According to http://www.boygeniusreport.com, Apple might be almost ready to release the iPhone 3G, thanks to a rumor originating from AT&T. Indeed, it seems that the carrier has sent letter to its employees asking to reschedule holidays in order to have as mush task force available from June 15 to July 12:
To: All Employees
Last year at this time we asked that all vacations be scheduled before June 15 or after July 15, to ensure adequate store staffing and to give everyone an equal opportunity to benefit from an exciting product launch. Thanks to your hard work, we experienced excellent sales during the mid-summer period. This year, the numbers you produced in 2007 will be hard to beat; but as a business, we must rise to the challenge, and make every effort to exceed last year’s sales results. Your management team is counting on you!
We’ll meet the challenge "head-on" by providing an exciting Summer Promotional Launch to enable your sales to soar. We again anticipate heavier than normal customer traffic in our stores, providing an excellent earning opportunity for every front line retail sales consultant (RSC) in company owned retail stores.
To ensure proper staffing during this period, Sales personnel planning to take approved time off are encouraged to schedule their vacations before June 15 or after July 12 to participate in the heavy selling period
Previously approved vacation will be allowed where voluntary rescheduling is not feasible
No additional vacation will be approved for 6/15 – 7/12
So the scenario would then be, announcement of the iPhone 3G during the WWDC, then subsequent launch in USA from June 15, then later on in August in Europe and probably in other countries where carriers can offer reliable 3G services.
[translation by Linathael]
