 25, 2009

Top 5 Paid Apps

Release Date: April 22, 2009
StickWars $0.99
Release Date: March 31, 2009
Genre: Games
Bloons $0.99
Release Date: April 05, 2009
Genre: Games

Discover New Music

  • Machine Gun Etiquette

    • 8 out of 10
    • The Damned
    • Punk rock is mostly associated with three chords and a bad attitude, but the Damned were one of the few bands of the era bent on bringing musicianship and a good sense of humor to the scene. And while
  • The Printz

    • 8 out of 10
    • Bumblebeez 81
    • Part white rap, part alternative, part pop, and part rock, the Bumblebeez grabbed a hold of me with "Pony Ride," and didn't let go.

      This group does a marvelous job of moving seamlessly be

  • Bowie at Beeb: Best of BBC Radio 68-72

    • 10 out of 10
    • David Bowie
    • The companion CD to a BBC television concert, BBC Radio Theatre has some of the best renditions of many of Bowie's best songs throughout his career. "I'm Afraid of Americans" is substantial

  • The Life Pursuit

    • 8 out of 10
    • Belle & Sebastian
    • The Life Pursuit is a sort of Reeses Peanut Butter Cup. You get Belle & Sebastian's peanut butter (its wistful, often irresistible pop) dipped in a 'Have A Nice Day!' and glam 70s chocol

  • Mezzanine

    • 6 out of 10
    • Massive Attack
    • "Black Milk" knocks me off my feet in this collection of moody and eclectic songs. Massive Attack uses samples and keyboards in a very unique way, but not all the songs pack the same punch.

Reader Specials

Visit Deals On The Web for the best deals on all consumer electronics, iPods, and more!

News

Apple iPhone: AT&T Brimming with Confidence

AT&T is very confident the iPhone experience will overcome any perception of a steep price tag for the device, according to the Seattle Times. The newspaper cited Glenn Lurie, AT&T’s president of national distribution, as saying the buzz ahead of release has surpassed expectations.

"The anticipation that we’re seeing, the buzz we’re seeing, at least for me, has far exceeded our expectations of how important this would be to the business and us," Mr. Laurie said.

Even so, Brier Dudley was skeptical about the price gap between the iPhone and other phones, and he asked Mr. Laurie about how customers would react to a US$600 mobile phone.

"Here’s how I’d explain it," Mr. Laurie said. "The most popular iPod, a 4-gigabyte Nano, costs $200. If you’ve got a RIM BlackBerry or Palm Treo, you probably paid $200 minimum. Then you’ve got a phone that you got for free or paid maybe $50.

"You’re at $450 or $500. The question you’ve got to be able to ask yourself is, is this device going to be able to replace those three, so you carry one? That’s the question.

"I think when people get their hands on it and really experience it — the touch screen is phenomenal, this touch screen is like nothing you’ve ever used — to experience that, the skepticism, I think, around some of those things will go away.

"There are other things — you have the widgets, some of the Google applications that are coming — there are just so many things here that the price will not be an issue."

When asked about the [Safari] Browser in the iPhone and whether that might hurt AT&T, Mr. Laurie reiterated that the iPhone and its Browser won’t function unless the user has a package with AT&T.

Finally, Mr. Laurie had great praise for Apple’s design sense: "I think the other thing people haven’t really thought through is that Apple’s so good at simplifying things. That’s just what they’re known for; they’ve really simplified the phone. The standard phone applications are really intuitive, whether it’s receiving a phone call, putting that person on hold, adding another party and bringing a conference call together."

We all knew that Apple was very good at these these kinds of things. What’s encouraging is that the culture of excellence in the customer experience is bleeding over the fence and affecting (and infecting) AT&T as well. That’s a dynamic that’s been missing in the rest of the mobile phone industry.

Post Your Comments

  Remember Me  Forgot your password?

Not a member? Register now. You can post comments without logging in, but they'll show up as a "guest" post.

Commenting is not available in this section entry.