Register Hardware

Original URL: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/05/07/atat_bans_iphone_launch_holidays/

AT&T halts holidays during 3G iPhone launch window

By Tony Smith
Published Wednesday 7th May 2008 15:32 GMT

AT&T staffers have once again been told they can't take any time off work next month because of an anticipated "heavy selling period" resulting from "an exciting Summer Promotional Launch", a leaked memo reveals.

No prizes for guessing that the carrier is referring to the 3G iPhone and to its plan to offer the handset with a $200 discount, as forecast (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/04/30/att_iphone_axe/) last month.

The memo was leaked (http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2008/05/06/apple-and-att-to-launch-iphone-3g-a-lot-sooner-than-we-think/) to website Boy Genius Report, which last year posted a similar missive forbidding holiday time between 15 June 2007 and 15 July 2007 in order to capitalise upon an "exciting product launch".

This year, AT&T's blocking off a slightly shorter period - 15 June to 12 July - to ensure that its has sufficient staff to cope with the "heavier than normal customer traffic in our stores" that it's expecting said promotional launch to generate.

The company clearly anticipates demand to be higher earlier on in the period rather than later, because it states: "If customer traffic is manageable, there may be an opportunity to approve vacation toward the end of the period."

That, in turn, suggests the 3G iPhone - if that is what AT&T is thinking of, though it's very hard now to imagine that it isn't - will be out sooner rather than later.