JF Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot@vaxination.ca> wrote:

> > 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.

there is no such thing as an IPhone. it's iPhone, NOT IPhone, learn how
to capitalize it first of all...

and i don't think you are understanding what is going on here. the
iPhone could very well be the first mass scale WiFi phone. It's just a
software update away from this... and Steve met with FON a week ago, so
you need to keep abreast of what is in the works.

http://www.fon.com/en/

If Apple does free worldwide WiFi the games is basically over for most
cell carriers. WiFi is fast growing and cheap to free... so if Steve's
meeting with this guy turns into the future, all cell companies will
fade away.

http://counternotions.com/2007/10/26/sj-meeting-video/

> 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.

Nah, they still have total flexibility. They have the option to buy part
of the wireless spectrum, or they can go full WiFi, or WiMax... they can
also cut deals with other cell carriers, etc. There are no blocks on the
iPhone which gives Apple plenty of leverage.

> 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.

Yes, and nothing is preventing Apple from doing that. Apple holds all
the cards now, so the cell carriers pretty much have to wait to see what
Apple does next so they can position themselves to survive the next
decade.

> 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.

We'll see, the iPhone isn't locked it's just in a formulation stage.
Orange and TMobile are going to sell fully unlocked iPhones, so we'll
see.

> 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.

The iPhone has only been out for 150 days and it's already shook the
cell industry to its knees, so best to hang tight and see how Apple
guides the cell industry from here on out.

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