AT&T iPhone Mystery Deepens

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Where's Holmes and Watson when you need them the most? What we have is a full-on mystery.

First, AT&T mysteriously stopped selling iPhones to New Yorkers on their web site over the weekend. Now, they are available again. What's missing is an explanation that makes any sense.

The Consumerist originally broke the story. One of their reporters quoted a conversation with someone from AT&T (presumably sales) that explained iPhones were no longer for sale to New York City addresses due to heavy bandwidth demands.

I can't vouch for that conversation because I wasn't there. But, I could have predicted this one; AT&T's not vouching for it either.

Instead, the telco giant that undoubtedly employs an army of PR and corporate communications types is suspiciously mum from the top.

As of yesterday, phone reps were telling reporters posing as NYC iPhone shoppers (and yes, I'm giggling as I write this) that the iPhones were not available due to "online fraudulent activity".

Huh? What does that mean? Is the site being hacked? Is there a rash of bootleg iPhones being sold in New York? More so than usual? Lessee buy a fake iPhone and we'll throw in that fake Kate Spade bag to go with it? Which corner in Midtown was that?

Don't hurt your head too much trying to figure it out. Apparantly, a company representative from AT&T also told Digital Daily that its all because AT&T "periodically chooses to modify [its] promotions and distribution channels".

Huh - some more? Can I say Bull**** on this blog? Better not risk it.

Anyway, bottomline: any New Yorker that wants to buy an iPhone may now do so online from AT&T.

As for reports about excessive dropped call rates in the area: caveat emptor.

Renee Oricchio is a technology writer and former supervising news producer for CNN Financial News. She has been covering the computer industry since 1987. @oricchio