So, get this. I had heard rumors about Apple dropping a new Mac [iTablet] during some upcoming date. WWDC was rumored to be that date, but it was some time away. Meanwhile, I needed a worldphone that could be used in Ireland and I didn’t see the point in having a phone domestically that can’t be used anywhere but in my own back yard.
So, on April 24th, I buy an iPhone [a 16GB, White, 3G], and show my wife that it does everything, can be used overseas without having to rent a phone for tens of dollars, and pay high per-minute charges anyway, as well as the monthy fee for phones that will sit on a desk. So, she loves the phone, it has everything, and I get her an iPhone on the 27th of April and reset my contract of 2 years.
Here is the fun phone fiasco… The rumors start to boil that it will be an iPhone and nothing else, but there are crazy rumors that it will be OLED, a black matte case, a glowing Apple logo, and a black bezel, and sizes ranging from 4GB to 64GB will be launched. Unfortunately, I need a phone within the week because of the Ireland trip. So I bite the bullet and count on no phone being dropped. I asked the sales rep if they know of anything definite because I don’t want to be left hanging with old technology after 30 days and a new phone drops. All of AT&T says they know nothing definite, only rumor, and nothing specific to a new phone.
WWDC rolls around, and they announce a new phone. But I’m passed the arbitrary deadline set by AT&T by the hours that fill the days between April 27th, and May 9th. That arbitrary date that everyone who signed contracts at AT&T stores around the world will come to hate. After speaking to 6 people within the ranks of AT&T, they told me the same thing in a nutshell: Tough.
Some even hinted at “losing” my phone and starting up two new service lines, switching the numbers, and they’ll shut down the data and texting features. Basically making the two lines dead. But I think that is unethical, sure it plays within the rules, but the spirit of the rule is broken. I’d rather have AT&T realize that two weeks before a deadline is set after the discovery of a new phone being dropped could be one of those case-by-case situations that make sense. I’m now in a 2-Year-Contract that forbids me from upgrading [even if I want to pay the price] and on top of this, they dropped the price of the iPhone in half. They won’t refund any price difference either.
Playing by the rules is not fun, but it is how I do things. So, I’m still trying to appeal to the better side of AT&T, but with it being so big, and having so many sides… it is pretty hard to find a side that is better.