Misplaced Priorities??

People bitch about paying $4/gallon for gasoline, but they'll pony up $199 for the latest iToy??

R U iReady for the iPhone 3G?
By Robert Moran

Inquirer Staff Writer

This morning, the AT&T store in Center City will start selling the new iPhone 3G.
Will there be the hype and frenzy that accompanied the first release of the iPhone a year ago?

Will former Mayor John Street be waiting in line as he did last year, arriving at 3:30 a.m. for a 6 p.m. unveiling?

Probably not on both questions. But the iPhone 3G is anticipated to bring in a lot of customers at AT&T and Apple stores across the country and at other outlets around the world.

"We do expect a big turnout," said AT&T spokeswoman Ellen Webner.

Lines were already forming yesterday at stores in Boston, Sydney and Tokyo, the latter a tech-mad hotbed that analysts like to watch for a sign of any gadget's future prospects.

The first line was formed last week in New York by environmental activists and publicity seekers.

The hyped frenzy isn't there this time because the iPhone isn't new and unusual, as it was last year.

Masayuki Otani, deputy chief of research at Maruwa Securities Co. in Tokyo, said the iPhone faces competition from emerging rivals and may attract a limited following.

"The iPhone is a fad," Otani said. "There are lots of people who love it and jump at it, but there are those who are going to be less impressed."

Nonetheless, AT&T will have extra staff at its stores through the weekend to handle the expected surge in business, Webner said.

There will be differences in how the phone is sold compared with last year, and AT&T has been giving out brochures to show customers how to get "iReady."

The biggest change in the buying process is that purchasers will be required to activate the phone in the store.

AT&T doesn't say this publicly, but it is widely acknowledged that this is being done to prevent the phones from being "unlocked" and switched to a different carrier or shipped overseas.

Last year, a customer could simply buy the phone and walk out - and many phones got unlocked, which meant AT&T lost potential revenue.

With the new activation requirement, Webner said the purchase will take about 15 minutes for each customer.

That, in part, is why there will be added staff to try to ease the activation bottleneck.

So what's different about the iPhone 3G?

First, the new version will work on AT&T's 3G network, which makes Web surfing and downloading much faster than on the original iPhone.

The phone will be cheaper. The iPhone last year cost $499 for the 4-gigabyte model and $599 for 8-gigabytes.

The 8-gigabyte iPhone 3G will cost $199 and 16-gigabyte $299. The prices vary if the customer is not new to AT&T or a qualified current subscriber.

The new phones will have global positioning system functions and new software to handle a variety of applications that can be downloaded free or for a small charge from the new Apple "App Store."

The applications feature may be the most game-altering change. Applications that have been previewed include programs that turn the iPhone into a musical instrument, a language translator, a geographical friend tracker, and a game player in which turning and shaking the phone directs the action.