AT&T Now Offering Useless Car Charger With iPhone Purchase

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Competition in the cell phone industry is legendarily cut-throat. The major carriers will do whatever they can to retain and induce people to sign long-term contracts ad buy new phones. This often includes ludicrous stunts and special offers that ultimately deliver little value.

That’s especially true with a wonderful little deal AT&T is offering right now with the purchase of an iPhone 3G. With your two-year contract and at-least-$200 investment, you’ll receive this handsome (?) car charger for Steve’s Amazing New Device worth almost $10!

Except you won’t. It’s only compatible with the original iPhone. (a Consumerist informant claims this is an inventory-clearing tactic) This is especially funny, because I can’t imagine someone deciding to take the iPhone plunge because of a crummy car adapter. The iPhone has broken most of the rules of the cell phone upgrade cycle, mainly by making OS upgrades and the addition of new applications a mandatory part of owning a cell phone.

What’s not a part of owning a phone anymore? Crappy plastic add-ons used as inducements to the purchase of an over-priced and under-delivering phone from Motorola.

Consumerist via Gizmodo

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12 responses to “AT&T Now Offering Useless Car Charger With iPhone Purchase”

  1. Nice Gesture says:

    ipodjuice.com is giving away a free replacement charger that actually works with iphone 3g for customers of at&t who got this crappy charger. now THAT is good customer service.

  2. John says:

    What are you talking about? I have this same adapter and it works fine with my 3G!!

  3. Andrew says:

    I too have this same adapter and it works with my 3G also
    all these news sites are showing this story and their basis is one guy

    anyone ever thought that maybe his adapter was just bad????

  4. firesign says:

    i thought the original iphone had the same dock port as the 3g, or, in fact, any current ipod? why would this charger not work with a 3g? consumerist (like most gawker blogs) is so full of crap sometimes it’s not even funny.

  5. New Customer says:

    In the ATT store, they offer the car charger with usb port for us to buy so also my husband can charge his sony ericson cellphone, a great deal!.
    Well, the usb does not work so I’m using my old ipod classic car charger for the iphone, and I will return the useless car charger to ATT.
    Really disappointed!

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