US Regional Carriers

[dontwalkhand]

Does anyone have the iPhone 3GS, 4, or 4S with one of the new regional carriers that are offering it now in the US? I have seen videos of the C-Spire one on YouTube but none of the ones from the GSM based regionals like GCI in Alaska.

How does it compare to the ones for AT&T, VZW or Sprint? Can you still walk into an Apple store for support? I've noticed that Apple does not sell these in the Apple store, so it looks like its carrier store only for these devices.

 

[lordofthereef]

I would imagine that Apple will still provide support for the device at the Apple store.

 

[Daveoc64]

How does it compare to the ones for AT&T, VZW or Sprint? Can you still walk into an Apple store for support? I've noticed that Apple does not sell these in the Apple store, so it looks like its carrier store only for these devices.

This isn't how it works.

Apple has sold these devices:

iPhone
iPhone 3G
iPhone 3GS
iPhone 4
iPhone 4 (CDMA) - sold by Verizon and Sprint in particular
iPhone 4S

Aside from the size and colour variations, these are the only variants of the iPhone.

Things like which carrier an iPhone is locked to are controlled by software (and stored on the device during "activation").

From a support perspective, this is excellent. A customer can bring an iPhone from Germany to the Apple Store in New York and get a replacement device. That replacement device is then locked to the same carrier as their original device was (perhaps unlocked).

The "re-manufactured" replacement that they receive might have originally been locked to AT&T.

This flexibility means that Apple doesn't need to stock replacements for each carrier separately. As such, even with a smaller carrier, you'll be able to get a replacement easily from the Apple Store (or over the phone/internet).