Would you pay more for a 'special edition' unlocked, open iPhone?
The more I think about this whole iPhone debacle, the more I think (and hope) that Apple can't possibly be this monumentally stupid seeing that they have a 5 YEAR exclusive contract with AT&T and seem to be approaching the same strategy with other operators.
Apple has clearly seen (and probably always knew) that consumers want a jail broken, unlocked (in other words, NORMAL) phone. There is no way they will wait 4.8 more years to do this (again, at least I hope not)
So, are they planning on screwing Apple followers (as usual) with an unlocked, open (i.e. you can install apps on it) iPhone that will cost 100... 200 dollars more? Would AT&T (and others) allow for it?
The current direction Apple is going is absurd. This is the only thing I can see that they may possibly do.
Thoughts?
Apple has clearly seen (and probably always knew) that consumers want a jail broken, unlocked (in other words, NORMAL) phone. There is no way they will wait 4.8 more years to do this (again, at least I hope not)
So, are they planning on screwing Apple followers (as usual) with an unlocked, open (i.e. you can install apps on it) iPhone that will cost 100... 200 dollars more? Would AT&T (and others) allow for it?
The current direction Apple is going is absurd. This is the only thing I can see that they may possibly do.
Thoughts?
Comments
The current direction Apple is going is absurd. This is the only thing I can see that they may possibly do.
Thoughts?
Yes, I have thoughts, one of which is that your position is one of an impassioned consumer wanting to have a single particular company cater directly to your desires. It's a nice thought, but totally unrealistic.
Like any other company, they work hard to cater to a demographic representation of their customer base, not a particular customer.
The fact is - they've achieved their goal in a remarkable fashion. Your characterization of their direction as "absurd" is because they aren't making something exactly as you wish they would.
Frankly, that says volumes about you. What the current situation says about Apple is "They make great products that please the people they wish to please". They can't be everything to everyone.
Why is it you aren't all over Motorola or any other phone company for not pleasing you? Why do you feel Apple should cater to your desires?
How long have you used Apple?
Apple has been ahead of the race in usability and choice since.. well, basically always.
A Mac/Apple user is used to being able to enhance, tweak, beautify, hack their computers. Hell, you can even install Linux on an iPod, they are encouraging people to hack the hell out of AppleTVs... and suddenly this bijoux of an iPhone hits the street and Apple becomes a total prick about it.
User communities have proven that you CAN create apps for it, that you CAN unlock it, that essentially, it CAN become THE killer mobile phone. So what does Apple do? They're locking down and out the very core of Apple's staunchest supporters, fans, hackers, developers even.
I'm the first person of any and all my friends here in Europe who has an iPhone and everyone is drooling over it. Even the ones that I have had decades arguments of Mac vs PC were impressed. Then I tell them "yeah, well, you can't use Bluetooth. And you can't install GPS. And you can't change SIM cards when you travel..."
Americans are VERY late onto the Mobile phone scene. People in Europe travel like hell and have a very deep relation with Mobile phones and devices. The expectations and basic needs of the market here and much higher than what many Americans are used to. Even the least tech savvy friend I have customizes their mobiles like hell. And while I get a lot of "ooohs" and "aaahs" with the multi touch and other fun "toys" I'm not too sure how long they would tolerate all the absurdities that Apple is imposing.
For the record, I loathe Moto too. They have the most ass backward UI that was obviously designed by Engineers (for engineers). Although the latest RAZR2 finally seems to be usable. I have used Nokia just about all my life BECAUSE they have always been the most intuitive and since they have had Smartphones, they have encouraged developers to build on it.
Joe Consumer could care less about installing 3rd party apps, or having it unlocked. They just want a cool looking phone.
Seeing that "Joe Consumer" is Apple's target, why the hell are they so strongly crushing the hackers that make up such a small part of their target market anyway? Sure, these 2-3 last weeks of iPhone hacking have dominated every single Tech blog/site and has given Apple tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars of free advertising.. but there's a limit to everything.
Let your own users "think different" and use your energy more efficiently rather than piss off the people that support you the most in the first place.
You kinda lined that question up didn't ya?
How long have you used Apple?
I've used Apple equipment since before they allowed lower case characters to be displayed on their systems. I never expected them to provide lower case, so I got a keyboard controller that allowed lower case characters and in addition it allowed macros.
They also didn't provide the full address range on their system, so I had to buy add-ins to allow that extra 16K of memory.
I had to open the box and press the memory down ever month or so to correct the memory errors.
I never blamed Apple for these things - I never expected more from the company than they advertised, and I don't understand how someone could expect otherwise.
There must be some penalties if they dont keep it locked down.
Apple should have thought more about their future freedom rather than future profits.
i already got my (cool sounding) phone number, that all my friends know.
i already got a contract that fits my needs.
i just want an iphone to use with it.
i really thought apple would offer an (more expensive) unlocked iphone in europe...