[Infowarrior] - Apple Imposes New Limits on iPhone Sales

[Richard Forno]

Apple Imposes New Limits on iPhone Sales
Friday October 26, 8:48 pm ET
Apple Imposes New Limits on iPhone Sales to Crack Down on Unauthorized
Resellers

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071026/apple_iphone.html?.v=2

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Apple Inc. no longer accepts cash for iPhone
purchases and now limits sales of the cell phone to two per person in a move
to stop people from reselling them.

The new policy started Thursday, said Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris.
Before then, there was no cash restriction and the purchase limit was five
per person.

"Customer response to the iPhone has been off the charts, and limiting
iPhone sales to two per customer helps us ensure that there are enough
iPhones for people who are shopping for themselves or buying a gift," Kerris
said. "We're requiring a credit or debit card for payment to discourage
unauthorized resellers."

More than 1.4 million units of the hybrid cell phone-iPod have been sold
since it debuted on June 29, according to Apple. It is expected to be a hot
gift for the holidays.

Apple thinks some people already have purchased multiple iPhones to resell,
including those looking to modify, or "unlock," the phones so they work on
networks other than Apple's carrier partner in the United States, AT&T Inc.

Apple estimates that buyers of 250,000 of the iPhones sold so far intended
to unlock them, Apple's chief operating officer Tim Cook said in a
conference call with analysts this week.

Apple's attempts to prevent that "unlocking" activity, which included a
software update that blocked the workarounds hackers had developed, have
frustrated users -- and sparked two lawsuits.