Carphone Warehouse Chip and PIN system crashed on Friday's iPhone launch night. The problem occurred because sales of the iPhone caused an overload to the system, according to a Carphone spokeswoman. 'It lasted hardly anytime at all and it was resolved really quickly,' she said.
Some customers said they faced a delay of up to 20 minutes for processing transactions. There were also several reports on blogs of Carphone staff aggressively pushing insurance with the iPhone.
Among the sites citing hard selling of insurance was the official Apple forum. One visitor said: '"I strongly advise”, “You really should think about it”, “I must caution you”; all these phrases had been used at CPW. It was like being interviewed by the police!'
Another posted added: 'They wouldn't let me leave without going for the insurance, which is illegal. I'm going to cancel tomorrow by phone, but I let O2 know today who apologised and gave me £100.'
A Carphone spokeswoman said the company had not received any complaints and they offer insurance with all contract handsets.
Link
Nov 16, 2007
iPhone 2.0 feature requests
A source close to the iPhone project tells me that iPhone 2.0 will likely feature Java and a native iChat/IM application. Does that mean that iPhone will be able to run Android? I wouldn’t hold my breath.
A spokesman for Apple recently told Pocket-Lint that “All the complaints and feature requests we’ve had can be fixed and added by software upgrades,” going on to say that “We didn’t want to include something for something’s sake.”
Does that mean that we’ll get video recording, copy and paste, syncable notes, the stereo Bluetooth profile (A2DP) and/or MMS? Hard to say… Here’s my short list of requests for iPhone 2.0:
Wireless sync: C’mon Apple, the phone has three radios! Cables are soooo 2003.
A File System: for storing attachments and files
Mobile Safari: Keychain support or some way to store passwords
Mail: Searching
Mail: Send email to a group by addressing it to its group name
Mail: Mark all as read
Mail: One tap to the inbox
Mail: One screen for all new mail, regardless of account
Contacts icon on the home screen (instead of having to click into Phone)
Phone: Display the name and the phone number of the caller
Phone: “Add to contacts?” button after someone calls you
Phone: “Reply with text message” option when a call comes in (like the Treo)
Games: A port of Texas Hold’Em from the iPod (do it now and add network play in v.2)
Link
A spokesman for Apple recently told Pocket-Lint that “All the complaints and feature requests we’ve had can be fixed and added by software upgrades,” going on to say that “We didn’t want to include something for something’s sake.”
Does that mean that we’ll get video recording, copy and paste, syncable notes, the stereo Bluetooth profile (A2DP) and/or MMS? Hard to say… Here’s my short list of requests for iPhone 2.0:
Wireless sync: C’mon Apple, the phone has three radios! Cables are soooo 2003.
A File System: for storing attachments and files
Mobile Safari: Keychain support or some way to store passwords
Mail: Searching
Mail: Send email to a group by addressing it to its group name
Mail: Mark all as read
Mail: One tap to the inbox
Mail: One screen for all new mail, regardless of account
Contacts icon on the home screen (instead of having to click into Phone)
Phone: Display the name and the phone number of the caller
Phone: “Add to contacts?” button after someone calls you
Phone: “Reply with text message” option when a call comes in (like the Treo)
Games: A port of Texas Hold’Em from the iPod (do it now and add network play in v.2)
Link
Apple's iPhone in the UK and Germany
The initial reports on the launch of Apple's iPhone in the UK and Germany this weekend suggest that the frenzy of the earlier U.S. launch has not been repeated, although there are some signs of healthy sales.
As in the U.S., there was preparation for a great turnout when the device went on sale early Friday evening. In the UK, for instance, independent retailer Carphone Warehouse kept stores open until 11:00 p.m. to accommodate expected crowds, and exclusive carrier O2 added 1,400 more staff.
There were some crowds. Ad Age, for instance, reported on Monday that hundreds lined up -- or "queued up," as they say in England -- outside Apple's flagship store in London on Friday.
Fastest-Selling Device
The Times Online reported that O2 is calling the iPhone "the fastest-selling device we have ever seen," with tens of thousands having been sold since it went on sale Friday. Peter Erskine, head of O2's mobile group, added that two-thirds of the iPhone's customers were new to the network. No exact sales figures, however, were released.
The Times Online also noted that there were reports of slower-than-expected sales in Newcastle, Manchester, and Birmingham. The Manchester Evening News reported "small but determined bands of diehards" outside stores in its area.
The Register's Andrew Orlowski was considerably more emphatic that the launch was a dud. He wrote Sunday that "journalists and PR minders outnumbered buyers on Friday night as interest in Apple's iPhone miserably failed to live up to the prelaunch hype in the UK." As an example, he said that readers reported a lack of crowds at the Carphone and O2 stores in upscale Brent Cross.
As to why it's not "the savior of the UK's mobile industry," Orlowski noted that Britons are used to paying for the phone or the contract, but not both. With the 18-month contract, the total commitment is the equivalent of about $1,800.
He also noted recently released competing devices, such as Nokia's N95. But he said the "wonderful user interface" could translate into Britons buying the iPhone and keeping their regular phone.
Fails To Grip Germany
Ad Age noted other complaints among Britons, including awkward text entry, no picture messaging , and no high-speed 3G Internet access. When Wi-Fi access is not available, the device uses the slower EDGE network, which is currently available in only 30 percent of the UK.
In Germany, Deutsche Telecom's T-Mobile reported that 10,000 iPhones were sold on Friday alone, through more than 700 stores. But Bloomberg reported that "the frenzy in the U.S." wasn't repeated in Germany, and Reuters ran an unambiguous headline over its story: "iPhone fails to grip Germany."
In spite of some negative news reports, Jupiter Research's Michael Gartenberg said that "you can't view this launch as anything but a success," citing "encouraging" sales numbers from both countries. It's hard to compare it to the U.S. launch, he said, "because that was a bigger launch, there was more noise," and the device was brand new.
The third announced European market is France, where France Telecom's Orange will launch the device on November 29.
Link
As in the U.S., there was preparation for a great turnout when the device went on sale early Friday evening. In the UK, for instance, independent retailer Carphone Warehouse kept stores open until 11:00 p.m. to accommodate expected crowds, and exclusive carrier O2 added 1,400 more staff.
There were some crowds. Ad Age, for instance, reported on Monday that hundreds lined up -- or "queued up," as they say in England -- outside Apple's flagship store in London on Friday.
Fastest-Selling Device
The Times Online reported that O2 is calling the iPhone "the fastest-selling device we have ever seen," with tens of thousands having been sold since it went on sale Friday. Peter Erskine, head of O2's mobile group, added that two-thirds of the iPhone's customers were new to the network. No exact sales figures, however, were released.
The Times Online also noted that there were reports of slower-than-expected sales in Newcastle, Manchester, and Birmingham. The Manchester Evening News reported "small but determined bands of diehards" outside stores in its area.
The Register's Andrew Orlowski was considerably more emphatic that the launch was a dud. He wrote Sunday that "journalists and PR minders outnumbered buyers on Friday night as interest in Apple's iPhone miserably failed to live up to the prelaunch hype in the UK." As an example, he said that readers reported a lack of crowds at the Carphone and O2 stores in upscale Brent Cross.
As to why it's not "the savior of the UK's mobile industry," Orlowski noted that Britons are used to paying for the phone or the contract, but not both. With the 18-month contract, the total commitment is the equivalent of about $1,800.
He also noted recently released competing devices, such as Nokia's N95. But he said the "wonderful user interface" could translate into Britons buying the iPhone and keeping their regular phone.
Fails To Grip Germany
Ad Age noted other complaints among Britons, including awkward text entry, no picture messaging , and no high-speed 3G Internet access. When Wi-Fi access is not available, the device uses the slower EDGE network, which is currently available in only 30 percent of the UK.
In Germany, Deutsche Telecom's T-Mobile reported that 10,000 iPhones were sold on Friday alone, through more than 700 stores. But Bloomberg reported that "the frenzy in the U.S." wasn't repeated in Germany, and Reuters ran an unambiguous headline over its story: "iPhone fails to grip Germany."
In spite of some negative news reports, Jupiter Research's Michael Gartenberg said that "you can't view this launch as anything but a success," citing "encouraging" sales numbers from both countries. It's hard to compare it to the U.S. launch, he said, "because that was a bigger launch, there was more noise," and the device was brand new.
The third announced European market is France, where France Telecom's Orange will launch the device on November 29.
Link
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