AT&T Confirms the 3G iPhone For 2008, Kills Apple’s Christmas
Right in the middle of the busiest shopping time of the year it looks as if AT&T may have just dampened Apple’s holiday spirit with the simple mention of one number and one letter: 3G.
Ever since the release of the iPhone there’s been a not-so-quiet whisper of plenty of folks who think the device is great but would wait for the second iteration – one that works on the 3G network. Well today we finally have proof of the device straight from a well-placed source, that being AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson who told a group in California yesterday:
“You’ll have it next year”
As unsurprising as that may be to a lot of people, you’ve got to think Apple can’t be too happy with Stephenson officially letting the cat out of the bag as it were. Even though “next year” could technically mean December 31, 2008, how many people are going to want to lay down $400 AND sign a two-year contract on a device that is going to be obsolete in possibly just a few months time? A rumor just last week put a date of May 2008 out there.
Apple has just spent the past several months downplaying talk of a 3G iPhone as they point out all the great upgrades they still plan on rolling out to this iPhone – namely the development kit in February. AT&T has now basically gone out and said: “screw that, wait for the 3G”.
Way to stab your partner in the back while shooting yourself in the foot AT&T – who says these telecom companies just don’t get it? Stephenson likely saw all the headlines Verizon was getting with their open network announcement this week, panicked and decided to throw something out there.
Then as a parting gift, when asked how much the 3G iPhone would cost, Stephenson replied that Steve Jobs “will dictate what the price of the phone is” – as if to say “well we’d love to give it to you for free, but you never know what that money-loving Apple company will decide”. Someone is getting coal in their stocking.
[via Mashable]
