new(e)gear

Consumers planning to buy the iPhone when it goes on sale in the U.S. later this month will need to have an iTunes Store account before they can activate the device, according to information on Apple’s Web site.

A Separate Deal from Cell

Apple will require customers to establish a separate account with its online media service in addition to one with AT&T Wireless Services, which has signed an exclusive U.S. distribution deal for the iPhone.

The move will allow Apple to create its own billing relationship with iPhone customers, rather than collecting payments for any iTunes purchases they make via the mobile operator.

The iPhone is due to go on sale in the U.S. on June 29. The company has announced plans for a European release in the fourth quarter of the year but has yet to provide details, such as whether the European version will operate on 3G (third-generation) networks.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 14th, 2007 at 3:42 pm and is filed under Apple, Mobile Devices, iPhone. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.