Today is July 11th. There is no iPhone in Puerto Rico. Apparently some people were upset enough with that to start sending emails to Tecnetico and he had to write a ‘editorial’ about the subject. In this editorial he (Wilton Vargas) explains that it was just rumor and speculation and that it sucks that he didn’t get it right.

Trying to show some proof that he has actually researched the subject of the iPhone in Puerto Rico he has posted a email ‘conversation’ between him and Patricia del Carmen Ramirez at America Movil (Claro) and she reinstates what I had said in my previous post about the subject.

Claro has no say about the iPhone in Puerto Rico because AT&T has the contract for ‘The United States and its Territories’. End of the story.

It is interesting that Tecnetico has chosen to update his site the way he has. Making the words ‘I am proud that our track record is still untouched’ bold Instead of highlighting his new September prediction, also from ‘sources of entire credit’.

So there you have it, Tecnetico reporting rumor and speculation leaves their track record intact, they are now rumoring and speculating that September will be the new date.

Since Wilton Vargas is a radio and television personality and apparently his ‘sources’ are about as reliable as my sources. I will now rumor and speculate the following:

• The iPhone 3G will be released in Puerto Rico at some point within the next year.
• The iPhone 3G will be on AT&T’s network
• The iPhone 3G will work just like it does in the United States (it already does >.>)

There you have it. They are the only 3 things I know for a fact. The reason why this is such a problematic issue is that AT&T is huge. There are various departments that are involved in bringing a product to Puerto Rico and therefore there is a lot of rumor, speculation and in the end delays.

AT&T representatives in Puerto Rico have been awaiting the iPhone since it’s launch last year. The iPhone has had various launch dates internally and something always goes wrong in the last minute. I am sure that Apple’s revenue sharing also came into play. There is really no competition for a phone like the iPhone in Puerto Rico. Sure all the big carriers are down there, but most people are still on the regional carriers like Centennial who’s phones are just now getting color screens (NOTE: this is obviously hyperbole, but seriously their phones suck). This means that AT&T expects to get a flood of sales when it finally launches.

I am sorry to be the bringer of bad news, but that is the state of the iPhone right now. AT&T is getting ready, it might take a while.

Thank you to everybody who emailed me about the Tecnetico story.

Update 1 (7/11/08) :

An example of a news bit is the first comment on this thread. According to ‘Obsessed iPhone 3G Researcher’ AT&T is ready to take orders (Which would be weird since they did not do this in the states) and will launch it a week from today, July 17th, 2008. If this turns out to be true, you heard it here first people . Thanks for your comments everyone!

Update 2 (7/18/08) :

As expected, there was no iPhone launch today in Puerto Rico. I just wanted to point out how these rumors get started and show that by leaving your sources unnamed you are basically taking responsability for what you say.

Update 3 (8/18/08) :

El Nuevo Dia has posted a date range ( September – December 2008)

Also surprising, how Puerto Rico is once again not included in Apple’s plans.

In the announcement they include the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica. They actually have two different carriers in the Dominican Republic, Orange and Claro. AT&T the first carrier that had the iPhone still does not list Puerto Rico as a territory that can recieve iPhone service, even though, the iPhone works just fine there and according to a few people, you can now just buy an iPhone in the states and register it through iTunes with an Puerto Rico phone number without any problems. Additionally, Claro also services the island. If they had a contract for Puerto Rico it would most likely be included in that Latin America tab that I linked to earlier.

Why the lack of love for Boricuas? I seriously have no idea. I emailed their PR people and am hoping for a reply sometime soon. It is really getting ridiculous that they just ignore us like that.

update:

Matt from Apple Customer Relations / Public Relations just got back to my email yesterday about the seeming lack of an announcement for Puerto Rico and confirmed that as of this time there is no announcement about the iPhone making an appearance in the island. He then pointed me to apple.com to keep up with news about the device. There you have it, it is now official.

update 2 (6/11/2008):

Patricia from America Movil just confirmed what was becoming apparent. AT&T has the exclusivity rights to the iPhone in the ‘United States and Territories’. This kills earlier reports (even mine) that there was a possibility that Claro would be carrying the device. Reader Cardy pointed out in the comments to this post that Tecnetico.com had heard from a ‘reliable source’ that the iPhone 3G would be coming out July 11th in Puerto Rico under the AT&T flag. If this is indeed true, AT&T customer representatives have been unable to answer as of yet. It does seem like the only option however. Unless AT&T decides we are somehow not worthy… like they did the first time around.

update 3 (7/2/2008):

I have been calling AT&T every day trying to get more information. I have emailed a few representatives and asked to get pushed through quite a few times and I have still not been able to get any real confirmation about the availability of the iPhone in Puerto Rico on July 11th (or ever). Last year AT&T representatives claimed that the iPhone would be released “sometime late in august” which obviously never happened. I would love to give everybody hope but until I have real proof I will most likely just link to articles that cite sources and not claim it myself.

As an aside, I wanted to point out, Claro has -no claim- to the iPhone in Puerto Rico. They just simply can’t provide it because AT&T has the rights in the United States and its territories.

Update 4 (7/11/08) :

Follow-Up Story

Update 5 (8/18/08) :

El Nuevo Dia has posted a date range ( September – December 2008)

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.