My 2 Cents: Now if you were still holding out for your iPhone I think that it has hit rock bottom for at least a day… At this price I am really considering it but with signs of a fleet of android devices coming out soon I think I am going to have to wait…Late Christmas gift anyone :O)
If this isn’t AT&T trying to push the iPhone down your throat, we don’t know what is. First, refurbs were dropped to just $99 and $199 for 8GB and 16GB iPhones, respectively. And now the voice of Vito Corleone is ringing in our heads, “Make them an offer they can’t refuse…” From now until December 31, which is going to be here sooner than later, AT&T is taking an additional $50 off the refurbished iPhones.
They must have a ton of refurbs in stock from the mad exchanges and returns from earlier this year. Oh, and one more thing to sweeten the deal (as if it wasn’t cavity-inducing enough): 2-day priority shipping is also free, an unusual offer during the holiday season. Is there really any excuse not to pick one of these up if you had been holding off on it? Hell, just go ahead and add a family line you don’t need!
UPDATE:RCR has updated their story and corrected it; refurb iPhones are at $99 and $199, folks!
[Via RCR]
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iPhone madness: $49 and $149 for refurbs until Dec. 31 : Boy Genius Report
My 2 Cents: Well if you were thinking of getting yourself one of those fancy new storms you might want to hold off for just a bit till they are able to work out the kinks that they seem to be having.
I personally think that RIMM should have stuck with what they did best and not have gotten into the touch-screen wars but I guess everyone wants a bigger piece of the pie. With a return rate of 50% you got to think that RIMM is pissed :O(
RIM’s new BlackBerry Storm — the phone Verizon Wireless is hoping will keep people away from rival AT&T (T) and the iPhone this Christmas — is still back ordered. But is it a real hit? Or are people rushing to return the phone?
Verizon (VZ) has extended its return policy through Jan. 15, 2009 for all phones purchased since Nov. 16 — before the Storm went on sale. But we’ve heard anecdotally — and seen more evidence on Twitter — that many people are already taking their Storms back.
- RobertaMurphy: Just returned from Verizon store. Traded Blackberry Storm in on the Curve. So happy to have a responsive keyboard and speed back in my life.
- davematson: Returned my blackberry storm. A counter-assault against a rare consumerist impulse purchase on my part. And a crappy product, too.
- nessenj: Returned the BB Storm last night to VZW. They can have their piece of junk back.
- dquail: Returned my crappy Blackberry storm. what a piece of junk. Guy at verizon wasn’t surprised
- icheddy: Let me know how you like the Storm. I have a friend that got one and then returned it after a week. He didn’t like it much.
- debroby: I don’t have the Storm, but I’ve talk to several people who returned within the Verizon’s 30 day return window.
This is not a scientific sample. There’s also plenty of chatter on Twitter about people returning Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone or other BlackBerry gadgets, like the Bold. But it was surprisingly easy to quickly find those six people.
And it suggests that one stat we’ve heard from mobile blogger "Boy Genius" isn’t crazy: That 40% to 50% of Storms are being returned. If that’s true — we don’t know — it’s astonishingly high.
A Verizon rep declined to offer information about the Storm’s return rate or how it compares to other BlackBerry phones that Verizon sells. And while we hope RIM (RIMM) will address some of the Storm’s lousy reviews during tomorrow’s earnings call — join us for live coverage starting at 4 p.m. ET — we’re not holding our breath.
One bit of good news: We’ve heard from several sources that the Storm has improved significantly since Verizon issued a software update about two weeks ago.
BlackBerry Storm Buyers Returning Phones En Masse? (RIMM)
My 2 Cents: Here is a nice little round-up of the GOOD & BAD of the G1 and what makes one better than the iPhone…what do you think?
Walt Mossberg has tested Google’s GPhone and concludes that Apple needs to watch its back. Meanwhile, Research in Motion who?
I have been testing the G1 extensively, in multiple cities and in multiple scenarios. In general, I like it and consider it a worthy competitor to the iPhone… But the two devices have different strengths and weaknesses, and are likely to attract different types of users.
If you’ve been lusting after the iPhone’s functionality, but didn’t like its virtual keyboard or its user interface or its U.S. carrier, AT&T, the G1 may be just the ticket for you. But it does have some significant downsides.
Mossberg’s GPhone positives:
- Keyboard. Keys too flat and weird bulge in body, but at least there’s a keyboard.
- Removable battery.
- Expandable memory.
- Cheaper. Phone $179 vs. Apple $199, Data plan $25 vs $30.
- Equally slick software.
- Better "desktop."
- Higher-res camera.
- Much easier to make telephone calls. Imagine that.
- Key features that Apple bizarrely still omits: cut-and-paste, MMS,
- Ability to legally unlock and go to another carrier (with fat fee)
- Longer-lasting battery. A whole day. Imagine that.
- Slightly longer talk time. (5 hours, 19 minutes more)
- Wicked cool compass that orients you on map.
Mossberg’s G1 downsides:
- Chunky brick. 20% heavier, 30% thicker.
- Puny memory. 1 gig, one eighth of iPhone.
- Only 128 mg memory for third-party apps.
- Too much lock-in with Google services (contacts, calendar)
- No Microsoft Exchange support
- Can’t sync with PC or Mac
- Overall, interface inferior (no two-finger zoom magic)
- No onscreen keyboard, so have to use bulky external keyboard.
- Weak music player, no video player
- T-Mobile network coverage sucks.
GPhone As Good As iPhone, Says Gadget King
My 2 Cents: For all you Starbucks coffee lovers out there is the US…seems like free WiFi is back. Seems like its just a simple sign-up with the link below and you will be ready to go…
Sign up
It all looks legit and final. AT&T and Starbucks have finally rolled out their free WiFi plan to Starbucks Card users registered with AT&T. In exchange for letting AT&T send you up to 4 emails per year, you get a single WiFi session of up to 2-hours per day at any of Starbucks’ 7,000 or so US-based stores. Now get out of here, and don’t forget your MacBook for some conspicuous posing and caffeine consumption.
Free AT&T WiFi now at Starbucks – Engadget
My 2 Cents: For those of you that have been waiting to make the plunge and get yourself one of the much acclaimed iPhone’s it seems that not might be your time. There is also the added bonus that you will not have hack it as well in order to get it activated on whatever network you would like ;O)
Remember those dirt-cheap refurbished iPhones we mentioned you could snag in-store? Well it looks like AT&T has decided to share the bounty with the public at large, and has begun taking orders for the $249 8GB models online. If you’ve been on the fence, here’s your chance to get in for $150 less than retail (and sadly for you early adopters, a whopping $350 tumble in price). In our experience, you can grab one in person with no activation, though it looks like you’ll have to sign on the dotted line to have it delivered.
Update: According to our commenters, you can get these mailed to you activation / contract free
Cheapo refurbished iPhones for sale online from AT&T – Engadget
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