Come on, Apple! I'll be your friend...
With the iPhone 3G being the most hotly anticipated handset of the year, you can't blame the mobile carriers for wanting a piece of the lucrative action. But telco 3 has gone to extreme measures, creating a website where customers can beg Apple to make the phone available on the network.
The site, located at www.three.com.au/iphone, will go live tomorrow, and is accompanied by a mobile version — SMS the word iPhone to 333000 and you'll receive a digital form to submit your iPhone pleas.
Though less kind commentators might call the move a little desperate, Noel Hamill, director of Sales, Marketing & Product at 3, says it's all about satisfying the customers.
"Ever since Apple's announcement that a 3G iPhone is coming, we've had lots of calls and emails — the main flavour is people wanting to get the value that 3 offers with the iPhone," said Hamill in a statement released today.
"We want Apple to see just how much our customers want the iPhone."
Regardless of what convincing messages get posted on the site, the iPhone will not be available on 3 on 11 July. That date is reserved for Optus and Vodafone, but the 3 statement said the company "hopes it will come to 3 stores soon".
Telstra is yet to employ similar tactics, but we're betting the company would love to stock the iPhone in their shiny new T[Life] stores.
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canberra_photographer
26/06/2008 06:53 PM
People, 3 will be selling the iPhone in November. This is just a publicity stunt.
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daniels.aus
26/06/2008 08:22 PM
soooo lame! Arghhh Lame!! LAME! Canberra Photographer: this is not a publicity stunt. Whilst they may be fairly sure of getting the iphone in November, it's clearly not confirmed- do you REALLY think 3 would risk losing so many of their customers, for a publicity stunt?????
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daniels.aus
26/06/2008 09:26 PM
ohhh btw the 'lame' referred to 3's ridiculous ploy, not Canberra's comments.
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Izaiah
27/06/2008 12:14 AM
Noel and the guys at 3 are pretty switched on - I think that 3 missing out initially was probably due to the gross numbers that the Optus/Voda telcos would manage together. 3 is definitely going to be the most affordable/3G friendly iPhone carrier when it does get its chance - they've been at the forefront 3G for nearly 5 years now in both price and quality of service - back when Optus, Voda and Telstra didn't want to know about 3G. I think its a shame that 3 doesn't have rights to resell it yet. I personally hope that Telstra is the last telco to gain the iPhone so that perhaps the miserly marketing team at Telstra manufactures some data plans that are not financially disgraceful. Go 3.
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Unknown
27/06/2008 12:51 PM
Hmmm how do telco's qualify for the rights to a particular phone ? I always thought it was through a bid for the rights of the phones... if that were the case then its kinda unfair that the losing bidders also gain rights to retail the phone :/
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negmut
28/06/2008 08:31 AM
Izaiah - I 100% agree with you :)
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mwt
29/06/2008 03:49 PM
This sucks, im stuck in a 3 contract for 4 more months but i want the iphone asap. Does anyone else hate being locked into plans for 24 months? A phone for me usually lasts only a year or so. What about 12 month plans
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orp
30/06/2008 12:30 PM
great, so i'm stuck with a telco who wants ME to beg apple to please let them have the iphone. how is it my job to do this? shouldn't 3 be doing the work, then offering it to me? what are my overly inflated monthly bills paying for? it all sounds a bit.... pov.
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orp
30/06/2008 12:31 PM
great, so i'm stuck with a telco who wants ME to beg apple to please let them have the iphone. how is it my job to do this? shouldn't 3 be doing the work, then offering it to me? what are my overly inflated monthly bills paying for? it all sounds a bit.... pov.
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JJ
30/06/2008 05:37 PM
3 and Telstra are only reacting now because of the "unexpectedly large interest" shown by the public, Telstra started by attempting to discredit Optus over 3G speeds claims initially, but changed it's focus only after Optus stopped accepting deposits - rumour was Optus stopped accepting deposits as it had reached their pre-allocation amount - 40,000 units in two days. That combined with the public forums and comments to stories like this that clearly show people would rather walk to other carriers than wait months for the iPhone to be available on their current provider. These are the true market drivers for Telstra's and 3's reactions. I read from somewhere that Apple wanted 60% shop space in 3 stores, and 3 didn't want to comply. But I also am assuming that 3 doesn't like non 3 phone software and only prefers handsets that can't be unlocked easily for use with other networks. While there is nothing to say the iPhone can be unlocked easily (and even if it unlocked, it will be some time - the original iPhone took 10 weeks to unlock), 3 can't use it's usual safe haven approach of locking the phones to prevent customers leaving. Telstra was able to push an agreement - probably at great cost, but it appears that 3 doesn't want to try - and in a vain attempt is deflecting the issue be trying to get it's customers to cry foul. Stupid really that they are reacting now. 3 doesn't want to give into Apples conditions and wants the public to fight for it. Well good luck 3, but with all the other carriers picking up the iPhone were is the logic or motivation for Apple to shift or renegotiate? It is simple 3, comply with Apple's conditions or lose customers. Either way it is too late for a 11 July batch of iPhones for 3. Even Telstra will not have them for 11th of July. That being said without 3, the initial data plans from the other carriers are going to be high, but unless 3 agrees to Apples conditions it will be left in the dust. The ball is in 3's court not Apple's. And until that happens the others are going to pay a premium for data services.
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jj
01/07/2008 12:25 AM
well I stand corrected as it appears that telstra pulled a rabbit out of it's hat with a July 11th launch. Though it's data component of the telstra plans are probably going to be a expensive as usual.
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