AT&T now hawking iPhone 3Gs online to biz customers
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Aug 14th 2008 11:57AM
posted Aug 14th 2008 11:57AM
[Thanks, Vasudev R.]
Update: We touched base with AT&T, and it looks like the real news here is that Premier account holders who pay their own bills now have access to the iPhone 3G online, whereas before, only those whose bills were covered by their companies had access. The more, the merrier!
I was able to order my iPhone 3G 16gb Black from Premiere the first day they were released in the US.
yeah me too. i ordered 15 of them off the premier site from day one. some old ass news here.
I think they just added the option for individuals who get a discount through their employer instead of companies that pay for employees' phones. I'm in the first group and just got this enabled on Premier.
share the love att...what gives?
*is jealous*
"Apple requires a 2-year commitment."
Actually, AT&T requires a 2-year commitment. I don't think Apple cares as long as they get paid.
I noticed that too. Silly AT&T!
I'm sure AT&T doesn't care as long as they get paid either, but the problem is a 2-year is probably the only way that's going to happen!
Notice how is says apple requires a 2 year contract. Yeah right AT&T it is AT&T that requires a 2 year contract!!!!!!
"the best cellphone Apple makes"
I was unaware of another cellphone currently in production by Apple...*sarcasm*
I'm a premier customer too.
Isn't this available like quite a few weeks ago?
It would be fine for biz use if it didn't drop calls all the time :P .....well maybe that bad batch of iphones has been all sold by now which allows them to offer it to biz customers lol
if you buy through premeire, do you still have to sign up for the $40/mo data plan? i ask because i got grandfathered in on my $15/mo data plan (unlimited data) and would REALLY like to keep that.
fyi...anyone with a valid virginia tech email address can get the premeire discount. it's how i got mine.
It is possible to do this. When I wanted to buy a new phone without a new plan, the support team told me to order with the changes to the plan, and call them back once I recieved the phone, telling them that I no longer desired the changes to the plan. They were able to revert it back to my old plan, with no changes, and I kept the phone. Apparently, as long as you cancel within so many days of the plan change, they can undo it all for free. You keep the device, as well as the discount you recieved at the order. I was really suprised that their own support team suggested it, but it worked.
Let's say you get into the premier site using a friends email, do you to prove you are the person the email address is owned by or that you are a current student at Virginia tech?
===== Mandatory iPhone-sucks comment =====
It doesn't have video recording or copy-paste or MMS and
that greatly inhibits my mobile activities I'd much rather
have Verizon's V-Cast service which allows on-the-go
downloading and Apple wants you in their walled garden
and anyone who likes this phone is just a fanboy blah
blah blah blah blah blah blah...
it seems that thru premeire, you don't have to buy a data plan. meaning i can stick to the $15 unlimited data plan i have right now (old medianet unlimited plan).
anyone using the old medianet plans? does it work?
it still works. i had the 1st iphone, and threw my sim into the iphone 3g, and it works fine. but i did get a txt from ATT saying i need to upgrade my plan. but everything still worked just fine. i did decide to call it in, and they couldnt upgrade my plan, so i asked them if anything will happen to my phone or account, they said no.
It's not the source, it's the fact that you started with the word rumor. That and the smiley face in the end kills it.
Since when is a phone network selling a phone with business features
to business customers news?
Good stuff engadget.
http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/08/13/hsbc.mulls.iphone.swap/
Actually, they haven't ditched anything, but are considering it.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10017065-37.html
I have luckily access to premiere through my business. Can we do the same trick as the old iphone (buy without activating and then jailbreaking?). I went through the checkout process and they make you add a voice and data plan to the order, so it seems you sign the contract online right away. Anybody care to comment on this?.
Also, what's the maximum number of lines per person?
Should I get an Iphone or a Tilt through Premier?
5 hours talk time on 3g? I think they mean standby time.
http://www.phonesreview.co.uk/wp-content/phoneimages/2008/06/apple-3g-iphone-battery.jpg
:p
Its 5 hours or more of 3g talk time or web time.
@gothike:
i don't think you have to prove it. can't remember for sure though as i signed up about 2-3 years ago. only thing is, you wouldn't get any emails to reset your password if you ever need to.
but, once you get everything set up, you could probably just go in and change the email addr in your profile.
you decided to call what in? the txt msg telling you to upgrade? and how long have you been using medianet on the iphone? just want to make sure you didn't notice any extra data charges on your bill. are you on the $15 medianet unlimted plan?
I have Premiere account both through my old uni email and current employer. I've been checking for iPhone and it definitely wasn't there until recently. Yes, it requires you to at least order the data plan which for me is showing up as $30 ($27 after my 10% discount). It will NOT let you order without selecting a data plan. That blows since I am currently on the media max 200 bundle which is unlimited data plus 200 txt msgs for $19.99. I wonder if I could just order it then remove the iPhone plan afterwards in the self-service site?? Hmm...
10% discount? Yikes....that's low. I'd hate to tell you what discount percentage I get.
Don't know if this is old news but the plans are 10% off for me on Premier. Anyone seeing larger discounts?
19% on my site :)
My company gets 20% off.
IBM gets 22% off.
20% for me
27% on my account.
4 billion percent here
what is your data plan in dollars per month?
and voice plan?
4 billion hahahahaha thats awesome
Where's the tethering plan, AT&T?
Wait, so you can order it online, and the plan is apparently 24 dollars if you're adding it to a family plan?
Nice. Because I had no idea my father had a premier account.
is there anyone for me to acces the site i really want to get the iphone 3g online but dont have an email address they accept and my college doesnt give out emails address someone help me is there any way around it
I see a 27% discount on my account.
27% here too on service and 50% on pretty much all accessories (headsets, cases, etc.)
To people asking about what all you need to get the premier discount, you should have what's called a FAN number. Each corporate/premier/partner/whatever will have a specific number. It's what shows up in the top-right corner of your billing statement.
Seriously, yesterday I ordered my iPhone from the store with thru Direct Fulfillment or whatever, and today, BAM! Could have saved myself a few gallons of gas, some time, and whatever my discount would have been. Oh well, I still get my FAN discount on my service...wooo 10%...
I ordered my whit iPhone the Monday after it came out and got it Tuesday.
I noticed this on Premier last night. I guess they figure biz customers are least likely to buy them and sell them or try to unlock them.
Great! Now all we need is to sell this from the consumer online store, with some kind of built-in help, a Mobile Safari with plug-in support, streaming media, customisable camera settings, tethering, a bundled certain app with ruby icon and ridiculous mantra ...
This is nice, but in its current state (2.0.1), the iPhone 3G is not ready for business. But that's just my opinion. I still like mine (for the most part).
Eh...guess I can't embed pics...hence people giving the links
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3062/2762654623_f82fd86c12_o.gif
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3194/2763497352_6744ec579f_o.gif
/first time poster
I live in the Annapolis, MD area and am trying to decide betweeen an iphone (my heart's desire) w/ ATT service and keeping verizon's service and wating for the new Blackberry Thunder. My big question is how the ATT service is in this area, on the I-95 corridor between MD and Massachusetts, in cenral Mass, and between Annapolis and Chapel Hill, NC.
I've looked at the ATT coverage maps, but they area poor substitute for personal experience.
Any input would be most appreciated.
Verizons coverage is much better than AT&T's coverage...
Though the BB Thunder is not out yet, expected to come out around Oct. for Verizon...
If you need a phone now, you have better luck with the iphone. It's a wonderful device, but if you are not a hurry, you might want to wait until you see RIM's offerings with the Thunder and make your decision then...
It was news to me. Thanks for the heads up.
georgia tech people can use this service too...
although it's not very tempting for me because where i live, the apple store is not out of stock and this will take 7-10 days to ship. might work for other people though.
So I was not eligible in the store to upgrade despite having an original iPhone, customer service told me I was ineligible and an iPhone user has to complete their contract first, 2 managers, and an area manager told me I should have never been eligible but I was eligible on Premier....should I order it or just say fuck you to AT&T for all this bullshit?
Good to know. My Blackjack is crapping out and locking up daily. I'll have my IT guys pester our ATT rep about an iPhone as a replacement.
How long is it taking people to get these phones when you order them on the Premier site (for the people who order through the site and pay their own bill and have ordered recently)? It says 7-10 days, but it seems like some people are saying they got them in a day or two just after they came out. I kinda am refusing to go stand in line at a stupid apple store so I'm curious.
What company do you work for to get 27%? and does it apply to the iPhone? I get 25% but only on the main line, not on iphone data plan or on unlimited SMS.