iPhone 4 shipping date slips in USA

whiterebel

http://www.macrumors.com/2010/06/16/u-s-shipping-estimates-for-iphone-4-pre-orders-through-apple-slip-again-to-july-14th/

600,00 orders yesterday alone. Maybe O2 know something after all with their talk of September....?

Creamy Goodness

may want to edit that, the title as i read it i assumed the date had slipped from june 24th to july 14th.

this date doesn't apply to people who have already pre-ordered.

600,000 reserves in one day is unreal, even if that's 500,000 sales that's half what the ipad did in 30 days. i know ipad's are a completely different product and price range but still it's astonishing to think about it.

Sad Professor

I don't see how they are going to be able to keep up with US demand and still deliver the iPhone 4 to Ireland and other countries 2 weeks later. I reckon the international launch will get pushed back to late August - at least.

Four of a kind

i was just on skype to a cousin of mine in New York and he has a friend thats works fro AT+T mobile....and he claims that the USA and International dispatch dates will be later than july...possibly August for ireland. Just passing the info on.....

This always seems to happen when a new device is been release. I waited for 6 extra months for the N900 because of "late shipping"

Mark C

where do you order online from the US?

IamMetaldave

I think this is just the second batch. The next batch are due to ship in the UK on the 2nd of July.

I'm staying positive that they'll release on time. I'm sure Apple are just doing what they do, controlling stock to cause hysteria.. They did it last year with the 3Gs, they'll do it this year.

We'll all get one eventually

seamus

Apple underproducing a device to fuel the hype? No way, that's unheard of!

Think I foretold this about a month ago. It'll be August before we see any general availability of iPhone 4's here.

dubbegoode

Will the Iphone4 be available on Vodafone at the same time as O2? Or will there be an exclusivity for o2?

vinnycoyne

I really don't get that logic. Apple want to sell as many devices as possible.

If someone's on the fence and can't get an iPhone, then they'll probably buy something else. How does that help Apple?

They're launching in 88 countries by September - it's simply a case of demand exceeding supply.

Dades

I'd imagine it's in their interest to get some phone to other countries sooner rather than later instead of keeping all their stock for the US.

Even if only from a PR perspective.

Fat_Fingers

lackofcolour wrote: »

I really don't get that logic. Apple want to sell as many devices as possible.

If someone's on the fence and can't get an iPhone, then they'll probably buy something else. How does that help Apple?

They're launching in 88 countries by September - it's simply a case of demand exceeding supply.

Have you ever passed by the night club and seen a long queue? So you think this place is in demand therefore must be great , I'll wait here. Next thing you get in and its half empty.
Thats what Apple has been doing ever since Steve Jobs came back.
Hard attainable objects are often most desired.

vinnycoyne

Fat_Fingers wrote: »

Have you ever passed by the night club and seen a long queue? So you think this place is in demand therefore must be great , I'll wait here.

I'd go somewhere else, but maybe that's just me.

IamMetaldave

Dades wrote: »

I'd imagine it's in their interest to get some phone to other countries sooner rather than later instead of keeping all their stock for the US.

Even if only from a PR perspective.

Was thinking that myself. They'd be mad to delay the rest of the world to please the States.

seamus

Dave Eyesclosed wrote: »

They'd be mad to delay the rest of the world to please the States.

Apple are a US-centric company.

And why shouldn't they be? The USA is an enormous market.

In fact the evolution of the iPhone very much reflects the fact that Apple concentrate all of their efforts on pleasing U.S. customers and everyone else comes second. The 2G used EDGE as its primary mobile data connection. Much more popular in the USA than most of the rest of the world. Think about what was missing from the iPhone - SMS capabilities were (still are) fairly limited. No MMS. Not a big deal in the USA where SMS wasn't (still isn't?) very popular.

Apple will bend over backwards to ensure that bigger single markets are kept happy. They will not hesitate to ensure that 300 million Americans have access to a new iPhone even if it means access for 400 million Europeans is delayed. But they wouldn't dream of reversing the situation.
Their deployment campaign reflects this "big markets" first mentality:
USA first, followed by UK, France and Germany, then by all the small markets.

This is mainly because Apple insist on interfering at every stage of the deployment process. Other manufacturers release the phone to a network and that's it. Apple "licence" the network to sell this "exclusive" device, scrutinise the plans under which it's being released, scrutinise the advertisement programs and won't hesitate to screw a network over when it suits them. It's merchandising, but on a massive scale. This is why it's easier to go for the bigger single markets first - you have less operators to talk to bully.
If Europe had continent-wide mobile networks run by a small handful of operators (which wouldn't surprise me in future), you'd see a lot more attention focussed on us.

IamMetaldave

seamus wrote: »

Apple are a US-centric company.

And why shouldn't they be? The USA is an enormous market.

I take your point, but there are a hell of a lot more people in the states still not on iPhone because of the network that Apple have given exclusivity to. If they really cared so much about their American market they'd have opened that up a long time ago like they did over here.

Sad Professor

Apple signed a 5 year exclusivity deal with AT&T. That's ending soon, however, so they will open it up to other carriers as they have done here.

seamus

Dave Eyesclosed wrote: »

I take your point, but there are a hell of a lot more people in the states still not on iPhone because of the network that Apple have given exclusivity to. If they really cared so much about their American market they'd have opened that up a long time ago like they did over here.

Agreed, I think the AT&T exclusivity deal was a bit of a mistake on Apple's part because AT&T have continually shown themselves to be sub-par when it comes to running a good mobile network.
It was the nature of the device in the first place (there was absolutely nothing like it in 2007) that allowed people to see past the carrier's shortcomings.
They're stuck with it now though - I guess they were a little less cocky about the success of the phone in 2007, hence the insanely long deal with AT&T.

Sad Professor

I don't think Apple had much choice. Selling it SIM-free without a subsidy deal wasn't an option. AT&T hadn't even seen the phone and Apple were insisting that they retain control over it. Apple had to give on something and it was the length of the contract. It was different with the European carriers, by the time Apple came to negotiate with them the iPhone was already out in the States and Apple were in a better position to dictate terms.

IamMetaldave

5 years?? That is mental amount of time to tie in for, major fail on Apple's part.

whiterebel

Dave Eyesclosed wrote: »

5 years?? That is mental amount of time to tie in for, major fail on Apple's part.

I think it was actually 2 years first, but very quickly, with the success of it, AT&T offered up their virginity, first born and anything else they had to make sure they kept exclusivity for another 3 years after that, probably thinking the fuss would have died down before that. They were still apparently trying to negotiate up to Dec 09 to extend it , but Apple have seen the wisdom of spreading their wings.

Sad Professor

No, I'm pretty sure it was always 5 years. This was confirmed a couple of months ago.

whiterebel

Sad Professor wrote: »

No, I'm pretty sure it was always 5 years. This was confirmed a couple of months ago.

Take your pick Prof:
"USA Today has published an article highlighting AT&T chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson's contributions to the Apple-AT&T relationship. Of particular note, the article cites unnamed sources who claim that in exchange for offering Apple subsidies of up to $300 per iPhone, AT&T has been awarded an extra year of iPhone exclusivity in the United States, extending into 2010.

In exchange for its payout, AT&T got a year extension, into 2010, on its exclusive distribution deal with Apple, people familiar with the matter say. Sources asked to not be named because the terms are confidential.

Under the original iPhone contract, Apple had the right to offer the device to other carriers beginning in 2009. If Apple exercised that clause, AT&T would have lost one of its biggest points of leverage with customers — exclusive access to the iPhone. Nailing the extension "is a very big deal," Entner says.

Stephenson declined to discuss the contract, saying only that he is "very happy" with the arrangement.
USA Today had previously claimed that AT&T's original exclusivity agreement with Apple was to run for five years (into 2012), although other sources had reported that the agreement would extend only until 2009".

Good old USA Today....:D

Although AT&T said "multi-year", I don't think anyone outside AT&T and Apple knows exactly how long they signed up for. 5 years does seem insane in technology terms.

Sad Professor

whiterebel:

That article was from 2008.

Here's what MR reported last month:

Engadget digs up some 2008 court documents that confirm that Apple and AT&T's original exclusivity agreement did, in fact, extend into 2012. From a court order (PDF):
The Agreement, which lasts until 2012, provides that iPhone purchasers who want voice and data services must sign a two-year service contract with ATTM. (Complaint P30.) Although the Agreement itself is not public, some of its provisions have been revealed in the press.

The 5 year timeframe was originally revealed by USA Today back in 2007. A 5 year contract would have maintained AT&T iPhone exclusivity into 2012.

However, at this point, it's not entirely clear if the original contract still stands. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2009 that AT&T's iPhone exclusivity is due to expire this year (2010). Apple and AT&T may have undergone contract revisions and negotiations since that time. Most industry experts seem to believe that AT&T exclusivity comes to an end this year with several whispers that Apple will bring the iPhone to Verizon's network in 2010.

http://www.macrumors.com/2010/05/10/atandt-iphone-exclusivity-originally-scheduled-through-2012/

whiterebel

Sad Professor wrote: »

whiterebel:

That article was from 2008.

Here's what MR reported last month:



http://www.macrumors.com/2010/05/10/atandt-iphone-exclusivity-originally-scheduled-through-2012/

Yes I remember talk in the beginning of a 5year deal, but I thought that was tossed when deals were changing i.e. do away with the revenue share, getting better deals for the iPhone etc. I suppose we'll find out for sure which one is in force if Verizon come on board this year or next.