Any Technology is not improve our life ,is not good for the market,the important questionis: Is iPhone improve our life?
Is iPhone help Us on learning or on buesness?
http://www.internettechnologydirectory.com/

Is iPhone improve our life?

Apple said owning it's products are kool. And kool person get laid more. So I guess it does improve our life.

/sarcasm

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:
If you don't get a subsidy (read: cheaper price) on a iPhone and are forced into a 2 year *exclusive* contract with only one provider in the country and have to pay full price deserves to get exactly what they're getting: screwed.

Apple would have made a LOT of money by selling the phones unlocked or with multiple providers and avoiding this whole sham, simply because they want to squeeze as much money out of people as they can.

Apple has never been, and never will be, a company worried about providing what people want in a product (things like user-replaceable batteries, for example), only what *they* think that people should *have*.

They're all about the markup, they're all about forcing people into options they really don't want (sending in iPhone and iPods just to get the batteries replaced, again, the best example that proves my point).

Well said.

So.. is an iPhone 1.1.1 activateable and unlockable without iTunes and AT&T or not ?

Thanks

Well, since you can't even get the 1.1.1 update without iTunes, I don't think you have anything to worry about. As for activation, it's not the phone that gets activated; it's the number. As long as you have a SIM card to an activated number, and the iPhone will accept it, you're good to go. That's the same with any phone.

I helped a customer set one up yesterday....
my thoughts are:
I would never buy anything from Apple!
the iPhone is junk!
permanently inoperable... would be a blessing

Come on... that's just ridiculous. You weren't even slightly impressed by it's eye-candy? I mean, I don't want an iPhone, but I do admit, its interface is pretty slick.

No, I wasnt really.

1) make iphone smaller
2) add more memory to iphone
3) make iphone cheaper to public
4) make iphone outright (prepaid)

above steps = success for apple

little known fact: iPhones are allowed to be purchased as go Phones. The prepaid AT6T option. Its not advertised because they wont sell any postpaid without a contract but the device itself can be purchased as a no contract option.

Step 3 and 4 are exclusive. They cannot do both and remain in business. The phone is cheaper due to the lock-in. Without it, the cost would be even more outrageous.

Why would that be?

Are you serious?

Apple is subsidizing part of the cost of R&D through the AT&T lock-in agreement. Without this, that cost would be past on to the consumer.

Hey, if you don't want it, don't buy it.

I think it sucks that you have to sign a 1 or 2 year contract to get a decent cell phone deal, but I'm free not to do it if I don't want to. I just end up paying more.

Capitalism = choices, even if some of them suck.

HAHAHAHA!. Are you that naive about capitalism?

"Hey, if you don't want it, don't buy it."

I totally agree with that statement. If you don't like the product or terms of the deal, don't buy it. No one is forcing you to buy it.

Maybe that mattered when you had real choice, but now you only have the illusion of choice.

Umm... nope. I'm pretty sure I still had a choice. I don't see an iPhone in my pocket. Know why? I chose not to buy one. Crazy how that works, isn't it?

Your question makes no sense. DudeBoyz has a good grasp on capitalism. It appears that you don't understand what that word means. It almost sounds like you mean socialism.

Let me guess, you think every product should be made, priced, and owned on the customers terms. Am I right? That's not capitalism.

Capitalism (as it applies to this case) is:
1. Company A makes Product 1 the way they think it will sell best.
2. They price at the highest point the market will bear (highest profit margin).
3. They decide under what terms the product is sold.
4. They reap the consequences of customers' response(s) to 1, 2, and 3.

Make sense?

Really? Care to elaborate?

You mean when I walk into a Cingular store to get a phone, or perhaps a Verizon store to get a phon, or maybe even a T-Mobile store to get a phone, I'm not really making a choice?

That's one of the dumbest statements you've made. I can pick any service I want and get a decent phone. That *is* choice.

While I would agree that there are few (if any) choices in some markets, like cable and non-cellular phone, the cell phone market is not one of them. There are many choices you can make, including pre-paid plans and unlocked phones.

Yup, I dont see one in my pocket either.

I don't see an iPhone in my pocket

Well, you must just be happy to see me then. :p

Locking mobile handsets to a carrier is uncompetitive, and anti-capitalistic. The reason we are so far behind the rest of the world with mobile handsets is that we don't allow companies to compete fully.

If you want to sell a handset at a discount for the commitment of an airtime contract, fine. But it should be COMPLETELY illegal to sell a phone that cannot be unlocked.

FTC, FCC, get off your duffs and fix this!

well said, I couldnt agree more and this goes for man y facets in our economy being behind the rest of the worl, mainly due to big companies trying to make big returns. The monopoly rules in this country are a joke, most our laws due nothing but help big buisness and screw the little people.

I don't disagree with your point, but the only countries we are "behind the rest of the world" from are Japan and South Korea. The rest we are either comprable or further along than. In fact, you probably have more choice here than the GSM only European countries.

How do you know Apple won't let you unlock the phone in two years when the contract is up. Everyone who doesn't live under a rock knows that to get an iPhone you need to use it on AT&T for two years. The FTC and FCC have no say in this and they shouldn't. That would be like the government forcing HP to use Epson inks. Quit being a socialist. The government can't do everything for you. They can't even force people to leave when a hurricane comes.

The way to get this to stop is to stop buying locked phones. If Apple had millions of unsold iPhones because no one bought them they would change. Since they are selling well they won't. It's as simple as that.

Actually, Europe is ahead of the US in cell phone technology and diversity, mostly because they get everything from Japan and S. Korea before us. And whats wrong with GSM? Its just a transmission standard..with better rural coverage thanks to the 850 band.

You're right. All mobile phones should be unlocked so they can be used with other carriers. You should also be required to pay full retail price for the phone you choose to buy to get this privilege.

When mobile phone carriers sell a phone at a steep discount they need to get the money they lost back. The only reliable way they can do this is with the monthly charges you pay for your mobile phone service over a one or two year period.

That's correct. Much of the same argument is made about other country's fiber networks and how they leave us in the dust. It's much easier to overcome and upgrade through new technologies when your country's infrastructure exists in an area the size of New Hampshire.

Its perfectly capitalistic. Capitalism is not about competing, its about domination of the market. Under the Bush Admin these groups are crippled.

"Actually, Europe is ahead of the US in cell phone technology and diversity, mostly because they get everything from Japan and S. Korea before us"

I think you'll find the majority market share in Europe, and definitely the UK, is from two Scandinavian mobile phone manufacturers....

Although the majority of phones in the UK are from two main manufacturers, we do have the choice of many others and the choice of which network we want. Its is quite legal and possible to by any phone and use it on any carrier. When apple release the phone in Europe, I don't think we it will sell that well because it is locked to one carrier. + we are used to getting our phones free when we sign up to a contract...

Nokia released the N95 for £450 without a contract - i presume it didn't sell that well because three months later you could get it for free on a contract.

and your point?
nokia made the best phones i ever used.

and that's news?
big businesses pay big money to make it so.

The US wireless market is extremely competitive and its exactly how Americans have defined it... carriers want exclusive agreements to the *slickest* of phones, not that cheap crap Nokia puts out every month. That's how the RAZR and iPhone command exclusive carrier rights. The carriers know consumers will flock to the phone. That makes it very competitive.

Because you can't get the iPhone the way you want it doesn't make it uncompetitive. You've decided you want Verizon or T-Mobile or ... because you have a different set of values when it comes to rating your wireless service.

Soooo for those of you who want your cake and eat it to... make a choice and be happy with it. Enjoy your carrier of choice with their handset selection or enjoy your handset selection with its tethered carrier. The market supports both models.

You talk as if you think there's no reason whatsoever for the lock other than Wireless Carrier 1 is greedy. News flash: There's a reason phones are locked.

You know why cell phones are so cheap? It's not because they're made cheaply. It's because the retailer is taking a huge hit in exchange for your guaranteed future business. That's also where the 2-year contract comes in.

It's just like game consoles. Almost all of them are sold at a loss, and they make that money back by guaranteed software sales.

If you want unlocked phones, you can buy them. They're all over the place. They're also a lot more expensive if they're through a legitimate retailer. That's because they don't have the promise of future wireless business from a specific company.

Also, you can always unlock a phone. Although, to be legitimate, you have to do it through the carrier, and the process has a nice, big price tag. That price is usually the discount you got on your phone when you first bought it.

No one's on their duffs for this one. AT&T paid a hefty price to get the iPhone exclusively, just like every other network does for their phones. Don't like it? You don't have to buy one.

Exactly.

Why would anyone want this junk in the first place? And thanks flamers, I already know the answer to my own question.

Ooh! Oooh! I know!

Is it that some people are hopelessly addicted to Apple products? Am I right? Am I right!?

This is why I will never, ever buy an iPhone. When I pay an obscene amount of money for something, I better be allowed to make it meet my needs. Anything that prevents me from doing so is defective by design, and I do not stand for this stuff. Additionally, I find that locking is damaging to the environment -- why should consumers be made to throw away a perfectly good phone just to switch carriers?

In any case, until Google Phone or the FIC Neo1973 comes out, I'll stick to my not-so-defective, unlocked Windows Mobile-based phone... at least that'll let me install 3rd-party programs.

Would you complain that your Ferrari wasn't amphibious? That your 72" LCD didn't make toast? ...

Ah, you say, but you could make your Ferrari amphibious. Well, yes, you could. Would you expect Ferrari to honor the warranty?

Unfortunately, I've seen your kind online since before the intertubes and already know your answer.

And if you have specs on the Google Phone that shows it won't be locked then please share.

FIC Neo1973? Other than being 'open', it has nothing going for it. Has anyone else signed on to make OpenMoko phones?

FIC has a pretty good racket going there. They make a phone, sell it for $450-$600, and do none of the software development.

Actually your attempted Ferrari analogy is anything but. Nobody is talking about a warranty here, we're talking about Apple intentionally releasing software updates to keep you from using software or networks that aren't paying them royalties. You know, the kind of thing that Microsoft has been getting sued for only far worse. Microsoft doesn't try to keep you from using other software, they got sued simply for bundling their own. So how long before the U.S. and E.U. start suing Apple for monopolistic behavior.

Apple didn't release an update for hacked iPhones, they released an update for unhacked iPhones.

If you want your hacked iPhone to be updated, you should be going to iphoneSimFree, iUnlock or whichever unlock program was used because as soon as you hack Apples software, it is no longer Apples software.

Monopolistic behavior? Is Apple the only company that makes cellphones?

Is Microsoft the only one making an OS?

No but they control a monopolistic share of the OS market.

What market does Apple have a large share of?

Disclaimer: I am not a fan of Apples locking of the iPhone and don't blame owners that did unlock their iPhones but _They knew the possible consequences and need to stop whining_.

"When I pay an obscene amount of money for something, I better be allowed to make it meet my needs."

One would hope you spend time and energy on research deciding if a device meets your needs before you pay an obscene amount for it.

"Anything that prevents me from doing so is defective by design, and I do not stand for this stuff."

It doesn't make it defective, it makes it not the right product choice for you. Statements like yours might tend people to think you are a little full of yourself this morning :)

"Additionally, I find that locking is damaging to the environment -- why should consumers be made to throw away a perfectly good phone just to switch carriers?"

Return the phone to be recycled. AT&T accepts old phones when purchasing a new phone or upgrading an existing plan and in some cases gives a phone credit for the "trade-in". Those who throw their phones away probably throw lots of recyclable and environmentally harmful goods away... including old computers, batteries, motor oil, etc.

Good luck with the Google Phone! Keep in mind no phone is going to be euphoric so don't be too disappointed when it fails you the first time.

iUnlock is not promising that.

"We do not guarantee that future updates from Apple will not re-lock your phone or prevent future unlocking. Please check our website for information before updating your phone in the future."
"VERSION 1.1.1 IS NOT UNLOCKABLE."

So at this time if they produce a relocking utitlity it still will not be useful as 1.1.1 will not allow for another unlock.