There have been a lot of good points raised and addressed in this thread and I'd like to add some general info on my own understanding of Apple in the mobile phone market.
Although Apple may wish it was otherwise, they have to conform to the business model and methods of the mobile phone business. To get in the door they have had to sell their soul to the telco/devil (eg AT&T in US, O2 in UK). If they wish to continue doing business, they have to be seen to respect and enforce the "exculsivity" of the agreements. Remember that telcos regard their customers with all the respect that a child regards his collection of marbles. They don't care if some get sat on, stepped on or dropped in dog sh*t, as long as they have more than the other guy. Your wishes as a customer are something to be worked around, not accommodated.
I couldn't find the article I was looking for but Bill Ray explains a few of the market dynamics involved in the article at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/23/iphone_will_fail/ . The Brits are more mobile savvy than those of us in North America who were Qualcomm's personal property for so many years.
On the point that iPhone hackers are breaking their contracts, I was under the impression that you cannot contract out of a legal right. eg A company cannot get out of its "fit for purpose" obligation by including some fine print in the warranty.
I also believe it has been established that you have the legal right (in UK and USA at least) to unlock a phone in order to use it with a the provider of your choice. So where does that leave the customer?
1. The customer is legally entitled to unlock the phone and use it with a different provider. 2. The customer must also pay for or buy out the contract with AT&T (as they have contracted to do) 3. Apple must honour its commitments to the telco vis-a-vis exclusivity (eg lock you out of your own phone)
Where does that leave Apple when they try to stop you exercising your legal right to unlock the phone? If I knew I'd be a lawyer and charge you all $5,000 for reading this post! :-)
regards, Drew --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
