TechBytes: iPhone 4 Arrives Early

Is AT&T ready? Bing adds entertainment, Xbox Live Family Pack.

BRETT LEVY, TINA TRINH, CARRIE HALPERIN and ANDREW PANFEL

June 23, 2010, 10:52 AM ET

2 min read

June 23, 2010— -- The new iPhone has arrived early. Some people who pre-ordered iPhone 4, and chose to have it delivered, received it yesterday. And many more people got an e-mail from Apple saying they will get theirs today, a day before it arrives in stores. While Apple is early, AT&T is late. It will fill pre-orders beginning tomorrow, but it won't start selling the device to everyone else until next week.

Is AT&T Ready?

One of the biggest complaints about the iPhone since it first launched has been AT&T. Its network has not been able to handle the demand from these devices. AT&T has been investing in its network, but some experts say the new phone could add to the strain."A lot of the new features of the iPhone are split among things that take advantage of the 3G network and some that work only on Wi-Fi," said Ross Rubin of NPD Group. "In particular, the new video conferencing software called FaceTime, works only on Wi-Fi, and part of the reason for that is to minimize the impact on ATT's network." One thing AT&T did to ease demand is end its unlimited monthly data plans in favor of plans that cap usage.