All Articles Tagged exclusivity

AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega stated that his carrier’s exclusive agreement to sell Apple’s iPhone in the US… will end one day. Of course, we knew this. You knew this. AT&T and Apple knew this. Everybody knew this, because they’ve said it before. Still, on the eve of a highly successful quarterly results report, where the iPhone once again carried the day for AT&T earnings, they obviously felt the need to say it again:

“We have a legacy of having a great portfolio…that will continue after the iPhone is no longer exclusive to us. We think we will continue after the iPhone…to drive [results]….” [...] “we feel really good about our non-iPhone [subscriber] adds and net adds…. We feel really strong about our portfolio in quick messaging devices, including BlackBerry and all the smartphones.” [...] “Even if we lose exclusivity [of the iPhone], we will be the only carrier with HSPA 7.2 [a network specification being deployed at AT&T] and [new devices] will work on our network faster. I feel as strongly as ever [about] the capability of devices in our lineup and [am] super-excited about the deals with e-readers and personal navigation devices.”

Apparently, like Verizon, AT&T will seek post-iPhone solace in much more carrier-control friendly Android…

[Via Macworld]

Speaking at Fortune’s Brainstorm tech conference, AT&T CEO, Randall Stephenson, discussed the iPhone and it’s exclusivity with AT&T.

“There will be a day when you are not exclusive with the iPhone.”

Nothing was discussed regarding any negotiations that may be taking place at this time between the two companies but be assured that AT&T will do everything and anything in it’s power to keep Apple’s device under lock and key for as long as it possibly can.

All good things must come to an end, however. With that being said, AT&T’s exclusitivity deal with Apple’s iPhone is no different. It will eventually end. Sure there are those of you out there that can’t wait until Apple breaks free of it’s chains from AT&T, just don’t count on that happening anytime in the near future.

[Via Engadget Mobile]

It is no secret that AT&T has the iPhone locked up through the year 2010. Today the Wall Street Journal is reporting that AT&T is in talks to add yet another year to the current deal. Of course neither side is commenting about the matter at this point, and when contacted, an Apple representative said:

“We have a great relationship with AT&T.”

While we here at TiPb are well aware of how many of you truly despise AT&T, is this where we give them another chance? It has been rumored they are still beefing up their network for the next iPhone launch.

Personally for me here in the Chicago area, I’ve never had such great service. No other cellular service performs as well for me and I’ve tried tried them all. Yes, I said it, go easy on me.

So what do you say? Is another year of AT&T iPhone lock-in a good or bad thing?

[Via WSJ Thanks also to Tyler for the tip!]

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

[Updated following Phone Different Podcast #19, see below!]

Way back in February, Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, Tim Cook said:

“We’re not married to any business model.”

At the time — and it’s scary how long ago it seems already — the iPhone was only available in the US, UK, Germany, and France, with rumors of Ireland and Austria waiting in the wings. What’s more, these were all exclusive deals, with Apple doing their best to lock the iPhone down to single carriers in each territory in exchange for lucrative — and unprecedented — revenue-sharing deals that some have estimated could be netting Apple up to $15 per month, per subscriber.

So, with a potential billion dollars on the table, while they weren’t married to it, they no doubt felt more than a little lusty.

But in true Apple fashion, invoking perhaps the pirate mantra of old, and embracing the same mindset that has them run iTunes as a near-loss leader, price-cut the iPhone a scant few months in, and offer cheap family upgrade options on their OS and iApps, it looks like Tim Cook was serious.

Read on to find out just how serious he was…

Read the rest of this entry »

Tom Cook, Chief Operating Officer of a little Cupertino company named Apple, spoke at the Goldman Sachs Investment Symposium, mercilessly teasing the faithful with the following bombs:

• Apple is not “married to any [single carrier exclusive] business model”. It’s apparently all about the “best phones in the world”, baby, and if unlocked, CDMA, and/or pre-paid proved, in the future, to provide the greatest sense of childlike wonder (or complies with future Congressional mandates), Apple could (possibly, maybe) go with that flow.
• Apple believes the global unlocking epidemic is a good sign of the iPhone’s potential, and that there will always be a percentage of unlocks in the wild because of the high demand.
• That the upcoming iPhone SDK would allow developers to “only be limited by [their] imagination.” (And whatever restrictions Apple imposes on accessing the metal and distributing via iTunes, ‘natch).

To the delight of Wall Street, Cook also continued to hold firm on the 10 million iPhone march through the end of 2008.

Check out Apple Insider for all the details.

Is Cook telling us Apple will make good on their promised smart phone utopia? Or Is he just cranking on his own mini Reality Distortion Field? Hit the comments and let us know what you think!