The new iPhone not exclusive to AT&T?
When the iPhone arrived there was a lot of guesswork how long the iPhone will be exclusive for AT&T.
It is possible that the contract is related to a model rather than period of time. This was the case with Mac OS {was it 7 or 8?) licensing before. This would give Apple more flexibility for two reasons:
The advantages would be even greater for non US market. Your bets?
It is possible that the contract is related to a model rather than period of time. This was the case with Mac OS {was it 7 or 8?) licensing before. This would give Apple more flexibility for two reasons:
- If the launch was not successfull than a new model would help Apple anyway.
- The definition of a new model is somewhat subjective, this gives Apple another escape path.
The advantages would be even greater for non US market. Your bets?
Comments
When the iPhone arrived there was a lot of guesswork how long the iPhone will be exclusive for AT&T.
It is possible that the contract is related to a model rather than period of time. This was the case with Mac OS {was it 7 or 8?) licensing before. This would give Apple more flexibility for two reasons:
- If the launch was not successfull than a new model would help Apple anyway.
- The definition of a new model is somewhat subjective, this gives Apple another escape path.
If both Apple and AT&T are happy with the current situation the contract may be extended. But the current contract may be more favorable for Apple. On the other hand, Apple could easily double their market share if they drop exclusive contracts.The advantages would be even greater for non US market. Your bets?
I hope so; I am barely able to afford the plan. But; I did use a slide-out qwerty phone; and it was god-awful...so then I did not feel so bad anymore.
The advantages would be even greater for non US market. Your bets?
None of the other carriers in the US can currently use the iPhone. Verizon and Sprint use an entirely different network technology than AT&T. While T-Mobile uses a different 3G frequency than AT&T.
I see, the iPhone will support EDGE but not 3G with other US GSM carriers.
AT&T reports very high percent switchers from other networks but still they are the second-largest operator in US.
It seems that outside US very few people are likely to drop their carrier because of the iPhone. Also, in many countries with huge market potential (China, Russia, all Eastern European countries) the majority of the users use pre-payed SIM cards. There were reports here on AI that jail-broken iPhone was doing well in Russia but the sales of the official iPhone are very poor. So dropping the exclusivity model outside US makes a lot of sense.
iPhone coming?
Apple's first exclusive agreements with European operators to distribute the iPhone are coming to an end soon, and Vodafone on Tuesday made no secret that it would like to offer the device to its customers.
"When these contracts come up for renewal, we're confident we will have an interesting discussion with Apple. Nothing to announce today but we're very open," said Colao.
In the U.K., the iPhone is only available through O2.
It might not come to other US carriers, but I hope there will be more unlocked options in Europe. As far as I am aware, you could buy 16GB iPhone for ?590 in Italy and Greece, but not online. ?900+ for the same model in Germany, no unlocked option in most countries.
I see, the iPhone will support EDGE but not 3G with other US GSM carriers.
AT&T reports very high percent switchers from other networks but still they are the second-largest operator in US.
It seems that outside US very few people are likely to drop their carrier because of the iPhone. Also, in many countries with huge market potential (China, Russia, all Eastern European countries) the majority of the users use pre-payed SIM cards. There were reports here on AI that jail-broken iPhone was doing well in Russia but the sales of the official iPhone are very poor. So dropping the exclusivity model outside US makes a lot of sense.
Actually, it's the other way around. AT&T has one of the LOWEST percent switchers for the iphone. Much of the rest of the world has 50-60% iphone switchers vs. AT&T at 40%.
The reason --- the rest of the world is big on prepaid phones (much fewer people on contract).