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
Pete Mortensen is a design strategist for consulting firm Jump Associates and the co-author of Wired to Care: How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread Empathy, a book and blog that are significantly more interesting than you might initially think. Pete’s particular Apple avocations are both around design–interface and industrial. Follow him on Twitter!
