We feel like we are at a baseball game and the score is AT&T four, and the rest of us, a big fat zero. We are four for four in failed iPhone launches with AT&T appearing to be the one to blame once again. The day started off badly and it doesn't look like things are going to get better any time soon as iPhone 4 customers continue to complain about not being able to pre-order Apple's latest iPhone.

This morning many of us woke up early, or just stayed up very late hoping to pre-order our iPhone 4 upgrades. We quickly found out that that would be next to impossible, and the problems seem to be related to AT&T once again.

I personally spent over an hour on the phone this morning with several AT&T Customer Service Representatives(CSR). I found out that I could not upgrade my iPhone online because AT&T's website would not recognize my ability to retain my current legacy calling plan of 1,350 minutes a month. I was also told by the CSR that if I wanted to upgrade online that I had to pick another calling plan. However, if I upgraded in the store, I could keep that calling plan. Ironically, there was a message on the calling plan web page telling me to look for, and select, a button that would help me retain my current plan. That button labeled, Use Existing, was no where to be found anywhere on the page so I could not proceed past that point.

That same CSR advised me that even though my calling plan included a FAN number (i.e. corporate discount) that that was not the reason I could not upgrade like it was when I upgraded from an iPhone 2G to 3G in 2008. I'm not sure if I believe that or not, but that is what I was told.

Apple's website recognized my update eligibility and the reduced cost of the phone, it even included all my current plans, etc. However, it would not  allow me to order the phone for home delivery and forced me to reserve and pick up my iPhone 4 at a local Apple store. Because of AT&T's inability to verify accounts during a pre-order, we're concerned that the ability to activate our new iPhone's on June 24 may be a repeate of last year's activation issues.

All this makes those of us that got up early this morning wonder why Apple hasn't found a new partner yet. It's clear that AT&T may not be the best to partner with, but who is? We don't think any of the other carriers will do any better.

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