iPhone News Updated

iPhone 3G anticipation mounts

iPhone 3G anticipation mounts

This time, it looks like there will be early morning lines. That’s what AT&T retail stores around the country are expecting when the new iPhone 3G goes on sale July 11 at 8 a.m. At Apple and AT&T stores, all employees are asked to be on deck, with some assigned to crowd control duties in remembrance of last year’s long lines when the iPhone debuted at 6 p.m. on June 29, 2007.

Besides the time, what’s different with this release is that each purchase of a new iPhone is going to take longer. With the first phone last year, buyers just went home, hooked the phone to their computer, logged onto the Apple iTunes Music Store and did their own activation.

With the new iPhone 3G — so named because it works on AT&T’s faster third-generation wireless network — store employees have to “unbrick,” or open, the box and do the physical activation of the phone in the store when it is sold.

AT&T also released pricing details yesterday. The iPhone 3G will be available for $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model. These prices require two-year contracts and are available to current iPhone customers who are upgrading and sign a new two-year contract. Brand new AT&T customers activating a new line also can get that pricing.

Current customers under contract with another phone that want to switch to the iPhone are going to have to pay more. For them, it’s $399 for the 8GB model or $499 for the 16GB model. Both options require a new two-year service agreement. AT&T says current customers also may choose to wait until they become eligible for an upgrade discount. Eligibility is generally determined by amount of time remaining on a current contract and payment history.

In the future, AT&T will offer a no-contract-required option for $599 (8GB) or $699 (16GB).

Okay, those are the costs for the phone. Now it gets really complicated.

iPhone 3G customers have four individual AT&T Nation plans to choose from. All bundle voice and unlimited data (e-mail and Web browsing).

• AT&T NationSM Unlimited: Includes unlimited Anytime Minutes for $129.99 a month.
• AT&T Nation 1350: Includes 1350 Anytime Minutes and unlimited Night & Weekend Minutes for $109.99 a month.
• AT&T Nation 900: Includes 900 Anytime Minutes and unlimited Night & Weekend Minutes for $89.99 a month.
• AT&T Nation 450: Includes 450 Anytime Minutes and 5,000 Night & Weekend Minutes for $69.99 a month.
AT&T has posted a list of “Get iReady” tips and frequently asked questions at www.att.com/iphone.

Apple, meanwhile, has also revealed more info on the new phone through a new video tour at www.apple.com/iphone/guidedtour. There’s a 10-minute video tour of the new phone, showing the design changes and software improvements coming on release day.

When the new iPhone is released July 11, so will a software upgrade, called iPhone 2.0 for the existing iPhone models. It will allow, for the first time, push e-mail, calendar and contact updating via the Microsoft Exchange application used by most large businesses, and hundreds of new applications, games, navigation features and educational programs written just for the iPhone.

The iPhone 3G gets all those 2.0 software improvements and, because it uses AT&T’s third-generation wireless network, handles e-mail and Web sites twice as fast as the old model.

[Thanks: http://www.freep.com]