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gizmodo.com — Credit checks weren't to penalize potential iPhone buyers with bad credit, but to draw in their business.

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  • ryansmith18, on 10/11/2007, -63/+224GOD I WANT TO PORK THE SNORG TEES CHICK!
    • mikesbaker, on 10/11/2007, -23/+86it sucks that the new commenting system ran away all the intellegent posters on digg and we are left with prepubescent males.
      • chris4404, on 10/11/2007, -29/+16I hate to break it to you but this is the Internet, not a Starbucks where I'm sure you spend most of your day discussing Schrodinger's Cat with your fellow intellectual coffee drinkers.

        Plus I'd also really like to tag the snorg girl SO BACK OFF!
        • missingnoh4x, on 10/11/2007, -2/+10But how will you know whether the snorg girl is alive or de - Wait, I think I'm getting confused here.
        • mikesbaker, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Actually this is digg which is not equal to the internet. I liked digg because retarded comments such as the parent comment here were jumped on and buried not dugg to over 100 diggs. TALING IN CAPS MAKES YOU SOUND LIKE THE INTERNET DOUCHE. Paying $5 for coffee is for morans. And discussing Schrodinger's cat is like carrying around Joyce's Ulysses. You do it just to be pretentious. So enjoy your trolling chris I'm sure you will like it here now that the level of dialog on digg has been brought down to your level.
      • jeffeb3, on 10/11/2007, -15/+3I wonder if the new comment system looks good on an iPhone?
      • airwalkery2k, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4I thought it was the posting of the sacred hex code that drove them off. ...at least the last time somebody complained about childish comments...
    • BobMysterioso, on 10/11/2007, -3/+65I have adblock on, I only saw a clown. I'll assume thats not the "chick" he was talking about, but hey - maybe it was.
    • mtheoryx83, on 10/11/2007, -9/+35Glad I'm not the only one that's been thinking that for the past 2 weeks.
    • capran, on 10/11/2007, -4/+18I turned adblock off to see what the big deal was. I still don't. Then again the ads seem to be on a rotating basis or something, so maybe he saw a hotter chick then I'm seeing now. I took a look at the snorg photo gallery, but, quite frankly, I didn't see any especially attractive girls. Just looked like your typical college folks getting drunk and acting goofy for the camera. Then again, I'm 32, and not drunk, maybe that's why.
    • jferrari, on 10/11/2007, -13/+4Your out of luck, she looks Jewish.
    • spookyttws, on 10/11/2007, -6/+3http://www.snorgtees.com/thechickenortheegg-p-357.html

      sicko....
  • rejoined, on 10/11/2007, -1/+30Link to the original story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070630/tc_nm/iphone_att_dc_3
  • j1a1g1, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6I wonder what they have to pay per month for the service.
    • jackspack, on 10/11/2007, -5/+0Around $90 a month. That is about the stanard rate for all carries with a moderate voice plan and unlimited data plan. But, I would imagine most folks didn't gor for unlimited data. So when that first bill comes in that is higher than what they paid for the phone, you will see many coming back to the apple stores saying theyy can have it back.

      Or ebay will be selling these things cheaper than the PSP's are now.
      • smileydude, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6I think the minimum bill is about $60 for people with a contract, and $50 a month for those on the pick a plan prepaid with unlimited data added.
    • gcnaddict, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Who cares? You can cancel without a ***** fee.
    • MacBastard, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1For what, to pork the Snorg Tees chick? Oh, for the iPhone - my bad....
  • sexualaj, on 10/11/2007, -17/+3THIS JUST IN ! :: iPhone and Utorrent could be making a app for the iPhone named UI Torrent.
    hmmm
    • meez, on 10/11/2007, -3/+12THIS JUST IN ! :: That joke was not funny.
    • jackspack, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5yes, so you can watch your iphone take days to download a torrent.
    • andburn1, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Wtf. That doesn't even qualify as rational enough to be witty. Plus torrents aren't even possible on iPhone - it would kill the battery to have the phone active for so long, and it doesn't work as a hard drive.
  • fuckingusername, on 10/11/2007, -7/+14I heard the plans go from 65 basic to 240 full blown.
    I don't know about you but if I need to do more then just call someone Ill take a laptop............
    • jeffeb3, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7they actually start at 60... wait, I don't want to tell you the rest, it's really ***** easy to look it up yourself.
    • andburn1, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2And though I LOVE the iPhone, gotta say, SkypeOut + Laptop + Decent Headset = laptop with phone capabilities. Sort of.
      • pixeldust, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Yes, although it's not as nice as a real mobile phone I pay $60 a year for a local number and unlimited calling in the US using skype. My macbook's my iphone ;)
      • scratched, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1That doesn't quite cut it. The reason the iPhone is practical is PORTABILITY. You can fit the iPhone in your pocket and it plays music, can watch movies, make phone calls, browse the web, etc.

        That's not to say there's a justifiable reason for getting an iPhone, but a laptop can't substitute the iPhone.
  • s73ve, on 10/11/2007, -26/+14Who cares! You are all slaves of Apple.
    • etguler, on 10/11/2007, -6/+2I agree. But not Apple, they're Jobs' slaves.
    • theoallardyce, on 10/11/2007, -4/+3You make a good point, some people have literally become the grey drones from the 1984 commercial. I have nothing but respect for Jobs and the rest of Apple and im not saying that anyone who buys Apple is an idiot, but some of the things people say and do just make me cringe.
  • OJdidntdoIT, on 10/11/2007, -8/+16Blog Spam/plagiarism at it's finest.

    This should be illegal, if you are getting any type of revenue from just reading somebody article and summing it up to make money.
    • albiniak, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6yah, nice "work" getting "teh scoop" engadget.
      • shmatt, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1gizmodo. which is worse than engadget imo.
    • andburn1, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4... Digg is exactly that. Well, with the Digg twist, which makes it more legit. However, my point is, there are countless sites desgined to consolidate news from many sources on one topic onto one website. The whole point of these websites is to be able to organize and find the news content you want and present it to you in an interesting fashion. If it was originally from Yahoo News, would I have seen it? No. These sites MUST link to the original article to be acceptable, however.
  • dweeb79, on 10/11/2007, -6/+32Its so nice of AT&T to be selling to people with bad credit. These people are most likely so high in debt they just can't control themselves on what they buy and AT&T is saying "how do we capitalize on the people who are broke"
    • KSUdesigner, on 10/11/2007, -0/+14Not necessarily true. I have horrible credit but my only actual debt is my tuition loans. Back when I was 19 I let the credit card debt, and some monthly utility bills, get out of control. I have since paid off those debts but that doesn't fix your credit score overnight. Yes most people with bad credit are usually pretty far in debt, but it's not always the case. The credit system is pretty retarded if you ask me. It's been 4 years since I've had anything past due. Just applied for a mortgage loan last week and was denied due to my low credit score, even though I've made all payments to everybody on time for 4 years, with no current past due debt. A word of advice to all you young ones, don't let your debts get out of control. It will ***** you up longer than you think.
    • DonCarcharo, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3I have bad credit and virtually no debt outside of my mortgage and school loans. Our neighbors have terrible credit, no debt whatsoever and minimal expenses. That's because they can't finance shiny new things so instead they purchase them in cash. Credit is a funny thing, once it goes bad it's awfully hard to repair it. But one thing is for certain, not all people with bad credit are broke or even financially strapped.
    • andburn1, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Bad credit does not always a poor person make. That said, this kind of thing is not just AT&T, it's the whole Capitalist system. This is America. With the notion of credit cards, more and more people in the United States are spending money that they just don't have, hoping to pay it off later. This is great for companies, because it allows people to have some piece of mind when they buy something with their credit card, because they think they'll have the money by the time payment is due. Because of this, they spend WAY more then they should, and... ruin their lives. Credit cards: the great plastic life *****.
    • brutalentropy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5I have bad credit and I make $20/hr. Not rich by any means, but I'm definitely not poor.

      Don't get divorced guys (or married to begin with for that matter), it'll ***** your credit hard... which is about the only hard ***** you'll be getting.
      • heliox, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3"Don't get divorced guys (or married to begin with for that matter), it'll ***** your credit hard... which is about the only hard ***** you'll be getting."

        I wish i could digg you twice for that comment...right in the middle of it!
    • RomeyRome, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1How is a poor person's bad credit any-one else's problem?
  • mesketch, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Anybody actually have the plan prices for those less-than qualified?
    • andburn1, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1They're very, very *****. Way more expensive. If you don't qualify, maybe you just shouldn't buy an iPhone.
      • brutalentropy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Eh, I just switched from a prepaid to a postpaid account with AT&T... I was paying $60 a month for 400 minutes and 200 text messages. Paying $50 for the same thing with them now, plus handset insurance. They're not *awful*, it's acutally one of the few things AT&T does right.
  • RAiNsTorm, on 10/11/2007, -13/+19I'm still waiting for winter, when all of you iPhone drones realize you can't dial or answer your phone with gloves on. Good luck fumbling around, I'll just flip mine open and use the voice dialing as always...
    • nycmac247, on 10/11/2007, -6/+6I have a feeling you've never actually tried an iPhone, just read about it.
      • Kazbaeden, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3There's no room to argue with that; you can't use the iPhone with gloves.
    • andburn1, on 10/11/2007, -5/+5... I can't press the tiny buttons on my phone with gloves on, and ***** voice dialing, I'd never use that. Oh, the horror! I have to take off a glove for 5 seconds. Stfu and realize that the iPhone pretty much makes up for what it lacks in what it has. Not being able to use it with gloves is hardly a dealbreaker.
    • barrimon, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3bitter
    • shableep, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4cold
    • bigdawg, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1you are an idiot
  • lime3k, on 10/11/2007, -13/+5Enough about the iPhone!!! There have been attempted car bombings in London and Glasgow. Get some perspective!
    • estee065, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Enough with meaningless comments!!! What kind of perspective were searching for on digg? Dummy.
    • KSUdesigner, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Yes but you are currently looking at the Apple category. Try clicking a different category and you'll find these other stories pretty easily. Better yet, disable your Apple category all together if you're that sick of hearing about it.
    • Radan, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6Where there any iPhones involved in the bombing? If not, that story is irrelevant.
    • andburn1, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3Honestly, if I'm being honest, in a completely honest sense, and in all honesty, I care more about my personal entertainment and communications then random people I don't know dying - just like thousands of people do every day. It doesn't affect me - I am a heartless bastard, and I do love my shiny glass, plastic, and metal toys that those poor people in Africa will never have. Your five seconds of mourning as you read an article does not make up for your lifestyle. Face it: we are all horribly lazy - we don't go to third world countries and help people in need, we don't sacrafice our personal capital to better any stranger's life - most of us don't even volunteer at our local soup kitchen. And I'm ok with that. It's the nature of the world - poor people suffer, a few people care, and we go on with our lavish lifestyles. (Yes, if you have a computer, a TV, and more than three pairs of shoes, your lifestyle is lavish - at least compared to the third world nations I'm referring to.) Don't feign indignance when you're just as bad as the rest of us.
      • P5ycHo, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Pfffff.... So many words.... You could have just said that you are a digger.
  • theoallardyce, on 10/11/2007, -4/+14Working with the phone networks was Apples worst decision. I think Jobs is going to regret the whole deal because lets face it, mobile phone networks are all ***** *****.

    Apple should become their own network, it doesn't matter how they do it - rent air time, transmitters, whatever, as long as the customer doesn't have to deal with those guys ever.
    • KSUdesigner, on 10/11/2007, -4/+4If Apple ran a cellular network we'd be paying $200+ per month for service. No thanks.
    • egrumling, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6Well, here in the US they'd need to get spectrum. That means going to the FCC. The FCC (thanks to congress) auctions spectrum these days, thus insuring that an upstart company (which APPL would be in this case) has almost 0% chance of acquiring the necessary critical mass needed to build out a network.

      Now, if they rent spectrum from an incumbent provider, guess what? You have to use their network, with all their legacy provisioning systems, spotty 3G support, etc. And, you will have to deal with revenue sharing, user support, etc. Much better to just let the wireless provider worry about it. Notice how the only complaints are the keyboard ("But you'll get used to it!"), and AT&T's provisioning system and the slow, slow speed of the 2.5G network ("AT&T SUCKS!"). Jobs is a marketing genius, if only because he actually uses the stuff and knows how much better things could be. But he's not going to change a communications infrastructure that's been built (over 30 years) to keep spectrum expensive and Hoover as much money from your wallet as possible.

      Now, if they introduce a WiFi only version, with H.323 and/or Skype out support, I'll stand in line for a few days.
      • theoallardyce, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2The mobile networks may own all the spectrum (in the US at least) but the market is changing directions and cellular networks as we know them today will be obsolete in less than a decade. Flat rate mobile internet is the way forward, along with VoIP, and the change is already happening - just walk into any Starbucks.

        As far as im concerned, my current mobile network is a piece of ***** with a pretentious logo and they should just shut the ***** up and route my data like an ISP. Eventually things will click, especially when networks see their long distance revenue fall out of the window to Skype, they will realise that their job is to be completely commoditised flat rate wireless access points.
    • andburn1, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Gotta say, that is just not financially sound. Maybe AT&T should just get their ***** act together.
  • Aleks, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Coincidentally, I raised this question with Apple here:

    http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=4833022#4833022
    • MoFoKeR, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1why did SjMoulder make apple store employees sound like well trained show canines? quote "It's obvious those employees aren't as well trained as Apple ones. " woof lol
  • TriZz, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3FTFA: "AT&T, the exclusive U.S. service provider for iPhone until 2009..."

    I thought AT&T had an exclusive 5 year contract with Apple. That would make it until 2012!!
    • johnpaul191, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2the length of that exclusive contract bounces back and forth in news reports. i don't think Apple or AT&T have ever said an actual length. AT&T kind of implies it's a while, maybe so people don't hold out till the iPhone possibly comes to their current carrier? there also may be some option to extend it depending on how things go. who knows.
  • network23, on 10/11/2007, -8/+1I know "grey" iPhones will be available in other countries and regions like Asia any day now.

    - - - - -

    http://phuketbeach.net
  • gregrich, on 10/11/2007, -4/+17Does anyone see the irony in all this.... when the Steve's used to make Blue Boxes to hack the phone system and make free phone calls.

    Now a little bit advice for those of you new to Apple; never buy a v1 of an Apple product, within a week of a v1 device coming out there will be 6 web sites dedicated to tracking some bug / flaw and within 2 months a class action law suit over some bug / flaw. 6 months after the initial introduction v2 will be out, this model will fix all the bugs / flaws on the v1 device as well as be faster and have the twice the capacity for the same price of the v1 device (which is now discontinued) [word of note if you can wait till the v3 device you will have more models to choose from with a model that essentially a v2 in the v3 form and $100 cheeper that the v1 device]

    Now for me I am going to wait for the 16Gb, 3G version. I can deal with the $600 price tag but there is no way I am going to pay $600 for a device that only uses EDGE and only has 8GB of memory.
    • johnpaul191, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2that's all good, but you're going to be waiting up to 3 years to have the fun phone. i know a lot of people that still make daily use of their first generation iPods. they are not the new ones, but they still work as well as they always did.
      the iPhone is a different thing for Apple though because of FCC approval. you will always have advance notice that *some* sort of revision is coming based on the FCC website. that's how sites like phonescoop.com can confirm new models.
      • mntbikeracer1, on 10/11/2007, -5/+0You are joking right, hell my 3rd generation iPod barely works, has about 20 minutes of battery life and is scratched to hell. And that is from normal use.
  • Snarfy, on 10/11/2007, -6/+21"Credit checks weren't to penalize potential iPhone buyers with bad credit, but to draw in their business"

    If you have bad credit wtf are you doing buying a $600 cell phone?
    • AnonymousCow, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7I think you answered your own question.
    • gcnaddict, on 10/11/2007, -5/+5"If you have bad credit wtf are you doing buying a $600 cell phone?"

      Being a typical apple fanboy?
    • audioscience, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Bad credit doesn't necessarily mean you don't have money. It just means you don't know how to manage it.
  • MisterFlaut, on 10/11/2007, -6/+31It really ***** sickens me how you people go out like a bunch of ***** sheep and eat this ***** up.

    You do realize the provider is AT&T, right?

    And you DO realize what AT&T did, right? http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att/

    You're perfectly okay giving them your money knowing what they did? Or let me guess, "Who cares, I want the IPHONE!!!!"

    No wonder these corporations continue to operate this way. They ***** all over you and you people create hype and continue to buy into their services.
    • ElRayQuieres, on 10/11/2007, -7/+3boo hoo.. some people don't have skeletons in their closet and don't freakin care
      • MisterFlaut, on 10/11/2007, -3/+7"I have nothing to hide, I don't care if they watch me."

        You are the prime example of the very problem plaguing this country.
    • MrMil, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1So you never purchase anything then? Do you check EFF everytime you buy something to make sure the company has never, ever done something underhanded? It must take you forever to go grocery shopping.

      Wanker.
  • break99, on 10/11/2007, -7/+4"Credit checks weren't to penalize potential iPhone buyers"

    Yeah, iphone buyers are penalized enough as it is...
  • GruffPelt, on 10/11/2007, -0/+12Rates follow the AT&T "Pick Your Plan" rates plus the standard iPhone data rate; to wit:

    $49.99 per month — 200 Anytime minutes, NO N&W minutes, NO M2M minutes, 200 SMS mesages, Unlimited Data
    $59.99 per month — 300 Anytime minutes, 1000 N&W minutes, NO M2M minutes, 200 SMS mesages, Unlimited Data
    $69.99 per month — 400 Anytime minutes, Unlimited N&W minutes, NO M2M minutes, 200 SMS mesages, Unlimited Data
    $89.99 per month — 650 Anytime minutes, Unlimited N&W minutes, Unlimited M2M minutes, 200 SMS mesages, Unlimited Data

    Note that a credit or debit card is required (just like all "Pick Your Plan" accounts). If you want these rates, you can skip the credit check by asking specifically for them; AT&T reps are "supposed" to know how to get the correct credit code for you to enter into iTunes.
    • heliox, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Is all of AT&T like that? Or just for the poor credit folks....
      Those rates suck!
    • mikefitz2, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1LOL at those rates!!!! Some people have -really- lost their minds with all this apple hype lately. Oh well, your money is clearly better off in someone else's hands!
  • odinfire, on 10/11/2007, -6/+14I simply find it amazing that people will pay $600.00 for a cell phone and get themselves roped into a two year contract when they already own the phone. America the beautiful! God bless its fools.
  • TechCF, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Just give me a way to use the phone with foreign sim cards and not having to be a AT&T customer
  • kethraal, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3@spookyttws

    "http://www.snorgtees.com/thechickenortheegg-p-357.html
    sicko..."

    What's wrong with that? He's attractive.
  • chubbymidget, on 10/11/2007, -4/+2"GOD I WANT TO PORK THE SNORG TEES CHICK!"

    Can you just add this to all current and future freakin' iPhone blog-blather.
    At least than they'll be entertaining and not a total waste.
  • dorkino, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Only useful if you plan on using your $600 phone for a couple of months. Otherwise, you will be paying more than the $175 cancellation fee in total over the months.
  • davidba, on 10/11/2007, -3/+0The first time I saw this, it was $16,000 dollars that she had to spend. That video has been edited, with the new $100,00 figure dropped in. That is pretty lame!
  • scootinger, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1I just turned 18 a few months ago and I didn't start building any credit until really recently. When I went to AT&T to sign up for a plan and get a phone (a couple months ago before the iPhone), they ran a credit check on me and wanted a $500 DEPOSIT for me to sign up for a plan. My parents ended up signing the agreement for me.

    Plain ridiculous IMO - why couldn't it be a $100 deposit or so, or no deposit at all? If say 1% of their customers end up defaulting on payments do they really lose that much money?
    • MisterFlaut, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2...so let me get this straight: you knew they were charging an unreasonable, baseless, and otherwise ridiculous fee, yet you signed up anyway? (or made your parents do it)

      Are you usually this easy when it comes to getting raped?

      Your first mistake was going to AT&T. Hopefully you've learned your lesson.
      • scootinger, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1First of all I did not know that they were going to make me pay a deposit when I signed up. And I meant that I had my parents sign a contract with no deposit since they have better credit than me. (I guess I didn't make that clear) Also I've really had no problems with AT&T myself; I've used them for several years.

        And you should quit being such an *****.
  • duntuk, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1posted screenshot of prepaid plan in iTunes on my myspace page (you'll probably need to be logged into myspace to view) :
    http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=2866088&albumID=449549&imageID=13089201
  • nuggetz, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1If you're credit is that shot, you aint got no business shelling out that kind of cash on an iPhone. Go pay your bills!
    • Walking.Dude, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1It isn't always that easy. Once something is on your credit as being "late", paying it is not going to change a thing. Also, paying off old accounts can actually, get this, lower your credit score. That's right. Corporate America would rather continue to fleece these folks with bogus interest rates, increased insurance rates, and higher costs for anything rather than work with them to get their credit repaired. It's good for business as it makes them more money.

      Number 1 cause of credit issues: Medical Bills. All these reports of out of control shopping are very exaggerated.
  • Coreal07, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Ok, Just to clarify... Anytime you ever sign up for any plan with providers, bar the prepaid such as boost and virgin mobile, they run credit checks. Weather its threw a third party dealer, such as Radioshack, or even over the phone with the providers headquarters. 100% of the time, they will run credit. Its nothing new to the iPhone craze. They do this to determine your deposit when you first sign up for the contracts. I know AT&T (Cingular) is one of the most expensive. There deposits can get up to $500, where sprint's most expensive deposit is $250.
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