“iPhone activations at AT&T grew by just 3% in the second quarter this year, and many industry watchers pointed to the flood of next-generation iPhone rumors as a likely culprit for the slowed growth,” Zach Epstein reports for BGR. “BGR has exclusively learned that this is not entirely the case, however, and the stalled iPhone sales at the nation’s No.2 wireless carrier may in fact be by design.”
“Regional retail sales managers at AT&T have been instructing store managers to pump the brakes on Apple’s iPhone,” Epstein reports. “Instructions handed down from corporate state that customers seeking smartphones at AT&T retail stores should be steered away from Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone and towards Android phones or Windows Phone handsets like the Nokia Lumia 900 instead. BGR has confirmed the directive with three independent sources… [Regardless] Apple handsets still accounted for 72% of all smartphones activated by AT&T during the second quarter this year.”
In an update, Epstein reports, “AT&T contacted BGR via email and supplied the following statement: ‘The idea that we would steer any customer away from a particular device couldn’t be more farfetched. Our reps do what it takes to align customer needs with the best device for them. iPhone remains one of our most popular devices, which doesn’t happen by steering people away from it. Our reps are encouraged to try all devices so they are more knowledgeable on our industry-leading smartphone lineup.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Nice non-denial denial, AT&T.
Nigam Arora reports for Forbes, “From our multiple checks, it is clear that if a consumer walks into one of the several stores where we checked with an open mind, the consumer is not going to walk out with an iPhone.”
“If BGR report is true, understanding AT&T’s reasons for such a directive is important for investors,” Arora reports. “If the main reason is that AT&T does not have enough inventory of iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S ahead of iPhone 5 launch, it is bullish for Apple stock. On the other hand if the reason is the amount of subsidies AT&T provides on iPhones, it is a huge negative for Apple stock.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple CEO Tim Cook needs to at least remind AT&T exactly who’s boss, if not tear them a new orifice.
FYI: It’s not just AT&T, either: Hard sell: Verizon Wireless clerks pushing Android phones over iPhone – May 5, 2012
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Jax44” for the heads up.]
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