iPhone News Updated

The Case of the Cracked IPhone

My iPhone 3G normally resides in a case of some sort–the iFrogz 3G Luxe for normal use, and the Incase Power Slider when using the iPhone for GPS during a round of golf. (Sadly, the Power Slider is out of production now; you may be able to find leftovers at Best Buy, Target, or the Apple Store. It does a great job at making battery life a non-issue, even during five hours of intense GPS use.)

After returning from an early-morning round of golf one recent weekend, I took the iPhone out of the Power Slider case, and noticed a small crack on the back of the iPhone–it started at the dock connector, and went up and right from there, running about half-an-inch or so. I wouldn’t have even noticed it visually, except that it was a complete break–my finger snagged on the ridge where the plastic had split.

My iPhone 3G was new in late August 2008, so it was still under warranty. After a bit of digging on the Apple support site, I found the Online Service Assistant. After entering my iPhone’s serial number, the assistant confirmed my iPhone was under warranty, and told me to make an appointment with an Apple Genius at a local Apple Store.

So that’s what I did, setting one up for 10 a.m. (when my local store opens). One minor quirk in the system is that the confirmation e-mail asks you to check in five minutes before your appointment. I tried, but the locked front door stymied me–and I figured a rock through the window wouldn’t help things much. So I waited outside with the 10 or so other folks there. (Yes, there really were 10 people milling about outside the Apple Store at 10:00 a.m. on a Monday morning.)

Once inside, the actual visit with the Genius Bar was quick and painless. It took about two minutes for the Genius Bar to get up and running. Once a Genius had my phone in hand, he looked up inside the dock connector area with a lighted scope of some sort–I assume he was checking for water damage. After that, he gave the phone a quick once-over to make sure it didn’t look like it’d been regularly abused, then asked if I’d backed up my data. After confirming I had done so, he swapped my SIM chip into a new iPhone (16GB 3G, to match my current phone), activated it, and sent me on my way.
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AT&T Facing Prospect of Losing iPhone Exclusivity

AT&T CEO says end of partnership is inevitable

No one can deny the business sense that AT&T used when it locked up the iPhone from Apple as an exclusive back in 2007 when the phone first debuted. The iPhone has helped AT&T grow significantly since it debuted.

According to AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, the partnership with Apple will inevitably end and ultimately the only differentiator between the wireless providers in America will be network quality. The exclusive agreement between Apple and AT&T is believed to end next year.

In Europe, O2 is facing the same problem as AT&T with its exclusive period ending. Apple is allowing O2 to keep the exclusive on the iPhone 3GS in the UK while opening the iPhone 3G up to other carriers. Reuters reports that AT&T added 1.2 million new subscribers in the second quarter and out of those subscribers about 1.2 million of them signed up for the iPhone on a 2-year contract.

The prospect of losing the exclusive on the iPhone has to raise eyebrows at AT&T and with Wall Street. Research firm Pali Research issued a sell advisement on AT&T stock in June because it was believed to be losing its iPhone exclusive. At the same time, the research firm issued a buy order on Verizon, believed to be picking the iPhone up on its network.
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