iPhone 4 pre-orders plagued by AT&T problems

How does AT&T even manage to stay in business?

Starting today, users can start pre-ordering the new iPhone 4, but as a post on Gizmodo - with multiple updates - points out, the pre-order process is too much for AT&T to handle. Then again, given how it's handled its shortcomings on the service side, this really should come as no surprise.

Also see: AT&T melts down again; will Apple ever learn?

And this isn't even one single problem. Consider some of the horror stories that some folks are sending into the site:

• Online orders being confirmed as successful, only to receive an email from AT&T saying the order encountered an error.
• Credit cards being charged multiple times - but the order still not processing.
• Orders that are confirmed as being successful but then that even the pre-order process is too much for AT&T to handle.
• Security breaches where customers are gaining access to the accounts of others.
• Orders that have taken three hours to process.
• AT&T problems leading to similar problems on Apple's site.
• AT&T stores shutting down completely - the whole store - because of pre-order problems.

At this point - three years since Apple first released the iPhone on an exclusive basis with AT&T - one might think that Apple would recognize what a bad business move it is to stayed tied to AT&T as its exclusive service provider.

Once again, let's hear it for being an Android-Verizon customer.