The iPhone pre-order has revealed a white iPhone in addition to the black. Image from Flickr.
The Apple store was down for a while this morning, in preparation for the iPhone pre-order. It appears now, though, iPhone pre-orders are open on the Apple store, but you can’t order the newly announced white iPhone 4. With prices between $99 and $299, the iPhone pre-order will be the first test of the commercial viability of both the new iPhone and the AT&T rate plans.
Apple store down
In preparation for the iPhone pre-order, the Apple store was down for a short time. High order volume after pre-orders were open did take the Apple store down for a short time, but it does appear to be remaining up at this point. Even though the Apple store was down, the iPhone pre-order was available at all times on the AT&T website.
White iPhone 4 makes an appearance
On the Apple store, iPhone pre-orders appeared with rumors of a new phone – the white iPhone 4. Despite the image and specs for the white iPhone 4, that particular phone is not available yet on the iPhone pre-order system. If the white iPhone will be available on the June 24 launch date is not yet for sure known. An internal AT&T memo says that the white iPhone 4 will be available “later this summer.” The white iPhone 4 should operate exactly the same as the black iPhone on iPhone OS 4.
iPhone pre-order numbers
With a price point that ranges from $99 to $299, the iPhone pre-order is hoping to capture a wide range of customers. Either way, with the estimated $50 to $150 profit per handset, Apple is sure to enjoy the profits of this busy pre-order day. App developers are likely to enjoy the new iPhone more as well, because iAd brings more opportunities for income from their programs. The real question for the commercial success of this already-popular iPhone preorder is whether AT&T’s networks will be able to handle the traffic. AT&T has announced new data plans, which are intended to relieve the pressure of millions of phones on the network. There has been debate over the new AT&T data plan – namely, that even with the most expensive plan, a user would be able to download just one TV show or movie before hitting their data limit. With other providers yet to follow suit, there are many iPhone owners just hoping that the Verizon iPhone happens sooner rather than later.
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