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Bye Bye AT&T, 32GB iPhone May Be On The Way, Home Activation An Option

Retail suppliers are reporting low inventory of the 8GB iPhone 3G, which could point to a 32GB model introduction. Apple is widely expected to introduce an unsubsidized, unlocked iPhone 3G that could prove disastrous for AT&T in the long term.

Retail sellers are pointing to low inventory of the 8GB iPhone 3G, which could possibly indicate the introduction of a new 32GB iPhone 3G to match up with the iPod touch product models, as well as a confirmed unsubsidized iPhone to be sold. Alongside the new model, in-home activation appears to be a new option for Apple employees (and customers) during checkout. AT&T could be severely affected by the move, as many phones may be bought directly from Apple, avoiding the carrier altogether.

In September of last year, Apple discontinued the original 4GB iPhone model only 3 months after launching the device. Roughly 5 months later, in February of 2008, Apple released a 16GB iPhone to offer two storage capacity choices to its customers. It doesn’t seem shocking that Apple would continue following this trend. AppleInsider also claims that suppliers are indeed low on the 8GB model. Although the NAND flash market is pretty shaky right now, Apple has been known to hoard lots of NAND flash memory. Surely they want to line up a steady refresh pattern for their media playing (portable) products, as well as have the ability to introduce higher storage capacities at lower price-points.

Additionally, a new option that resellers have been seeing during an iPhone 3G sale (checkout process), is “in-home activation,” displayed simply as — Home — on the EasyPay system.

Previously the only options offered on the EasyPay system were as follows:
1. Upgrade/Swap existing Phone
2. New to AT&T starting a single line
3. New to AT&T starting a family line
4. Add a line to existing account

Originally, Apple got rid of in-home iPhone activation for a few reasons; They were having trouble tracking unlocked phones. Tons of them were showing up unlocked, and being sold overseas. Apple has also tried to enforce a cash only policy (for iPhone payment), in order to decrease people’s ability to buy and sell unlocked iPhones. Attempting to ultimately circumvent an iPhone black market, Apple set out on a plan for Global Domination. Another reason in-home activation was canned, was “the new phone’s much lower price, which required tying the new purchase to an in-store contract activation,” AppleInsider explains.

Apple executives and representatives have specifically mentioned the expectancy of an unlocked iPhone 3G being sold legally and unsubsidized (without a contract). The device would be sold at a much higher price point (possibly $599-$699), and not require any long term commitments to get started. Essentially, a customer could walk into an Apple Store, spend $600 on an unlocked device with no hassle and be on his way. A move like this would successfully play into Apple’s overall sales and revenue, leaving the only leverage move for AT&T being the unsubsidized physical hardware price, and visual voicemail (which their network has been tailored to support).

Without worrying too much about the longevity of their exclusivity with AT&T, recent rumblings have led MacBlogz to believe that “bigger picture”, AT&T has merely been used as a launching pad, or vehicle of sorts for Apple to unveil its revolutionary device and have complete control over the hardware and software during the process. Now that the iPhone has been proven a blockbuster success, we believe Apple is looking much further into the device’s future and has no long term plans to stay with AT&T. Seeing as how network carriers base their core revenue on long-term contracts, this could prove detrimental to AT&T.