Apple announced on Tuesday their iPhone - the "iPod/cell phone/web browser" in one device. The "cell phone" service on iPhone is available (currently) only if you are a subscriber to the Cingular service in the United States. Cingular is owned by AT&T and today AT&T released the following announcment:

...from: http://news.com.com/ATT%20to%20phase%20out%20Cingular%20brand/ 2100-1039_3-6149743.html?tag=nefd.top

AT&T to phase out Cingular brand AT&T will begin to extinguish the cell brand to imprint its more- than-century-old name firmly across its services. By Reuters Published: January 11, 2007, 10:30 PM PST Tell us what you think about this storyTalkBack E-mail this story to a friendE-mail View this story formatted for printingPrint Add to your del.icio.usdel.icio.us Digg this storyDigg this

AT&T will begin to extinguish next week the brand of cell phone operator Cingular, built up with billions of dollars over a few years, to imprint its more-than-century-old name firmly across its services.

AT&T, which took full control of No. 1 U.S. mobile carrier Cingular with its $86 billion purchase of BellSouth last month, will launch on Monday a campaign to mark the change.

"We did not enter that decision lightly," Wendy Clark, vice president of advertising at AT&T, said in an interview. "We came to understand that consumer customers and business customers alike are looking for a single provider. We heard it so consistently across the marketplace."

In its first stage, Cingular will share its orange logo of a bouncing jack with the AT&T globe logo on everything from television ads to sales uniforms and monthly bills.

AT&T 's name and logo will eventually replace Cingular in a process expected to take several months, with the exact timing determined as more customer feedback comes in, Clark said.

But with its long and complicated history, AT&T may face customer confusion over its name, marketing experts said. Also, Cingular built up a reputation among younger customers who may not easily associate with the AT&T brand.

[...]

The new AT&T was formed in the merger of SBC Communications and AT&T in late 2005. Adding to the mix, in late 2004 Cingular bought AT&T Wireless, eradicating that brand for its poor reputation among customers.

"The good news is there is a difference between AT&T and AT&T Wireless," Clark said. "We have benefited significantly...by having 12 months under our belt as the new AT&T."

...and in a related bit of information, it turns out that AT&T Wireless(Canada) did exist until it was recently sold to Rogers. The reason this is interesting (in an iPhone kinda way) is that AT&T Wireless installed a GSM/EDGE cellular network across Canada. This network is now owned and operated by Rogers. GSM/EDGE is the type of cellular service supported (currently) by iPhone. So, if/when iPhone comes to Canada, it will be with Rogers - unless there is an unlikely new iPhone design released supporting other cellular networks.

Just thought it would be useful information to anyone thinking about the iPhone or wanting to get more information about iPhone availability in Canada.

Wayne

p.s. It's interesting to note that Apple's web site refers to the iPhone as the iPhone (Apple Symbol-iPhone). Due to the conflict with the also recently announced Cisco branded iPhone, perhaps a name change from iPhone to Phone (AppleSymbolPhone) is in the offing - just as the code named iTV product was changed to TV (AppleSymbolTV).

p.p.s. .from: http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/jan2007/ pi20070111_181241.htm

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