The iPhone Availability chart that Best Buy has setup clearly states that the iPhone will not be available in the Caguas or San Juan locations.

This does not mean that they will never sell it. It just means that AT&T has, once again, missed a perfectly good oportunity to release the iPhone in Puerto Rico.

I have gotten confirmation from them (as I have said before) that they will be releasing it before the end of the year, but there is no set date yet.

It has taken AT&T well over a year to finally bring any version of the device to the island. The same prices that apply in the United States apply in the island as expected. As of right now I have not noticed any differences that will make the plan any different than just getting the phone in the United States right now and moving your AT&T number to the new phone.

Another piece of news that broke last week is that by the time the iPhone is available in Puerto Rico it will also be able to be purchased through Best Buy. This being a big change from Apple’s current sales model which is only through AT&T Retail stores and Apple Retail stores.

There you have it, even more confirmation, of the worst kept secret since Area 51. AT&T wants your money this christmas season.

I’ll update this post as soon as they make a press release.

Either way, we went to one of the two places that back then were the only authorized retailers of Macs. A place that goes by the name of Modernica. They did not have the Power Books with bluetooth because of ‘export concerns’. They took 3 weeks to get the Power Book after my friend ordered it, and even then, it was the past generation model. Is Apple to blame?

At the time of writting this is the low end Mac Book Pro model you can buy at Modernica’s website and the low end model you can buy at Apple’s site.

After visiting the Modernica Store in Plaza Las Americas I can now confirm two things, they do not update their website, as they actually -do- have the current model machine for sale. I can also confirm I can’t say ‘in stock’ as they told me they had to order pretty much anything I asked them about, and it would take about 2 weeks. Good thing I wasn’t planning on buying a Mac there.

The other distributor was CompUSA, but since their bankruptcy and subsequent re-opening they seem to have gotten rid of the Mac aspect. So off to the newly opened Best Buy, prices remain the same, but they actually do have a stock of Apple machines.

Where does this leave the iPhone?

The iPhone works. In fact, it has always worked in Puerto Rico. This is against what ATT and Apple both told you at launch. You just have to realize that ‘not available for sale’ does not mean ‘does not work in’. Apple finally signed with America Movil (aka Claro) to bring the iPhone to Latin America, which would include Puerto Rico. This is supposed to happen ‘before the end of the year’. A few people I talked to in the island about it also mentioned that:

1) If you have an AT&T account, activation through iTunes now works as it does in the USA.
2) AT&T will most likely be providing the iPhone in Puerto Rico as well before the end of the year. Making it one of the few places where the iPhone is -not- exclusive to one carrier.

Of all the people I talked to many got it through friends/family in the USA who would just mail the device down. Many others mentioned eBay as the source of their phone.

I have had my iPhone hacked and in use with a Puerto Rico phone number in the United States for almost a year now. Even if I could activate it normally I would still have it hacked, since there are no official applications right now, and if there were, I’m pretty sure the SNES Emulator won’t make the cut.

Apple has been shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has a very avid fan base for Apple computers. The office I used to work at uses them exclusively and many of my friends have switched to mac. But when you go to purchase a Mac you need to know what you’re getting into or you will end up not liking the experience. Having Modernica, the only retailer with Apple Macs on sale in the main mall in Puerto Rico, not have a stock of machines is ridiculous, and adds an extra unnecessary barrier to entry to the consumer that would just like to purchase a machine on that given day.

Best Buy is an option, yes, but it is not a Mac exclusive retailer. Modernica should have the advantage here.

If you are on the fence about getting an iPhone and you live in Puerto Rico, wait until the update (sometime in June) and get an iPhone 2.0. You will not regret it, It will work in Puerto Rico under AT&T if you already have a contract with them. If you don’t wait a couple of months. The iPhone will be available for purchase soon enough.

If you are on the fence about getting a Mac. Go to Best Buy, play with them there, and just do it. Life outside of Microsoft is sweet and delicious.

Apple, please fix this. Give all U.S. citizens equal rights to a Mac!

I will try and upgrade my account to an iPhone account sometime later this month and I will post my findings.