Re: Several AT&T Stores Forced Customers to Buy Accessories With iPhone - Gizmodo

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Bob Frankston <Bob19-0501 () bobf frankston com>
Date: July 1, 2007 12:23:47 AM EDT
To: "'Lauren Weinstein'" <lauren () vortex com>, dave () farber net
Cc: bob37-2 () bobf frankston com
Subject: RE: [IP] Re: Several AT&T Stores Forced Customers to Buy  
Accessories With iPhone - Gizmodo

Sorry if I wasn't clear -- I thought the implication was obvious but  
I keep
forgetting about the lack of affect in email. But what good is it  
being a
Telco if you can't extract some money from those forced to pass by your
trollbooths.

The real challenge is getting people to see the very simple concept that
networking is just something we do (as I cite in
http://www.frankston.com/?name=FSM) and mustn't be forced to buy. I hope
that Jobs can play enemy of my enemy and take back some control but then
that may be a fantasy brought on by desperation.

-----Original Message-----
From: Lauren Weinstein [mailto:lauren () vortex com]
Sent: Sunday, July 01, 2007 00:07
To: dave () farber net
Cc: lauren () vortex com; bob37-2 () bobf frankston com
Subject: Re: [IP] Re: Several AT&T Stores Forced Customers to Buy
Accessories With iPhone - Gizmodo


Dave,

Supposedly there is no (repeat, *no*!) subsidization of iPhone cost
by The New AT&T (aka "The Old Cingular"), unlike most of their other
phones.

So why does AT&T still force iPhone users into a two year contract?

Simple.  Because they can.

By the way, it's reported that if you fail the credit check you may
be offered month-to-month prepay iPhone service ...

As Gomer Pyle used to say, "Surprise, surprise, surprise!"

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren () vortex com or lauren () pfir org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
   - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, IOIC
   - International Open Internet Coalition - http://www.ioic.net
Founder, CIFIP
   - California Initiative For Internet Privacy - http://www.cifip.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com



> --Apple-Mail-4-943871677
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
> Content-Type: text/plain;
>         charset=WINDOWS-1252;
>         delsp=yes;
>         format=flowed
>
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Bob Frankston <bob37-2 () bobf frankston com>
> Date: June 30, 2007 11:45:26 PM EDT
> To: dave () farber net, ip () v2 listbox com
> Subject: RE: [IP] Several AT&T Stores Forced Customers to Buy=20=20
> Accessories With iPhone - Gizmodo
>
> Given that the rational for a two-year agreement is to cover the
cost=20=20
> of subsidizing the purchase of the phone =96 is $600 really
represent=20=20
> the same kind of discount that prices a MotoQ at $100? Or often  
> a=20=20
> Razr at $0? Or has the just-so story about subsidizing the phone
done=20=20
> its job and we now just accept it as a normal part of paying for  
> the=20=20
> ability to communicate? Best to think of it as an $775 phone with  
> a=20=20
> refund if you manage to last out two years at $*=92s per month.
>
> Of course they also have the chutzpah to charge for the cost of=20=20
> complying with telecom laws =96 why not break out the cost of
complying=20=
> =20
> with other laws?
>
> From: David Farber [mailto:dave () farber net]
> Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2007 23:25
> To: ip () v2 listbox com
> Subject: [IP] Several AT&T Stores Forced Customers to Buy
Accessories=20=20
> With iPhone - Gizmodo
>
>
> http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/ripoff/breaking-several-att-stores- 
> forced-=20
> customers-to-buy-accessories-with-iphone-273992.php
>
> Archives
>
> --Apple-Mail-4-943871677
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
> Content-Type: image/jpeg;
>         x-unix-mode=0666;
>         name=listbox-logo-small.jpg
> Content-Disposition: inline;
>         filename=listbox-logo-small.jpg
>
> /9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQEASABIAAD/2wBDAAcEBAQFBAcFBQcKBwUHCgwJBwcJ
> DA0LCwwLCw0RDQ0NDQ0NEQ0PEBEQDw0UFBYWFBQeHR0dHiIiIiIiIiIiIiL/
> 2wBDAQgHBw0MDRgQEBgaFREVGiAgICAgICAgICAgICAhICAgICAgISEhICAg
> ISEhISEhISEiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiL/wAARCAAXAG4DAREAAhEBAxEB/8QA
> GwAAAgIDAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEDBAIFBgj/xAA1EAACAQMDAgQDAw0AAAAA
> AAABAgMABBEFEiETMQYUIjIjQVFCYYEHFRckNkNSVHORlLTT/8QAGQEBAAMB
> AQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwQF/8QAJxEAAgEDAgUEAwAAAAAAAAAAAAECAxES
> BCETIjFBUTJCgfAUscH/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/APSNAFAFAFAFAFAU9X1aw0mx
> e/v5OlaxlQ77WbBdgi8KCfcwqrkkCI+INKUOTLxHI0L+lvenuHb5VzVddSp+
> p2+GUdRItJdWzwLMrDpvjax471vTqxklJdGXTuZtLCrqjMA7+1c8nH0rQElA
> RRXMErOI3VzGxRwDnDD5GoyQJakBQHKeT8Rx3F7qFuG3xTXJijZpGMqnIRRE
> xCBR3GO+K5cZXbK7g2reK42zDC89uS+yR4CkhESo/qTjG/1ovHfFQ51PAuwf
> UvGQlX4f7gPs6Tcs0bMRkIw3I+BgsPxzTKpcXYPfeM45wqL1sQ7wDEVDsY2Y
> 5wpClX2qBvFMql/gXY0OsS6HrbnzL3Dj9WLI8Tk+XTPTTA+1kcDk05sZdfqA
> 5dU8RRpHyT5i4a1gaSPpv6gpWUoe2zEg++pyn/CLsX5V/wBhbz+raf7cVX1H
> oJl0KkkTpPewz2l6SbyeZHhgLoyyYxzx/DXl6vSqrtLLZvsYzhfyWvEjRp4V
> sWYNHGt3aZ6y7GHxl9wPauzhqnRivFjS3KTatqqPrmnGxkt5N0N5iY7XUOiK
> R6xyo+taTnzRtbv+izZpZ9Y1G6srHr6i8VzDqMcN4+IumGaPdwyehkHcZ/Hm
> snUbtv7irY4tTvLC81Ka1vEDjVVU2JVS03U2ITn3duePpVVO0nv7ib7lweI9
> Va/WQ3K7n1BrFtL2ruSIEjqZ924Ab89q040r7+ehN2WPDOuajqV9Pb3V0Clu
> vwWRQvmV3keYGfs8beOM1alWbb7hM6quwsFAFAFAFAYPFE0iuyguntbHIzxx
> QFXWNH0/WNPk0/UI+rZy46iZK52kOvKkHggVEo3DNT+jbwd/Ky/5V1/1rL8e
> P1kYo3FvpOnwWMdgsQa0jGEjkzJ27cvuJ/GtcUSZJpunRrtjt4lXnACKBz7v
> 7/OowQENM04W/llto/L5z0gi7c/XHamCA/zfYdUT9CPqryJNi7hnvg96KCAz
> Y2ZnNwYI+uw2tJtG4r9Ce9MUBixtPTiFBsXYnpHC/QfdU2B//9k=
>
> --Apple-Mail-4-943871677
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
> Content-Type: text/plain;
>         charset=US-ASCII;
>         format=flowed
>
>
>
> -------------------------------------------
> Archives: http://v2.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
> RSS Feed: http://v2.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/
> Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
>
> --Apple-Mail-4-943871677--




-------------------------------------------
Archives: http://v2.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
RSS Feed: http://v2.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com