Oxford wrote:
> iPhone is the invention of the YEAR - TIME Magazine
>
> This goes without question of course, nothing so remarkable has ever
> been introduced to the phone market probably since the rotary dial or
> original phone back in 1876.

Apple squandered a HUGE opportunity with he Iphone. By agreeing to
become a slave to wireless networks, the feature set of the iphone will
forever be reduced to protect wireless network revenus. So Wi-Fi will
forever be crippled to prevent owners from bypassing expensive network
services.

Has Apple produced a totally network independant/unlocked device that
people bought from Apple, Apple could have loaded the puppy with all the
features that make that phone totally remarkable. And as long as the
phone adheres to GSM standards, networks couldn't really block it.

Yes, an unlocked Iphone would cost much more, but then again, it would
be YOUR phone that you can keep when you change networks, and to me,
when youhave an item that is far more akin to a computer with your own
data on it, you don't want it to be tied to some distant company who can
decide what features you can and cannot use on your unit.

And had Apple been succesful at selling directly to consumer an unlocked
phone that had far more features than the crippled phones from Nokia etc
sold by the networks, then the other phone manufacturers might have had
the motivation to also start producing fully-featured phones that are
not hindered by the mobile network requests to cripple their functionality.

This was a huge loss of opportunity for Apple to reshape the wireless
industry in north america. At least France and oen middle eastern
country have forced Apple to sell their units unlocked, but that doesn't
mean that Apple will load those units with features that mobile
operators don't want to see on mobile phones.