Apple and AT&T about to take it in the butt

[Guest blicero]

Blicero - it was widely reported that AT&T would have a 5 year exclusive contract with Apple, when the phone went on sale in June 2007.

It was widely speculated, and yet every 6 months someone starts speculating that the deal is actual over 6 months from then. Hardly publicly disclosure.

 

here's the latest one: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-29/verizon-wireless-said-to-start-offering-iphone-ending-at-t-s-exclusivity.html

[chenGOD]

Yeah so this report from USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/2007-05-21-at&t-iphone_N.htm?csp=34 which was widely reported on by the "blogosphere" must just be a figment of my imagination.

[jules]

in 2007 it was known that the contract was going to at least 2010 and possibly 2011.

 

the analogy i was making about the gas was because even if you wanted to and they unlocked your phone, where would you go with it? verizon and att's networks are apples and oranges.

 

besides, i have a hard time thinking that the same people who buy a new iphone every year are going to take a 2 year old phone to a new network and use it for another 2 years.

 

no one pulled the wool over anyone's eyes here.

 

i was thinking i may sue nissan. ive had this car for awhile but i decided i want it to run on diesel fuel now. i bought my car knowing it runs on regular gas but its mine now and i should be able to put whatever i want in the car. so yea, its nissans fault and they should give me money now.

 

wow. this is fucking weak. argument FAIL.

 

thing is, every handheld device manufacturer strikes "secret" exclusivity deals with carriers, do they not?

 

 

when you bought your iphone you knew it was with at&t. how is that weak? you cant change the product you bought. wtf.

 

yes, but i didn't know how long I would be forced to pay at&t in order to use it.

 

 

yes you did. 2 years.

 

in the past did you take your motorola with you when you changed networks?

[Guest blicero]

the analogy i was making about the gas was because even if you wanted to and they unlocked your phone, where would you go with it? verizon and att's networks are apples and oranges.

 

That is besides the point. This is about lack of choice, not the quality of the choices.

 

yes, but i didn't know how long I would be forced to pay at&t in order to use it.

yes you did. 2 years.

 

right, but the lock-in was actually for 5 years. that is the crux of the argument. but like i said in a previous post, apple is not unique for having an exclusivity agreement with a carrier. most phones do, they're just not as high-profile and sought-after as the iPhone.

[Guest blicero]

Yeah so this report from USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/2007-05-21-at&t-iphone_N.htm?csp=34 which was widely reported on by the "blogosphere" must just be a figment of my imagination.

 

fair enough.

 

but then why do reports come out so often that the iphone will go to verizon before 5 years? is that because people are unclear about the terms of the deal? like if apple makes a non-CDMA iphone, they could go to a GSM carrier without violating the agreement?

[goDel]

how about the possibility of apple buying of the agreement it has with at&t? things happen and contracts can change.

[kaini]

I'm hoping it does, as consumers we should demand better products, demand freedom of choice

 

no-one put a gun to your head and forced you to buy these products

 

...is what apple's lawyers will say

 

[jules]

the analogy i was making about the gas was because even if you wanted to and they unlocked your phone, where would you go with it? verizon and att's networks are apples and oranges.

 

That is besides the point. This is about lack of choice, not the quality of the choices.

 

 

there are hundreds of cell phone choices. if you want the iphone, you have to play by their rules. soon there will be tmobile, att and verizon with iphone. im sure that will mean triple the problems too.

 

remember we are talking about apple here. they werent even in the cell phone game 3.5 years ago. give it a little time before things are radically different. and by next year, they will be.

 

im not sure i fully understand what you are looking for here. is your issue with apple or att? or both? what exactly do you want from them that will make it all better?

[sysyphus]

radically different? we're talking about apple. make sure to jailbreak your iphone, because as soon as you buy that qualcomm pos, you are in jail for crimes against vegetables

[jules]

radically different? we're talking about apple. make sure to jailbreak your iphone, because as soon as you buy that qualcomm pos, you are in jail for crimes against vegetables

 

by radically different i mean when it comes to choosing a different network using the same phone. i will have the choice to buy an iphone/verizon phone while my wife buys an iphone/att phone

[Guest blicero]

if you want the iphone, you have to play by their rules.

 

I think recent anti-competitive legal cases have proven that is not a good defense (see: Microsoft Windows & IE), but i do agree with that somewhat.

 

im not sure i fully understand what you are looking for here. is your issue with apple or att? or both? what exactly do you want from them that will make it all better?

 

The issue is with both, but I'm not looking for any solution. This isn't an issue for me, I was just pointing out that your nissan analogy was an unfair characterization of the situation.

 

In general, I think Apple is getting a little too confident and bold with some of their decisions. It's only a matter of time before they take Microsoft's place in the anti-competitive legal arena.

[jules]

In general, I think Apple is getting a little too confident and bold with some of their decisions.

 

i totally agree

[chenGOD]

blicero - reports swirl about new contracts coming out because what else would tech reporters with an economic slant write about?

 

There are differences between Apple and it's iPhone policies and Microsoft and their bundling of Explorer as a key component.

a) Apple is not a monopoly, not even in the smart phone market.

b) It is trivial to switch to another phone/provider. It was not trivial to uninstall the IE browser from Windows.

So, because Apple is not a monopoly, they cannot prevent competitors from bringing products to market.

[Guest blicero]

blicero - reports swirl about new contracts coming out because what else would tech reporters with an economic slant write about?

 

There are differences between Apple and it's iPhone policies and Microsoft and their bundling of Explorer as a key component.

a) Apple is not a monopoly, not even in the smart phone market.

b) It is trivial to switch to another phone/provider. It was not trivial to uninstall the IE browser from Windows.

So, because Apple is not a monopoly, they cannot prevent competitors from bringing products to market.

 

that makes sense, thanks for the clarification.

[kaini]

There are differences between Apple and it's iPhone policies and Microsoft and their bundling of Explorer as a key component.

 

there are some differences between MS's 'wanna use windows? IE is a key component' and apples 'wanna install quicktime? well we're going to install safari along with it' practices bar the fact that safari can be uninstalled without detriment to your OS.

[chenGOD]

There are differences between Apple and it's iPhone policies and Microsoft and their bundling of Explorer as a key component.

 

there are some differences between MS's 'wanna use windows? IE is a key component' and apples 'wanna install quicktime? well we're going to install safari along with it' practices bar the fact that safari can be uninstalled without detriment to your OS.

 

You provided your own rebuttal.

[kaini]

There are differences between Apple and it's iPhone policies and Microsoft and their bundling of Explorer as a key component.

 

there are some differences between MS's 'wanna use windows? IE is a key component' and apples 'wanna install quicktime? well we're going to install safari along with it' practices bar the fact that safari can be uninstalled without detriment to your OS.

 

You provided your own rebuttal.

 

yeah, i know. apple's 'we know what's best' still bugs me though, it's more condescending than microsoft's 'you will do it this way'.

[chenGOD]

LOL definitely condescending, but because you work in IT, you can appreciate why Apple would do that. You've seen end-users and had to field support calls right?

 

(offtopic, but am currently rewatching all of the IT crowd..fuck I love that series)

[sysyphus]

IT Department, have you tried turning the computer off and on again?

[Guest Fishtank]

do you really think an iphone on tmobile is going to be better?

I wouldn't know but I think the choice should be there

 

 

you could always jailbreak it.

 

the choice will be there soon enough. i thin this is more a fault of the cell phone industry than apple at this point. every company has tried to entice consumers with this phone or that phonne. early on apple said they wanted to be the first one where you bought the phone and picked the service that was right for you. they will get there very soon.

 

 

this is a lot like the arguement with cable tv companies here. i have no choice but to get dog shit service from a company i hate. my only other option is satellite tv but my condo association doesnt allow dishes on the bldg.

 

 

 

i was thinking i may sue nissan. ive had this car for awhile but i decided i want it to run on diesel fuel now. i bought my car knowing it runs on regular gas but its mine now and i should be able to put whatever i want in the car. so yea, its nissans fault and they should give me money now.

yes, because all engines are capable of running on diesel

 

 

are you suggesting i go put diesel in my car?

funny you should say that

 

Audi is following BMW in introducing a mechanism to prevent misfueling of diesel vehicles with gasoline. It's generally not possible to put diesel into a gasoline vehicle because the larger diesel nozzles won't fit in the filler neck. However, the smaller gas nozzles will fit in the diesel neck. Audi's system, like the one used by BMW, adds a flap in the neck to prevent fuel flow.