But... but... it's not 2012...
The world isn't supposed to end yet!
Quick, disagree with me as always, or we're all doomed! Doomed, I say!
Lmao
True, I still doubt verizon is getting the iPhone until December 2012.
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Why iPhone is locked to AT&T in the U.S. ?
- Thread starter dannysiu
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Lmao
True, I still doubt verizon is getting the iPhone until December 2012.
Well maybe in the U.S. but in other countries you don't pay the same price for the contract if you bring your own phone, and if you do buy a subsidized phone you can see how much it will raise your monthly bill.
You are 100% WRONG because:
1) Plenty of countries tried to force idiotic selling of unlocked version of phones --- Apple made a mockery of this idiotic regulation by selling a 1000 euro iphone in Germany.
2) ALL major European countries have been auctioning their spectrum license on a technology neutral basis for the last 5 years. So there you have it --- Europe realized forcing everybody to use one single standard is idiotic.
3) You want to talk about anti-competitive --- the US is the most competitive among all major OECD countries in the wireless telecom world. Verizon owns something like 32% of the US wireless market. NTT DoCoMo (which is 1/3 owned by the Japanese government) owns 50% of the Japanese wireless market. SK Telecom owns 50% of the South Korean wireless market. German government is the largest owner of DT --- which owns something like 40% of the German wireless market. In the UK, the recent merger between Orange and T-Mobile UK created the Brit's largest wireless carrier with a 37% market share in the UK. Canada and France has only 3 national wireless carriers --- so you figure it out about their competitiveness.
You are not going to find a single country in the first world that has more competition in the wireless cell phone service market than the US.
Apart from the UK and pretty much everywhere else. Having the iPhone on every (6 of 'em!) carrier sounds like competition. Not to mention Apple selling the iPhone unlocked directly...
If all the carriers in that country screws you with tariff rates then you are screwed no matter what.
That's what happens to the French people --- you can buy the iphone from all 3 French carriers. The problem --- these same 3 French carriers were nailed for price fixing a few years ago.
http://www.rte.ie/business/2005/1201/france.html
That's what I called idiotic regulations. French regulator determined when and where and how unlocking codes are given to consumers. French court even outlawed the iphone exclusivity.
The French people would be better off by the French regulator auctioning a 4th wireless carrier license --- which they finally did a few months ago.
http://www.muniwireless.com/2009/12/20/iliad-free-gets-fourth-mobile-license-in-france/
The BEST place to get the iphone is Hong Kong --- where ONE carrier has the iphone exclusivity. Hong Kong people manage to get a completely unlocked iphone --- even though there is no law in Hong Kong outlawing simlocked phones, and no specific law forcing the carriers to give unlocking codes in x number of months.
It's called Legalized Extortion! You can thank the Lawyers for that just like every other problem America has is due to corrupt Lawyers/Congress/Representatives/Judges/Elect Officials>> = LAWYERS!
BINGO.
T-Mobile, the cheapest option, isn't that much cheaper then AT&T or Verizon if you want all the bells and whistles. Think of it this way, carriers aren't stupid and they aren't going to lower the price so much that they are barely making a profit.
The worldwide launch of the iphone has definitively proven that the grass is NOT greener elsewhere.
In Asia, cell phones on the grey goods market flourish --- precisely because these countries have insane import duties on legitimate imports. It's actually a bad thing.
Don't blame the American carriers for it.
You should blame Vodafone, T-Mobile, Telefonica --- they operate in dozens and dozens of countries --- yet they charge their own subscribers insane roaming rates if you are a Vodafone UK subscriber roaming on Vodafone in Germany.
Europeans don't even need to have to get a local SIM card at all --- if their regulators do the right thing and control these insane European roaming rates.
Except that your so-called cell phone paradise in Europe and Asia --- don't even have ETF's (let alone pro-rated ETF).
It only sound good to geeks like you who think that you can "technically" switch carriers easier because of SIM cards and unlocked GSM phones.
In reality, these Europeans can't get out of their contract unless they pay off the remaining portion of their contracts in full. Just look at Brits who wanted to upgrade their 3G iphone to 3GS iphone --- they have to pay off the rest of the original 3G iphone contract first. Technically easier in Europe to switch carriers, but financially very difficult to do so.
Switching is much easier in the US, you pay your pro-rated ETF and you can get out of contract for very few dollars. Then you sign a 2 year contract with your new carrier and they even give you a zero dollar cell phone. Why would I care about technologically incompatibility between CDMA and GSM phones? They are going to give you a brand new zero dollar phone anyway.
In the UK we have subsidised phones but instead of one network offering them, all of them do. So I don't think it has anything to do with that. Sprint, Verizon etc could easily offer subsidised iPhones as well.
I think the main reason is GSM. All the networks in the UK use GSM. Only AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM in the states. To go on Verizon Apple would need to make separate CDMA iPhones. Why doesn't T-Mobile have the iPhone in the US? Not sure, although correct me if I am wrong but I get the impression that T-Mobile is not that significant compared to AT&T and Verizon so Apple going to T-Mobile as well probably wouldn't greatly increase sales for the iPhone.
I have also heard that O2 in the UK didn't meet sales targets so lost exclusivity. Maybe AT&T is meeting it's targets so Apple is contractually tied to AT&T. Another theory is that Apple could be doing it not to upset the EU whereas in the US they can easily get away with being locked to one carrier.
If you get a contract, yes. Here most people get phone plans without contracts. They're much cheaper and you can switch whenever you want.
With the catch being you need to buy the phone outright. So in the end you are just paying more for your phone £499 unlocked vs. $199, locked.
Yes, but I get to only pay 20 euro a month for my phone plan. Wanna see how much I save over 2 years?
Plus I sell my iPhone before I buy a new one (I get good money for it too since it's officially unlocked) so I end up paying almost nothing for a new one.
I wanna see what you actually get for 20 euros, doubt you have unlimited data, that's for sure. In the end you are paying less and getting less, not really a crazy concept.
Which is crap considering we can buy our phones locked, jb/unlock them then sell them for 2x the cost.
No, I don't get unlimited data here, we have never had it. I honestly don't miss it, I have wifi at home and work and free access to the biggest hotspot provider here. I never went over my limit, both for data and for calls and texts. In the U.S. you pay what, $70 minimum whether you need it or not?
Also just recently in the UK you could get a SIM with unlimited data and texts for £20 a month. They don't have unlimited data anymore but neither does AT&T.
Hum, but don't you still have a contract? Plus if you happen to have a firmware version not yet unlockable there's nothing you can do. And officially unlocked phones go for more too.
If I go and buy an iPhone 4 this afternoon from the apple store (which I may actually do, but probably won't), the total cost of the unlocked phone and continuing my current level of service with O2 is exactly the same as if I lock myself into a new 18 month contract with them, get a subsidised phone and pay more per month for the same. Now - we could get into the future value of money, and demonstrate that that actually costs me less, but lets not
If I buy, I'll buy unlocked with the bigger up front cost, and lower monthly cost. If another carrier starts offering a service that I prefer (cheaper roaming would be nice, which Vodafone played with last year, or just the same for less), then I can switch. Request a PAC and my phone number is switched in a couple of days.
I just can't see any upside to locking myself into a contract for 18 months or more. Having said that, I believe Tesco do quite a good option - haven't checked the numbers yet though.
If I go and buy an iPhone 4 this afternoon from the apple store (which I may actually do, but probably won't), the total cost of the unlocked phone and continuing my current level of service with O2 is exactly the same as if I lock myself into a new 18 month contract with them, get a subsidised phone and pay more per month for the same. Now - we could get into the future value of money, and demonstrate that that actually costs me less, but lets not
If I buy, I'll buy unlocked with the bigger up front cost, and lower monthly cost. If another carrier starts offering a service that I prefer (cheaper roaming would be nice, which Vodafone played with last year, or just the same for less), then I can switch. Request a PAC and my phone number is switched in a couple of days.
I just can't see any upside to locking myself into a contract for 18 months or more. Having said that, I believe Tesco do quite a good option - haven't checked the numbers yet though.
You realize that sucks right? Your carrier won't eat the cost of the subsidy and instead passes it on to you.
The carrier never eats the cost of the subsidy, it's always passed onto you.
It's just with the american plan, the option is they pass it onto you in the bill, or they keep it as extra profit for doing nothing if you buy phone outright.
I.E. they have no model for not selling you a new phone every time you extend contract.
There is no scenario where you directly pay for the phone and they don't keep the amount of bill set aside for subsidy. Here we can choose whether they subsidise or whether we pay outright and get a lower bill. so no, it doesn't suck.
If you add an extra line to your plan it's only 9.99. It doesn't matter if you get a "free" phone or an 'iPhone" AT&T still charges you the same monthly price. So yes they do eat the subsidy.
With all due respect you guys / girls in the US and the iPhone 4 are being absolutely ripped off left right and centre and your paying a privilege for it. This is corporate greed gone mad. Firstly, the networks used in the US are nothing short of pre-historic - hell EDGE / CDMA were all dumped in Australia when CDMA was shut down an NextG (3G) started. We still have the GSM / EDGE fallback but 3G is the usual mode of operation. Australia has the fastest 3G network in the world - not bad for a country of only 24 million people.
Also the fact that in the US you cant simply buy an iPhone 4 outright without a network lock / contract proves again only corporate greed rules. Here in Australia you can buy an outright unlocked iPhone 4 32GB for $AU999 and I use a Telstra 3G prepaid MicroSIM or if you want contract its locked until you unlock it. Mobile phone contracts here are either 12 months or 24 months. It seems in the land down-under we have a lot more freedom of choice in respect to iPhone's and their plans, etc.
Telstra: http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile/phones/iphone/index.html?ti=TR:TR:July10:iphone4:TCOMindex:325x200 (24 Month Contract)
Optus: http://personal.optus.com.au/web/oc...a_mobile&sort=-1|-1|19|-1&exclude=-1|-1|-1|-1
Also the fact that in the US you cant simply buy an iPhone 4 outright without a network lock / contract proves again only corporate greed rules. Here in Australia you can buy an outright unlocked iPhone 4 32GB for $AU999 and I use a Telstra 3G prepaid MicroSIM or if you want contract its locked until you unlock it. Mobile phone contracts here are either 12 months or 24 months. It seems in the land down-under we have a lot more freedom of choice in respect to iPhone's and their plans, etc.
Telstra: http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile/phones/iphone/index.html?ti=TR:TR:July10:iphone4:TCOMindex:325x200 (24 Month Contract)
Optus: http://personal.optus.com.au/web/oc...a_mobile&sort=-1|-1|19|-1&exclude=-1|-1|-1|-1
Australia only switched over to UMTS-3G in 2008.
Pretty easy, you mean
The USA has a far, far larger populated area to cover. Heck, there's 25 million people within 50 miles of New York City alone.
Geographically, the total Australian cell coverage equates to basically a thin strip along the USA east coast from Washington DC to Miami.
Total agreement with you there!
--
As for the European posters, I'm under the impression that SIMs in the EU are basically set up for one country's rates, and you pay roaming in other countries (sometimes the same rate).
Since the USA is over twice the size of the EU, Americans have an advantage in only having one unlimited SIM for twice the equivalent travel area.
I've also read that data is pretty expensive. What do you think of this response someone got? Thanks!
Purchasing an iPhone 4 16GB from O2 requires an 18 or 24 month commitment.
http://shop.o2.co.uk/promo/iphoneindex/Pay_Monthly/4
Sample plan: 300 minutes, 500 MB data, unlimited texts, 24 months.
Monthy cost: £30/month. iPhone cost: £199.
Total cost over 24 months - £919. ($1410 USD.)
(O2 will unlock the iPhone, but the customer is still required to honor the commitment.)
If you bring your own iPhone to O2, they'll sell you a SIM-only plan with no commitment.
iPhone 4 16GB cost from Apple UK: £499
http://shop.o2.co.uk/tariffs/simplicity/iphone/1_month
O2 sample plan: 300 min, 500 MB data, unlimited texts.
Monthly cost: £20/month.
Total cost over 24 months: £979. ($1502 USD.)
(I'm actually surprised it costs more, given what I was reading in this thread.)
To compare to a typical AT&T US plan:
iPhone 4 16GB: $199
450 minutes: $40/month
200MB data: $15/month
200 texts: $5/month
Total cost over 24 months: $1639 USD (£1067.)
The actual usage allowances don't exactly match up, but overall the costs don't seem all that much different. That's less than six dollars per month difference.
http://shop.o2.co.uk/promo/iphoneindex/Pay_Monthly/4
Sample plan: 300 minutes, 500 MB data, unlimited texts, 24 months.
Monthy cost: £30/month. iPhone cost: £199.
Total cost over 24 months - £919. ($1410 USD.)
(O2 will unlock the iPhone, but the customer is still required to honor the commitment.)
If you bring your own iPhone to O2, they'll sell you a SIM-only plan with no commitment.
iPhone 4 16GB cost from Apple UK: £499
http://shop.o2.co.uk/tariffs/simplicity/iphone/1_month
O2 sample plan: 300 min, 500 MB data, unlimited texts.
Monthly cost: £20/month.
Total cost over 24 months: £979. ($1502 USD.)
(I'm actually surprised it costs more, given what I was reading in this thread.)
To compare to a typical AT&T US plan:
iPhone 4 16GB: $199
450 minutes: $40/month
200MB data: $15/month
200 texts: $5/month
Total cost over 24 months: $1639 USD (£1067.)
The actual usage allowances don't exactly match up, but overall the costs don't seem all that much different. That's less than six dollars per month difference.