
Last night at midnight PST (3AM EST) there were a lot of people awake trying to pre-order an iPhone 4S. Luckily for all of us who simply hate sleep, the pre-orders through Apple and AT&T didn't really start working at all until a little after 4AM EST. Users who wanted Verizon were able to pre-order theirs even before 3AM EST as the Verizon site went live. The Apple store site had shut down with it's now-famous "We'll Be Back Soon" around 1AM EST and stayed that way til 3:30, when it flickered in and out of working until just past 4.
We were finally able to pre-order our iPhones around 4:15 EST, through the AT&T website at iPhone 4S at AT&T. Some users reported luck with the Apple Store app, although we were unable to get through the actual checkout process. AT&T actually sent me a couple emails for two of my personal orders saying AMEX had not approved the transaction - turns out I was having to refresh so much, and so many people were apparently doing the same thing, AMEX thought it may be fraudulent. So that was a nice 45 minute phone call this morning to get ahold of AT&T to tell them to rerun it.

The unlimited data plan on AT&T is now gone, replaced with a 200MB for $15/mo, 2GB for $25/mo, or a 4GB plan for $45 which also includes access to AT&T's nationwide WiFi network. There was some confusion for users with the grandfathered unlimited plan, as the upgrade process actually has one screen which REMOVES it, and then re-adds it on the next screen (assumedly AT&T has changed their code for it - confusing process though). Our AT&T source confirms there is definitely still an unlimited plan for grandfathered users. If you don't see it on your account, you can call AT&T (might not want to do that today though, ha) and ask for the DATA PLAN UNL 4S plan, which is still $30/mo. They can give this to you if you upgrade to the 4S from any smartphone that you already grandfathered the unlimited data plan with (incl iPhones).
There was no option this year to "reserve" an iPhone at your local Apple store for pickup, only to have iPhones shipped. Guess the line will be all one line this year instead of the pre-order and non-pre-order lines Apple had last year for the iPhone 4 and iPad 2. Interestingly, when I initially tried my pre-order through the Apple Store app last night, I received an email from Apple saying:
Dear Apple Customer,
Your iPhone has been reserved and your reservation number is: XXXXXXXXXXXX
We will email you at this address (XXXXXXXXXXXX) when it’s time to complete your order. At that time, you will return to the Apple Store to confirm pricing and plan selection.
You may check the status of your reservation at any time by visiting buyiphone.apple.com/status
Thank you,
The Apple Store Team
Your iPhone has been reserved and your reservation number is: XXXXXXXXXXXX
We will email you at this address (XXXXXXXXXXXX) when it’s time to complete your order. At that time, you will return to the Apple Store to confirm pricing and plan selection.
You may check the status of your reservation at any time by visiting buyiphone.apple.com/status
Thank you,
The Apple Store Team
How was your pre-order adventure?
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