Carphone Warehouse vs Apple. An easy choice, but will we be allowed?
Dan Lawson over at the Wee Apple has an interesting post about how Apple are going to sell the iPhone in the UK. He writes that,
AppleInsider and Macworld UK both pick up on reports that Apple may be forced to sell the new iPhone 3G in-store on a pay-as-you-go only basis, due to the retail chain’s stores and staff not currently being able to process in-store activations for a credit contract associated with Pay Monthly schemes.
Now this is would be tragic if this was allowed to happen. One of the joys of buying the iPhone, apart from the 8 hour queuing, was the fact that I could walk in buy it, and leave. Now contract hassle, no busy shop, no retail person not knowing anything about the product they were selling.
This would change dramatically if people have to go through Carphone Warehouse or 02 to buy their shiny new 3G iPhones. The reality is this. We, the Apple fan base, want a great purchasing experience, and this happens when you go to the Apple shrine (store) and interact with a genius / sales person. They know how much you like the brand. They are generally very knowledgable too. They enjoy working there, and this shows. A lot.
I really hope that Apple and 02 sort this out and do so before July 11th. Dan, in his blog post, states that they are, and I’ve seen some other news reports today also saying that they are doing this. They must do this for the sake of a decent retail experience. However, there is one thing we (the Apple fanbase) are overlooking. Steve Jobs wants everyone to buy and love the 3G iPhone. ‘Everyone’ may not want a fantastic retail experience. In fact, they probably couldn’t care less.
