Apple Unveils One-Button Cellular Provider
by John Paczkowski
Posted on June 26, 2007 at 7:44 AM PT
Apple CEO Steve Jobs once referred to cellphone companies as “orifices” that phone makers must go through to reach end users. And after reviewing the details of AT&T’s iPhone activation and price plans, Jobs’s choice of descriptives seems apt–as long as you consider the orifice to be that of a sock puppet. Because Apple appears to have bent AT&T to its will and claimed near-total control of the iPhone’s activation and service experience.
Service plans for the iPhone will hew to Apple’s standards, not AT&T’s. Though not labeled as such, they’ll be offered in Apple’s standard tiers of “good”, “better” and “best” and range in price from $59.99 to $99.99. And iPhone activation will be handled through its iTunes software. Nice to see Apple applying its simple-but-elegant design ethic to the wireless industry’s horrifically complex matrix of service plans and silly activation procedures. Almost makes you want to go out and buy a new phone, just for the purchase experience.
