Apple may soon be free from AT&T
Gotta love this article...
CNet's The Digital Home article on 6/10/08
Excerpt:
"Now that Apple and AT&T have squeaked out of the deal, what's holding the two companies together? Certainly some would say that it's that oft-mentioned exclusivity agreement the companies signed, but I don't know of one person who actually read the thing and no one really knows if Apple can get out or not.
But if I had to take a guess, step one in getting out of its contract with AT&T revolved around the revenue sharing deal. And before you know it, Steve Jobs' latest blockbuster may be on other carriers..."
CNet's The Digital Home article on 6/10/08
Excerpt:
"Now that Apple and AT&T have squeaked out of the deal, what's holding the two companies together? Certainly some would say that it's that oft-mentioned exclusivity agreement the companies signed, but I don't know of one person who actually read the thing and no one really knows if Apple can get out or not.
But if I had to take a guess, step one in getting out of its contract with AT&T revolved around the revenue sharing deal. And before you know it, Steve Jobs' latest blockbuster may be on other carriers..."
Comments
But that's besides the point because there are also areas of spotty coverage for AT&T. ALL carriers have deadspots in various areas of the country. You just do your research and pick the one that has the least in your area. That's another reason why it's wonderful for consumers to have a choice. The 2nd gen iPhone will also run twice as long on 2G. And there are those of us who have plenty of access to free Wifi which is faster than 3G.
Apple stands to make even more money releasing to other carriers.
I don't think you'll see iPhones on other carriers until 4G/LTE shows up.
CRAP!!
*sigh* Unfortunately, I think I'm going to have to agree with your assessment.
I've always said, I don't know anyone who knows with 100% certainty the details of whatever agreement Apple had with AT&T. The 5 year deal was seemingly pulled out of someone's ass and spread as the gospel truth. Well, either way, it's certainly shot to hell with the new arrangement between them (no revenue sharing, higher data plans, etc.). Perhaps there will be some t-mobile announcement this fall for the US as iPhone 3G production ramps up. CMDA just seems like it'll never be in the cards.
One way Apple could circumvent their arrangement with at&t would be to enable a Bluetooth headset to work with the iPod Touch and give it a user-installable cellular chip for other networks. Hey, it wouldn't be an "iPhone"... or am I just being naive?
Unfortunately the iPod Touch doesn't have Bluetooth.
TMobile is fantastic here in Miami.
But that's besides the point because there are also areas of spotty coverage for AT&T. ALL carriers have deadspots in various areas of the country. You just do your research and pick the one that has the least in your area. That's another reason why it's wonderful for consumers to have a choice. The 2nd gen iPhone will also run twice as long on 2G. And there are those of us who have plenty of access to free Wifi which is faster than 3G.
Apple stands to make even more money releasing to other carriers.
They suck in the Northwest, where they are headquartered.
Unfortunately the iPod Touch doesn't have Bluetooth.
Guess I was being naive.
Anybody know for sure?
I distinctly remember reading that 3G network is not fast enough for video streaming either.
Anybody know for sure?
3G is capable of achieving speeds that exceed the minimum for decent video conferencing, however speed with 3G is a lot less reliable than Wi-Fi. But that's not the biggest barrier. The biggest barrier with using video chat on 3G is the load on the network and the battery life. Video conferencing would waste a lot of battery life as the data transfer is continuously at it's max. Also, 3G networks wouldn't be capable of dealing with tons of people video conferencing at once.