Comments on Robert Scoble's "Waiting in line for iPhones is glorious"

Was there ever a supply issue last year? I thought after the lines died down people just walked in and out with a phone.

Apple better hope that the lines are not long this year, because they won't be moving as fast as an Apple employee swiping a credit card and giving you a phone. In-store activation is going to slow things down ten-fold.

Lines will not be as long because the 3G iPhone AT&T plans are too expensive and the cost of the phones are too high for people who do not qualify for an upgrade.

There are more details on my site here:

http://www.joeranft.com/2008/07/6-more-reasons-from-att-not-to-upgrade.html

6 More Reasons From ATT Not to Upgrade to the 3G iPhone

Crunchgear has the details on AT&T's 3G iPhone plans, and it's really full of great reasons not to upgrade. Here are a my six.

1. $5 Extra for 200 SMS messages. The rumors were right, so maybe they were not rumors.
2. My current plan is Nation 450 Rollover & 5000 Night/Weekend & Unlimited Mobile-To-Mobile Minutes for $59.95. This will increase to $69.95 plust $5.00 for the SMS messages. So I'll have to pay $15.00 more per month, for really bad reception.
3. The AT&T Web Site is unusable. It says I can log in and check for my upgrade eligibility, but I can't find it. But this policy really does punish previous iPhone customers, who all paid full price for their first iPhones. I could see limiting upgrades to one per every 2 years, but none of us received a single discount when purchasing our first iPhone.
4. If I am not eligible for an upgrade, I have to pay $499 for a new phone. That's more than I paid for my current iPhone. A Palm Centro is $99. I'm sure the Blackberry Bold will be less as well. Update: one of the commenters posted that all current iPhone owners are eligible for an upgrade. Still, I'm leaving this point. That's a lot for a new phone.
5. Upgrading will include an $18 upgrade fee. This is another low-class nickle and dime charge, like the SMS messages. These fees are added on so the main rates can seem lower, when they aren't.
6. Cheesy marketing writing on the AT&T web site, like this: "So, AT&T retail stores will be open at 8AM local time on the 11th, so be iReady!" iReady? That wasn't even creative in 2002.