We’ve had our fair share of gripes and complaints about AT&T here at TiPb but we don’t give them enough credit for trusting Apple and letting them go wild with the iPhone. Sure, they may be out to squeeze every dollar from their customers, but few carriers would even imagine giving Apple the freedom to create the. best. gadget. ever.
Plus, AT&T is well aware of the attention and added dollars they get by having an exclusivity agreement for the iPhone, so it comes to no surprise to us that one of those old, reputable, print companies is reporting that AT&T has added another year of exclusivity (until 2010 now). If AT&T were to lose the iPhone now, it’d be a complete disaster since the iPhone is starting to entrench itself in the market.
So I guess since AT&T will never give up on the iPhone, it’s on Apple to make every customers dream come true and deliver a fully unlocked iPhone. Maybe then, carriers will begin to lower their prices and the power will come back to the consumers.
ReadVia
figure 1: AT&T has made some changes to benefit customers out of enlightened self-interest.
In news that should please anyone on AT&T, and if you have an iPhone, odds are good that this is you, AT&T is making consumer-friendly changes to how they do things. First, AT&T announced that they will begin pro-rating termination fees. The longer you stay on in your contract, the less of a fee you’ll have to pay. They also announced that they will not require a new contract for a simple change of service. Both are welcome changes.
Odds are good that this change of heart is due to the Senate commerce committee holding those hearings, and T-Mobile’s lawsuit problems — AT&T probably doesn’t want to get into the same legal hot water that T-Mobile is currently in.
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Mark Rasch, a law-talkin’ guy, analyzed the iPhone contract in depth (print). For anyone worried about the legal consequences of modifying their iPhone, this could be worth a read. For the record, I’m not a law-talkin’ guy, and so what I’m about to say isn’t law-talkin’ advice. But I don’t think anyone has to worry about getting in trouble for modding their iPhone one way or another. AT&T and Apple just don’t have the resources to sue everyone involved, and they’re not as regressive as the RIAA — they’ll not stoop to suing individual customers for modding.
Forum members of Hackint0sh have figured out how to unlock an iPhone using a SIM card reader/writer and a blank SIM card. The Phone has reportedly been tested in Europe. The equipment to do so apparently cost $96 US, and we can apparently expect a Gizmodo post later today once they verify that this method works.
In other unlocking news, other hackers have figured out how to dump the full content of NOR memory; this memory dump should ostensibly hold all the information an enterprising hacker would need to unlock the iPhone in software. You know, without $96.
And lastly, I just want to call attention to the neat Star Wars themed photoshops Jesus Diaz of Gizmodo has been posting.
The results are in: we’ve been owned. Wired had a EULA lawyer from the EFF to analyze the binding contract for anyone that has activated an iPhone. Your contract, like any other cell phone contract anyone ever agreed to, is hilariously long and screws you six ways to Sunday. [I Agree]
Bit by bit, information is coming out on how the syncing will work, and what it means to have to activate the iPhone before you can use it.
First, AT&T’s return policy has changed: you now only have 14 days to try it out (it used to be 30 days). There’s now also a 10% restocking fee for a return. Don’t worry, though; the contract breakage fee ($175) is still the same if you miss that 2 week deadline. We knew the phone was going to be locked, though it’s a surprise that it may be locked to one SIM card.
Second, you’ll have to activate an AT&T plan before you can even use the iPod functionality of it. Crazy! Without a worth-$3000 2 year plan, that purchase is just a $499 or $599 pretty little brick. Hopefully it will reduce the reasons to steal them. It’s going to be a hot little thing in my pocket, that’s for sure.
The iPhone is heavily rumored to be unsubsidized at all by AT&T. But, if you cancel service on your iPhone contract after a certain period (a month?), you’ll still have to pay AT&T a $175 contract breakage fee, they claim
“There are certain fixed costs we incur in serving every customer who establishes service with us.”
Sigh. I guess you can say that this agreement lets Apple be Apple and lets AT&T be AT&T.
I’m still hoping that the iPhone will still be available on prepaid plans. I don’t intend to use it, but you know, for the kids.
