Hey, do you remember 2008 and 2009? There was a presidential election, and many people still thought the Blackberry was a fabulous smartphone. The second generation of the iPhone, 3G, debuted at the same time as Apple’s App Store. And sometime between then and 2010, this iPhone speaker hit the shelves of Walmart, where it has stayed ever since. [More]
iphone 3g
AT&T Won't Honor iPhone Price Announced In Its Own Press Release
By 8.19.08
Reader Rom is angry with AT&T because they won’t sell him an iPhone 3G for the price listed in their press release. AT&T says the promotional pricing ($199 for an 8GB, $299 for a 16GB) is only available to, among others, existing iPhone customers. Rom is an existing iPhone customer.
My White iPhone Is Cracked, But Not In A Good Way
By 7.31.08
Reader Zach says that he heard that white iPhones were cracking, but he got one anyway because there was a longer wait for the black ones. When he got home, he noticed two small cracks in the back of the phone.
Buying An iPhone Is A Huge Pain In The Butt For Business Customers
By 7.28.08
So there appears to be something of a shortage of iPhones this time around, and while it’s probably good for “creating buzz” it’s not so great for wooing busy business customers away from their Blackberries, according to reader James. You see, only the Apple store has iPhones, but only the AT&T store can activate them for James.
Apple Doesn't Know How To Handle The MobileMe Crisis
By 7.24.08
It’s amazing that Apple doesn’t recognize this situation. This is an airplane that’s stuck on the runway for hours with no food or working bathroom. And the pilot doesn’t come on the P.A. system to tell the customers what the problem is, what’s being done to fix it, how much longer they might be stuck, and how he empathizes with their plight. Instead, he comes on once every three hours to repeat the same thing: “We apologize for the inconvenience.”
Should AT&T Be Advertising The iPhone's 3G Speed Where There Is No 3G Network?
By 7.21.08
Reader temporaryerror brings up an interesting point. Should AT&T and Apple be advertising the iPhone 3G as “twice as fast” in areas where there is no 3G coverage? He sent in the above advertisement from the local Wichita, KS newspaper. He says that the closest 3G network is 120 miles away in Topeka, and that the advertisement doesn’t disclose this information. Is this ok?
Two Out Of Three Of My iPhones Were Defective And The Third Won't Receive Calls
By 7.15.08
Reader Michael is having a rough time with the iPhone. He says that two out of three of the iPhones purchased by his family were defective, and the third one wouldn’t receive calls. Weirdly, this story has a happy ending, because Michael found some contact information on Consumerist that got his problem solved in 5 minutes.
That Sure Is An Expensive Phone Ya Got There, Mr. Hobo
By 7.14.08
Fine, fine, the iPhone is decent and all that, but here’s a funny clip from “The Soup” that puts the lie to that whole “It’s so much cheaper!” hype. And if you’re not an iPhone owner and need even more reason to feel good about that, check out Wisebread’s rant against people who stand in line for gadgets.
Exchanging A Defective iPhone 3G Is A Huge Pain In The Butt
By 7.14.08
Reader Joshua wants to warn everyone that exchanging your defective-out-of-the-box iPhone 3G is a huge pain the butt. His girlfriend got her iPhone on launch day but quickly discovered that the speaker was broken. She brought it into the Apple store to have it checked out and an employee accidentally dropped it. At that point, Apple told them they’d just replace to the phone. That’s where things got complicated.
Buying An iPhone 3G Was Surprisingly Easy. Activating It Was Not.
By 7.11.08
As Consumerist’s resident Apple fanboy, I spent the last few hours standing outside an AT&T store waiting to buy the iPhone 3G, then waiting for it to activate in iTunes. Here’s what went down.
VIDEO: Activist Bum Rushes iPhone Line With Flag Pony
By 7.11.08
The first person in line at the 5th Ave Apple store in Manhattan was some kind of activist Daniel Bowman Simon, part of a group who camped out in front of The Cube for over a week, hoping to use it as an opportunity to bring exposure to issues of, “sustainability, affordable housing, energy security, and locally-grown food,” who tried to bumrush the applauding Apple receiving line of Apple employees and penetrate The Cube with what appears to be a metal/aluminum-foil horse carrying an American flag. The world may never know now knows exactly what sort of brilliant political statement he was trying to make as he was quickly intercepted by burly security guards who jettisoned him away to make room for more obedient cult members. Video, inside…
Some New iPhone 3Gs Sport Yellow Tinge
By 7.11.08
Reports on the MacRumors forums and Gizmodo comments assert that some of the new Apple iPhone 3Gs look distinctly iJaundiced. Needless to say, the owners are pissed. Did you get one of these banana phones? Send an email with a pic to tips@consumerist.com or let us know in the comments.
Limited New iPhones At ATT Stores, Latecomers Pay Extra To Have Phones Shipped
By 7.11.08
Only the first lucky clutch of people in line today at AT&T stores will walk out with a new iPhone 3G in-hand. There were only 30 phones available in total at the the biggest AT&T store in Waterbury CT, at the Brass Mill Center, according to a store employee. Reporting from the line, reader Kevin says that everyone else was given an option to buy a slip of paper for $226.79 (see a scan of it posted inside), have the phone shipped from the warehouse to you, then you come back to the store to activate the phone. Customers will have to pay for the shipping charges for this favor.
National iPhone 3G Activation Failure Due To Apple's "Short Tether" System?
By 7.11.08
When I heard that the iPhone activations were completely borked, I thought, man, that’s what you get for partnering with the Death Star. But from what reader Justin heard from an ATT rep, oh-so-pristine Appple might actually be the one with blemishes. He writes,
iPhone 3G Activations Fail Nationwide
By 7.11.08
A nation-wide epic fail of the iPhone activation systems has gutted the release of the new iPhone 3G. Here’s an account from reader Tyler:
Don't Live Near A Big City? Here's Something You Should Know Before Upgrading Your iPhone
By 7.11.08
The new iPhone is 3G–but AT&T’s 3G network isn’t exactly “nationwide,” so you might want to check the coverage map to make sure that there’s a 3G network in your area.
