In article <67dc$472ad896$cef8887a$24502@TEKSAVVY.COM>,
JF Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot@vaxination.ca> wrote:

> ZnU wrote:
> > I suspect this was a hard choice for Apple, but given today's cell phone
> > market they didn't see much alternative. iPhone users would likely be
> > paying twice as much for their unlimited data if Apple hadn't cut a deal
> > with AT&T.
>
> The above works very well for "phone" which are seen as essentially
> disposable devices you wish to replace every couple of years, so you are
> unwilling to spend big bucks on it.
>
> If you view the iPhone as primarily a computer/PDA with a phone attached
> to it, then people are probably willing to pay more for it because they
> are buying a long lasting tool that could work with any GSM network (if
> it were unlocked with its full potential enabled).

Apple is going for a mass market with the iPhone, not just for techies.
I don't think most of the market would pay $40/month or up just for
data, which is what unlimited data service tends to cost for high-end
devices whose vendors haven't cut a deal with the carriers.

> > Apple probably *does* plan to move to an unlocked device eventually,
>
> Such a device might be marketed as an iPod and thus bypass any legal
> restrictions due to Apple's exclusive contracts with various networks in
> the world. And if such Ipod was based on a non "phone" network (aka:
> WiMax instead of GSM) then Apple could claim it isn't competing against
> the iphone.

Well, the ITU just approved WiMAX as part of the 3G standard, which
would probably make it a lot harder for Apple claim it's not a "phone"
network technology. It's hard to say just what Apple could get away
with, since we don't have access to the exact contract they signed with
AT&T (and we probably never will).

> On the other hand, perhaps the exclusive contracts apply only to the
> 2.5G networks (GSM/GPRS/EDGE), and when Apple unveils a 3G version, it
> will not be tied to any exclusive contracts (and by then, Apple will
> have built brand credibility in the phone market and people will want to
> pay the real price for a unit that is unhindered by any network
> restrictions.

Maybe. They seem to have gotten a fair bit of what they wanted from
AT&T, so it doesn't seem *too* implausible that there's a way for them
to get out of the deal early, if they really want to.

--
"More than two decades later, it is hard to imagine the Revolutionary War coming
out any other way."
--George W. Bush in Martinsburg, W. Va., July 4, 2007