“Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently gave free advice to a columnist asking how to get an iPhone when they go on sale: head to an AT&T store, Jobs suggested, rather than Apple’s own retail outlets,” Anne Broache reports for CNET News.
“A CNET News.com survey of 75 Apple and AT&T stores indicates that may be a wise approach,” Broache reports. “Not one Apple store contacted offered would-be iPhone buyers the chance to get on a waiting list, but some AT&T stores and retailers did. The catch: not all stores that sell AT&T phones expect to be selling the iPhone on June 29, and some that will expressed concern about receiving sufficient quantities of the highly anticipated device.”
AT&T company-owned vs. AT&T franchises/resellers
“One open question is whether AT&T/Cingular franchises and resellers will ever be selling the iPhone,” Broache reports. “AT&T spokesman John Kampfe initially denied on Tuesday that any franchises or resellers would receive iPhones. ‘The iPhone will be available in all AT&T-owned retail stores nationwide, which number about 1,800. Again it will be sold only in AT&T-owned retail stores, Apple retail stores and through Apple’s online store,’ Kampfe said in an e-mail interview.”
Broache reports, “But in the News.com survey, some franchises have said the opposite: that they expect to supply customers with iPhones starting June 29. Others, however, have said they’re not getting the product at all; some say they’re unsure whether they’ll stock them; and some said that if they did, the phones would likely not arrive until at least July… In a follow-up conversation, AT&T’s Kampfe indicated that franchises might be able to start selling phones after June 29. ‘We haven’t disclosed what we’re doing beyond the 29th,’ he said. ‘That’s not to say we are going to make them available, but as of the 29th, it is only going to be in AT&T-owned stores, Apple stores, and Apple online.'”
Broache reports, “An Omaha, Neb., Apple store employee said he fully expected to see people camping outside before the launch, while a Portland, Ore. employee actually advised doing so: ‘I recommend pitching a tent,’ he said, perhaps only half kidding.”
Full article, with more info from other stores and tips for landing an iPhone, here.
Broache also has a related CNET News blog post, “Tips for landing an iPhone,” here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Aki” for the heads up.]