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Some AT&T Stores Allowing iPhone 3G Pre-orders

Not everyone that tried to by an iPhone 3G at an AT&T store on Friday was able to get their hands on one, so the cell carrier has begun letting customers pre-order their combination iPod and smartphone for in-store pick up. At least some eastern U.S. AT&T locations started offering to pre-order, or essentially reserve, an iPhone for customers after their inventories were depleted.

AT&T stores in Manchester, Maryland, and Newington, Connecticut, both confirmed that customers could reserve an iPhone 3G from future shipments. Some iPhone hopefuls will be able to pick up their new handheld as early as Saturday while others could be left waiting for days.

The move to let customers pre-order an iPhone 3G could make some shoppers happy in the short term, but if AT&T stores aren't able to replenish their stock quick enough, it could leave other customers unhappy when they find that phones seem unavailable for days on end.

In sharp contrast, many Apple retail stores have more than enough iPhones on hand to meet customer demand. Unfortunately, the company had issues most of the day simply selling iPhones thanks to overloaded AT&T servers. Of the customers that could purchase an iPhone, most left the store with non-functioning units since AT&T's activation servers were down as well.

So far Apple's retail stores aren't offering a pre-order option, and considering the number of iPhones at many Apple locations, the company likely won't start offering the option.

Like the original iPhone launch from a year ago, Friday's iPhone 3G launch was plagued with frustrating delays for many potential buyers. Hopefully Apple and AT&T will work out the issues before the weekend wraps up.

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A guest said: (hide)

ATT&T are jerks. Have four iphones on family plan. I went in to buy two of the new ones as I am the contract holder. They would only order one unless I brought another family member to the store. I have decided to not buy until AT&T is out of my picture. Maybe I will be near an Apple store or they will sell at Apple Online soon. It was so simple last year. There must be a better way to stop the cheaters other than by making the good guys jump through hoops.

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Sir Harry Flashman said:

member since 08 Feb 2007 with 792 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Guest wrote:
There must be a better way to stop the cheaters other than by making the good guys jump through hoops.

Cheaters, an interesting description. Before iPhone v1 AT&T puts a lot into working with Apple to get the phone on their system, they also put a lot into upgrading their hardware to 3G and stuff. They have a right to recoup those expenses.

What to do?

Ramp up bandwidth and servers to deal with a short term rush of activations? Why? In a few days you can probably activate with no problem and things will be fine until iPhone v3.

Maybe take pre-orders signed up for a two year contract and then have an appointment to activate. The world will not end if you can't use your iPhone a few hours after you buy it.

I can't think of anything else right now, but there has to be a better way.

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A guest said: (hide)

another poor promoting skill

I just will wait for months and grap one

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