Top 5 Reasons the iPhone may not require in-store activation
Update: As announced, the iPhone is to be activated with iTunes, in the comfort of your own home/office/local Starbucks.
The iPhone requires in-store activation, right? Right? No one knows, but that won't stop us from speculating about the alternatives. Here are our top 5 reasons you might be able to bring home your iPhone without all the hassles of an in-store sign-up:
5. Apple says you'll need an account with Apple's iTunes store. I have little knowledge about cell phone regulation and what it takes to get a cell phone up and running but I do know you can buy a Tracfone at Walmart and get it going without waiting for an hour or so at the cell phone store for a guy to fumble around with your iPhone packaging.
4. About a week ago, I posted about the new Web Object references to the iPhone in Apple's online securebag and storebag protocols. The iPhone Activation URL https://albert.apple.com/WebObjects/ALActivation.woa/wa/iPhoneRegistration suggests that it might be possible to activate an iPhone using nothing more than iTunes--as opposed to the normal and lengthy process of getting a cellphone up and running.
3. We're still waiting for any official plan details to emerge. If the recent GoPhone plans are expanded to the iPhone, the iPhone might prove to be a simple contract-free affair--although we're probably not talking about a new wi-fi enabled $499 or $599 widescreen iPod sans iPhone enablement. If that's a SIM card slot up-top (or maybe near the battery compartment), maybe you could just take it home, unwrap it yourself and drop in your SIM card and go.
2. Several Apple store employees have spoken about buying the iPhone at the Apple store and bringing them later to AT&T stores for number transfer.
1. No human being should be expected to wait in line as long as common sense would suggest it will take to process each iPhone buyer through account activation this Friday.
