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iPhone will be AT&T exclusive
Author: Brett ThomasPublished: 23rd May 2007
"My precccciooouuusss" - The iPhone will be an AT&T exclusive for five whole years.
This isn't so much a case of strong market prowess as it is being in the right place at the right time. AT&T is one of only two providers in the US that uses GSM technology. Both Verizon and Sprint (the two other big US Cellular providers) use the older CDMA, which does not have the same technological capabilities as GSM. Most of the rest of the world, including the EU, uses GSM.
Of course, AT&T is not letting an opportunity like this slip by - the network is making quite a few alterations to both itself and the iPhone in order to make the most of it. The company will use this opportunity to shed the Cingular moniker, bringing the AT&T name back to wireless for the first time in over a year (the company's previous spinoff, named AT&T Wireless, went bankrupt). AT&T is also committing to building several new towers to improve service in areas where it is not that strong, since it can't rely on Verizon or Sprint towers for a GSM-only phone.
On top of its own internal changes, the company is doing a dastardly US trick to the iPhone - locking it. iPhones purchased in the US will only work on the AT&T network, regardless of what SIM card is placed in them. This technique has been used commonly in the past to protect an "exclusive" phone, such as when the Motorola RAZR first hit. It will also prevent any exports of the phone to Europe, at least until someone goes firmware hacking. And at the expected $600 USD a pop with contract, that may be a while before someone is willing to risk turning it into a paperweight for the sake of science.
There is no word on whether European consumers will have to face similar struggles once the iPhone launches in the EU, but odds are doubtful. Problems like brand-locking are more of a US/Japan tactic, where cell-phone competition is limited due to the high costs of entry and the governments are unwilling to intervene.
Do you have a thought on the news? Are you annoyed that your friend in the US won't be able to send you one? Tell us about your gripes with all of this in our forums.
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Comments (27)
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Isn't the turnover for mobile-phones something like 1-year-to-next-model?
That said, GSM? As fev says above that's a waste of money, I'd expect at least 3g.
I remember my first mobile phone, all it had was cellnet written on the screen when it had a signal.
And that's only cos I happened to have a cellnet SIM in it at the time.
I saw a friend's new phone recently and it had advertising for **** on the front screen llike a screensaver!
Sod that tbh!
It'll probably be bumped from EDGE to 3G sooner or later and when it arrives in the UK it'll most likely have to be upgraded to 3G....
Either way, its gonna sell
CDMA? GSM? why don't they use 3G in the US? it seams that the US are still in the stone age in terms of mobile communications. :p
Don't you mean you really couldn't care less about the iphone? I see people say "I could care less" all the time, when technically they're stating they care a lot about a product, it's odd, I wonder where it came from.
On the subject of the iphone itself: meh. I want my phone to be sturdy, reliable, and, excluding writing time, send a text message in no more than 2 seconds. Funny thing is, the more modern phones get, more complex is seems to become to do the simplest things. Apparently with the new LG Prada phone, which operates much like an iPhone with a touchscreen, it requires clicking through three menus just to get the number pad up. :(
Probably from the fact that double nagatives can be confusing to understand sometimes.
Correct. I'm tired and not feeling well, so I guess my grammar took a dive. :(
It's essentially a standard PDA/Phone hybrid device (theres too many of these around to count) in a shiny casing and with a shiny GUI...
On the negative side, from what i've read it'll have a incredibly locked down OS, that will not run 3rd party apps unless they are signed by apple.
Microsoft did that on the first windows mobile phones and eventually had to relent and make the application signing voluntary rather than mandatory due to it being universally hated by the consumers.
(I remember the *fun* of having to manually hack my first windows phone by copying code to the phone while it was booting up, but before the security policy got applied, to break the code-signing :P )
In short, the application lockdown makes it worse than any other hybrid PDA/Phone out there.
related link: http://www.slipperybrick.com/2007/01/jobs-says-apple-iphone-os-x-not-open-like-mac/
I'll let you guys know how good/bad it is.....
<A88>
still a fan of my p990, but then the n95 camera is better and more multimedia focused but then the spv m700 does both but with a worse camera.
Gah it's too much
Personally, I haven't got a use for fancy features like WiFi, GPS, and video playback, 3G and e-mail access and endless 3rd party apps.
The iPhone hits the spot I'd most want if I didn't have a massive music collection - it's a functional, sleek, stylish phone (with all the usual gubbins), combined with an MP3 player, all in one device. I think it's what a lot of people will want, but the downside is the price. Ain't it always the truth.
fev - you have far too many phones. :p
The iPhone looks fantastic on the surface but it really apple is really nerfing the hell out of it.
To begin with no 3g network, for something with such a fantastic built in browser this is silly.
The hard-drive is still too small to replace a decent sized music collection - this doesn't even cover videos, it needs to be at least 20 gigs.
Someone mentioned that Apple wont let you use your own programs on it. As soon as I heard wifi I wanted to stick Skype on it but to no avail for me.
This is more of a problem with all PDA's but I wont be able to survive on it's lack of battery life.
The camera (from memory this one) is really average and I don't think it has a flash. If it's a convergence device it should do these things well.
I think it's a decent piece of kit, but it just could of been so much more.
Well no. Phones usuelly show the band of the (first) provider in the display, even when the SIM-card is changed.
Ther usually is no option of removing this (except with non providor or non manufacturer software...so not without busting warranty)
Locking is usual...though not for contracts that go over a year (two year contracts are the norm).
Locking is used widely in prepaid-phones e.g. in phones that do not come with a contract.
Cheers,
Xir
Yeah it is, only on some first generation products it isn't.
My new U600 has O2 as a start up logo, my old W810i had it aswell
Exactly, how is it that people (just like what happened with the iPod mind) are too stupid to realise that THERE ARE OTHER PRODUCTS AVAILABLE ON THE MARKET WHICH ARE CHEAPER AND BETTER. Dammit I just want to shout that from the top of a mountain.
I don't think that unlocking will be much of a problem, I got my last phone unlocked for a tenner.
At the end of the day, if anyone is willing to spend $600 WITH A CONTRACT on that piece of junk they really need a slap.
So, it took me a month to get one, but it was worth the wait. Everything is great about it. The iPhone really will change the industry.
(Posted from my iPhone.)