Cingular Ties, Several More iPhone Models? And More Details...

[MacRumors]

PCMag, MobileBurn, and TelephonyOnline reported on comments on the Apple iPhone from Glenn Lurie, Cingular's president of national distribution. Cingular, of course, is the exclusive provider for the Apple iPhone in the U.S. and this deal has been said to last until 2009. As part of the branding, the "Cingular" word will appear on the iPhone screen, but will not appear on the body of the phone itself.

Of particular interest, Cingular's exclusivity contract "covers 'all models' of the iPhone, including several other devices in the works that may be 'coming out very quickly'". Unfortunately, the exact details surrounding the quote were unavailable, but appear to be related to the possibility of future 3G implementation on the iPhone -- a feature which Steve Jobs stated during the keynote was on the roadmap for future models.

Other details include:

- 2 year contract required, applies for existing customers as well
- Apple is taking additional efforts to prevent the unlocking of the phones
- Apple and Cingular will share tech support responsibilities
- Cingular hinted at possible iPhone specific data plans
- Likely a 1 year warranty

Meanwhile, there's a battle for the rights to Apple's phone in the UK. The contenders include O2, Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile.

MacWelt.de published answers to questions (translation) from Apple Germany about the iPhone. And,iLounge was able to have some hands on time with the iPhone. Some things revealed in these reports:

- iTunes songs can not be set as ringtones
- As reported, battery is not user replaceable
- Gestures / Scrolling interface has brief learning curve
- Screen appears resistant to smudges
- No Voice over IP support
- No wireless iTunes downloads/purchases

[runplaysleeprun]

Bummer about apple making it hard to unlock. a lot of crushed dreams around here i'm sure.

[noservice2001]

sweet

[solowCX]

I really hope that after Apple gets some leverage in this industry that they do away with the locking of phones. They really do need Cingular to help distribute this phone for them initially, but once more people see the iPhone in action and learn they can buy them from Apple stores I bet Apple will change this ideas.

I have a suspicion that Cingular was the one who required such things as iTunes songs not being able to be set as ringtones. That is so backwards I never understood by cell phone manufacturers did this. Being free of a specific carrier will be good for everyone, but Apple needs the publicity first.

[twoodcc]

Originally Posted by noservice2001

sweet

yeah, sounds pretty good to me. hope these things start shipping......the sooner the better....

[ogun7]

A lot of this is no surprise. The iPod is a closed system and in order to get the huge amount of leverage over Cingular that they did, Apple had to give up some concessions. That's why we have hackers...

[Poff]

Yeah! I Knew It! Here Come's The Candybar!! :d

[Loge]

Do they mean songs purchased from iTunes store cannot be used as ring tones, or anything you might have in your iTunes library?

In any event restrictions like that are just mean spirited, and show up what is wrong with the cell phone industry.

[123]

>>- Screen appears resistant to smudges

BS, you can even see them in the Keynote stream.

[mymacluvsme]

I just read on MDN that

"AT&T Inc. will rebrand its Cingular Wireless service with the AT&T name starting Monday, a move aimed at bringing together the company's newly acquired entities and services under a single moniker," Dionne Searcey reports for The Wall Street Journal."

So will the iPhone still be branded Cingular?

[Poff]

Originally Posted by solowCX

I really hope that after Apple gets some leverage in this industry that they do away with the locking of phones. They really do need Cingular to help distribute this phone for them initially, but once more people see the iPhone in action and learn they can buy them from Apple stores I bet Apple will change this ideas.

I have a suspicion that Cingular was the one who required such things as iTunes songs not being able to be set as ringtones. That is so backwards I never understood by cell phone manufacturers did this. Being free of a specific carrier will be good for everyone, but Apple needs the publicity first.

On any standard Nokia supporting mp3 or aac, you can use your mp3's as ringtones. If reality is different in the US then, yup, it's the carriers demands.

[Metatron]

Under no conditions will I resign my contract. I will pay full retail, or wait for a smarter man than me to unlock it. Apple has some serious flaws with this overly closed system. Great product, classic steve BS.

[DMann]

Originally Posted by solowCX

I really hope that after Apple gets some leverage in this industry that they do away with the locking of phones. They really do need Cingular to help distribute this phone for them initially, but once more people see the iPhone in action and learn they can buy them from Apple stores I bet Apple will change this ideas.

I have a suspicion that Cingular was the one who required such things as iTunes songs not being able to be set as ringtones. That is so backwards I never understood by cell phone manufacturers did this. Being free of a specific carrier will be good for everyone, but Apple needs the publicity first.

Unlocking these phones will be easier than unlocking a RAZR.
No need to worry

[DMann]

Originally Posted by Metatron

Under no conditions will I resign my contract. I will pay full retail, or wait for a smarter man than me to unlock it. Apple has some serious flaws with this overly closed system. Great product, classic steve BS.

Steve is just giving a impression to Cingular so that they will trust him.
He knows they'll be unlocked as soon as they're released.

[DMann]

Originally Posted by Poff

On any standard Nokia supporting mp3 or aac, you can use your mp3's as ringtones. If reality is different in the US then, yup, it's the carriers demands.

Another promise to keep the recording industry from
flipping out. It will be quite EASY to use an mp3 or
portion for a ring tone.

[DMann]

Originally Posted by 123

>>- Screen appears resistant to smudges

BS, you can even see them in the Keynote stream.

'Resistant' is not to be construed as smudge 'proof.'

[DMann]

Originally Posted by Loge

Do they mean songs purchased from iTunes store cannot be used as ring tones, or anything you might have in your iTunes library?

In any event restrictions like that are just mean spirited, and show up what is wrong with the cell phone industry.

Edit, format, and use any sound as ring-tone

[jaredtorres]

The price of the phone wont be less with a contract, correct?

[DMann]

Originally Posted by ogun7

A lot of this is no surprise. The iPod is a closed system and in order to get the huge amount of leverage over Cingular that they did, Apple had to give up some concessions. That's why we have hackers...

iPod is closed, and still quite easy to hack.
OS X and/or variant will be that much
easier to modify

[maveness]

No VoIP. BUMMER.

[weg]

Originally Posted by Macrumors

- As reported, battery is not user replaceable

No way I'm buying that, no matter how nice the other features are..

[EricNau]

Originally Posted by jaredtorres

The price of the phone wont be less with a contract, correct?

Correct. The price WITH contract is $499/$599.

[MacFly123]

With talk of these new iPhone models and also Leopard, iLife 07, iWork 07, new Cinema Displays, etc. what other conferences or opportunities for announcements are coming up and when? I've been a HUGE Apple fan for a couple years now, but I'm still not familiar with all the events. If anybody can tell me so I now when to be excited for new things I would appreciate it

Thanks

[Steve1496]

I plan on purchasing the phone, but the ring tone/iTunes song issue is worrying. On a phone such as the iPhone, this should be a no-brainer feature!

[tvguru]

As nice as it is, I think I'm still going to get a Blackberry on a 2 year contract and wait for Rev 2 or 3. Need more space if I'm going to be using the device the way they showed in the keynote.