Apple and AT&T used to need each other. Before the launch of the iPhone, before the device had been proven, Apple needed a partner who would agree to its demands (install Apple servers in its network, share revenue). AT&T, trailing its competitors and needing a reason to entice customers to switch, needed a hit product.
It became clear to me during yesterday's Apple Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, though, that the need may no longer be so mutual. Apple has a major hit product on its hands and AT&T showed yesterday, with three key failures, that it may not be able to keep up.
When Apple introduced the original iPhone, many couldn't believe that an advanced media phone didn't support MMS, multimedia text messaging that allows you to send pictures and video to other phones. When Apple announced yesterday that iPhone OS 3.0 and the iPhone 3G S would feature MMS, it was no surprise. What was a surprise was that iPhone's U.S. carrier, AT&T, wouldn't be supporting MMS until later in the summer, months later than 29 carriers in other countries.
Customers had been clamoring for this feature for years. Apple had no doubt been planning it since before the original iPhone debuted. And yet AT&T isn't ready to deliver support for the feature yet - and hasn't given a firm date for that support.
The second major feature that many have sought from the iPhone is tethering, the ability to connect the iPhone to a laptop or desktop for use as a wireless modem. The new OS offers tethering, too, and it will debut from 22 carriers in 44 countries in about a week. But iPhone users in the U.S. won't see it because AT&T hasn't committed to a launch date for the feature, to say nothing of revealing what it will charge for tethering.
When these features were discussed in the keynote, the omission of AT&T was glaring. More glaring was the fact that AT&T is Apple's only telecom partner in the U.S. and must be privy to at least some details of Apple's plans long before they're announced to the pubic. And yet, AT&T isn't ready to debut these much-sought-after features.
The third strike came yesterday afternoon when AT&T announced that, unlike last year, iPhone owners who want to upgrade to the iPhone 3G S will have to pay a US$200 premium to do so. Though it's not unreasonable to expect to pay additional fees for early upgrades, that's not the path that AT&T pursued last year when it made upgrades to the iPhone 3G easy and thus helped even further goose the iPhone boom. (I wouldn't be surprised to see AT&T change that pricing, given the bad reception its getting).
Those three pieces of bad news combined to dampen some of the enthusiasm that many felt after yesterday's excitement. It also makes me wonder whether AT&T will be the carrier that offers the iPhone after its exclusivity ends in 2010.
When Apple announced that AT&T was going to be its exclusive iPhone carrier in the U.S., there were howls of protest. Not having any experience of AT&T, I reserved my judgment. Overall, my experience with them has been positive. Despite some initial customer service issues, and foot-dragging on things like MMS, my time as an AT&T customer has been basically positive.
But, if the official iPhone carrier in the U.S. doesn't have the capacity to offer key features that millions of users of less expensive, less complex phones in the U.S. and around the world already have, it's hard to envision that positivity continuing much longer.
Comments