Apple To Be New Mobile Carrier?

[MacRumors]

According to Spanish site CanalPDA.com (translated) in an interview with Apple's VP of Mobile Platforms and Services business unit Albert Slope, Apple is lining up their ducks to be a new mobile carrier.

"creating our own mobile carrier is the next logical step in our strategy of providing the Apple experience to the users of our products. We believe that existing carriers are not offering the flexibility nor the performance consumers deserve, so we have decided to move forward, providing cellphone users a full, personal communications and information environment, with the user-friendliness that has become synonymous with Apple's products and services"

"On the other hand", says Slope, "the sucess achieved by the iTunes Music Store has shown us the way to go: by selling songs to consumers at $0.99 apiece, we have accumulated a valuable expertise that will be most useful for billing them talking minutes".

According to the article, Apple's new mobile carrier will start operating as a MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), using existing infrastructure to build a new brand.

 

[zyuzin4]

interesting, i'm not so sure if this would fly

 

[Ja Di ksw]

Learning from iTMS, huh? Just give us your credit card, and every time you talk for a minute we'll charge you $.99 . Actually, I hope Apple can come out with something good. I'm back in the stone age, and hate cell phones. Something about them just . . . . . bothers me, its a long story I won't go into here, but maybe Apple will convince me to switch.

 

[mcarnes]

Damn! That's ambitious. Go Apple! Show those crappy mobile companies how it's done.

 

[kansast]

Yea but

You'll only be able to talk to Macintosh users ???

 

[nagromme]

So in the midst of all the strange rumors, what IS Apple really doing with mobile phones?

This sounds awfully far-fetched to me, but then so did the iPod... and the #1 reason I don't have a mobile phone is because the user experience isn't good enough to be worth dealing with, for me.

I guess anything's possible. It WOULD be one more way to capitalize on the iPod's cross-platform popularity and mindshare.

 

[kenaustus]

This is somewhat confusing for me. Why would an Apple exec be discussing this so soon before Steve J's Keynote?

It is interesting though. I'm assuming that the phone would be GSM, making it possible to use anywhere. That would make it possible to set up an international system, but that does take big money.

Unusual and interesting.

 

[SleazyBreezy]

Old news people. That article is fake. The referring website even prefaces the article with links that show they're just having fun! Today is "April Fool's Day" of sorts for the Spaniards - they publish false stories in their media on purpose.

 

[maya]

VoIP via iChat that is what this is all about.


Chat either for free connecting via iChat on the mobile end and Apple computer end or you can dial to a landline that will cost.

A flat rate for America and a slight charge for worldwide.

Since Skype does this however not as effective IMHO.

Get ready for iChat to be ported to x86.

 

[sjpetry]

I want an iPod phone

 

[Ysean]

Erm...

Well first, a cell phone wasn't designed to be any more than a home phone really. So if you don't like the user interface then you probably don't like your home phone either. (This is strictly talking about the phone functions not any of the added bs.)

A bit more on topic, I've heard this before. A few months ago at minimum. I don't know if it's BS or not but it's been discussed before. The only way Apple could make it fly is to have good value adds. I honestly don't know what those could be without playing on price. Data services for a reaasonable fixed rate could be one. The primary problem I see with this is that if Apple just piggybacks like the quote stated it is doing then they are greatly limited as to the cellular services they can provide. 3G? Not really. EDGE? only some places. Inter-carrier MMS? I don't think anyone in the states is doing that. All in all, I just don't see it being a good idea unless they can do it all right from the beginning. And honestly, I don't think Apple has the cash to "do it right the first time". I could see them offering things like .Mac integration with the phones or such. But is that really that big of a deal?

 

[Avicdar]

Old news people. That article is fake. The referring website even prefaces the article with links that show they're just having fun! Today is "April Fool's Day" of sorts for the Spaniards - they publish false stories in their media on purpose.

Hard to understand how this could make it onto Macrumors when the site itself even gives away that the story is a fraud.

Besides, this isn't the kind of event that gets handled this way by Apple. We all know that. Any official discussion with the media on such a thing would be at the announcement event, not a candid interview with an exec before the fact.

 

[Arcus]

Didn't anyone actually read the information through the link? Its a fake.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I dunno, right now every mobile carrier in the US sucks, so I fear that Apple would just be the latest. Stupid enigmatic contracts, phones with locked features - It's like leasing a car and paying extra to open the moonroof or play a CD. Bah. Humbug.

...Though I'm hoping Apple will be different (not holding my breath).

EDIT: I'm questioning the validity of this rumor anyway. LOL, I shoud look at the links for once .

 

[1macker1]

This is a BS article. Selling Computers and Mp3 players are not in the same class of setting up a telephony service.

 

[mkjellman]

yea sorry this is VERY fake unless he wanted to have his wife see jobs cut off his head infront of her...

 

[obeygiant]

well i hope apple is IN with verizon if they do this

 

[BWhaler]

Macrumors is really, really slipping.

No new rumors.

Rehashing other sites.

Now, it's clear they are not even reading the linked stories.

Get with the program people, or close down.

 

[Ja Di ksw]

You'll only be able to talk to Macintosh users ???

Yeah, of course, you'll have to wait for a long time if you want to talk to them in Europe, Canada, etc . . .

 

[loneAzdgari]

Yeah it even has two links for non-spanish people to read. Apparently Dec. 28th is a day of fake news articles across spanish speaking countries.

 

[ifjake]

oh good it's fake. this seems like a bonehead idea. i can see apple engineering a cellphone, but not being a carrier.

 

[TiBook1ghz]

This is fake, will someone please remove this article? Don't need to be spreading a Spanish april fool's joke around like its legit.

 

[JoePike]

Even if this were not obviously fraudulent and false, I'd have to question whether it was real. Why? Because it seems too good to be true.

If Apple made a simple, easy to use, yet powerful and cool cell phone with a rate structure that you don't need a phd to understand.....I'd be on board in a heartbeat.

-Piker

 

[eogold]

MacRumors: Not really an interesting rumor site anymore

Macrumors is really, really slipping.

No new rumors.

Rehashing other sites.

Now, it's clear they are not even reading the linked stories.

Get with the program people, or close down.

I totally agree. MacRumors no longer functions as a "rumors" site. They simply recycle tidbits reported widely elsewhere on the web. No in-depth or add-on analysis. No interesting rumors - just standard News from other sites. And now on top of it all, they are propagating obvious hoaxes!

I find myself visitng this site less and less these days...

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Bummer that the "news" was a fake. Though with the consolidation of the cell phone companies, it would seem that there might be someone that Apple could buy.