Apple iPhone

[VinceV]

Vince, did you sign a ATT contract or are you just going to unlock it?

I was already ATT, I did have to extend my contract 2 years, but big deal I've been with them forever anyway. I walked in to Apple(they had tons of them) bought the phones walked out, took about 8 minutes. Came home hooked it up to my mac and itunes opened and started the activation prompt. Took another 5 minutes and the phone was activated and synced up to my mac. It was that easy.

[sully]

My issue with this is, the phone cost is not subsidized by AT&T, so by law, it should be completely unlocked.
I know some of the iPhone's features are tied directly to AT&T's network, like Visual Voice mail, so I can see those features not working on say T-Mobiles network, but the basic phone functionality should still work.

People have already tried using their T-Mobile SIMS only to get an error message about the SIM being invalid.

i don't believe that the law about unlocking a phone has any tie-in with subsidizing the cost, but i agree with you that if you paid in full for it, and you want to take it to a similar carrier (in this case, GSM), you should be able to unlock it.

the invalid sim error would happen with any locked phone; so i'm not at all surprised that people are reporting that it won't work. i'd get the same error if i put an at&t sim in my phone.

my thought it that it circles around the activation part. the only way around the unlock is to perhaps buy used ones or activate it and break the contract. which imo, would be a big waste of money.

i still hope to get one, although i'm sure that i would get a little ribbing when i took it to work. i'd certainly miss my employee rate plan if i switched.

sully

[rjohnstone]

I was going over the activation part of the phone.
It appears that you have to activate the phone every time you change the SIM card, even if you're swapping one AT&T SIM for another AT&T SIM.

Since Apple does the activation part and not the carrier, I can see how Apple can prevent a non AT&T SIM from being used.

This may be the legal loop hole that Apple and AT&T are using to preserve their exclusive carrier agreement. It's the manufacturer that controls the usage and not the carrier.

[sully]

oh wow, so it's not a one time thing, eh? rats. hm. i'm most certainly gonna wait until a few generations come out, but it's certainly something to think about. then again, while their coverage is fine, do i really want to deal with at&t as a company? i've worked for cingular before and after it became cingular, and it was pretty craptacular. in looking at the rankings in customer service, they've got a lot of ground to cover.

sully

[Ralph E.]

I was already ATT, I did have to extend my contract 2 years, but big deal I've been with them forever anyway. I walked in to Apple(they had tons of them) bought the phones walked out, took about 8 minutes. Came home hooked it up to my mac and itunes opened and started the activation prompt. Took another 5 minutes and the phone was activated and synced up to my mac. It was that easy.

Gotta love Apple.

If only Microsoft stuff worked half as well...

[Argos]

oh wow, so it's not a one time thing, eh? rats. hm. i'm most certainly gonna wait until a few generations come out, but it's certainly something to think about. then again, while their coverage is fine, do i really want to deal with at&t as a company? i've worked for cingular before and after it became cingular, and it was pretty craptacular. in looking at the rankings in customer service, they've got a lot of ground to cover.

sully

Everyone I know really has problems with their lackluster coverage. It's just not worth switching carriers for a certain phone. I vehemently hate Sprint as a company, but I will say that I get excellent reception absolutely everywhere.

[toejam]

I've had the same number through Cingular for about 7 years (it was actually Comcast/Cellular One when I first got it). Never had a problem with reception or their customer service. For the past couple years, I've just been getting used phones and switching the SIM card back and forth depending on which phone I feel like using. I want a new phone again, and this Iphone is intriguing, but not its price. Maybe I'll get a Blackberry Pearl instead.

[rjohnstone]

Coverage is relative.
I here a lot of people talking up Verizon, but in Phoenix, they suck.
I have a work provided phone that is on Verizon and it drops calls ALL the time. I can only take calls from my living room as it doesn't work anywhere else in the house.
That's why I went to AT&T (Cingular when I signed up) a few years ago. They also lease tower access from T-Mobile, so between AT&T's towers and T-Mobiles' towers, I get great service everywhere. Customer service is not an issue as I've never had to call them.

[Burn]

Ahhhhh screww them, I can make one with any touchscreen PDA/phone. But I do like them...

[LouSiffer]

Coverage is relative.
I here a lot of people talking up Verizon, but in Phoenix, they suck.
I have a work provided phone that is on Verizon and it drops calls ALL the time. I can only take calls from my living room as it doesn't work anywhere else in the house.
That's why I went to AT&T (Cingular when I signed up) a few years ago. They also lease tower access from T-Mobile, so between AT&T's towers and T-Mobiles' towers, I get great service everywhere. Customer service is not an issue as I've never had to call them.

Exactly!!! All carriers have strong and weak markets. ALL OF THEM!! No carrier that is honest can guarantee that your phone will work in a structure. Sometimes customers say that brand A gets better signal in structures than brand B....well, if they have a tower that is closer than the others, that would most definately make sense. The radio waves traveling in the air don't care what brand they are associated with. -Lou

[xenophobe]

Funny...

To whoever bought one now... In six months they'll be $299+ rebate. lamo

[VinceV]

Funny...

To whoever bought one now... In six months they'll be $299+ rebate. lamo

Yeah if you want to wait six months. If you want to wait, you can almost get anything electronic cheaper down the line. That newest badass computer/t.v./dvd player in a year won't be the newest anymore. If you don't want to spend the money on it, that's your choice, but if someone wants it why are they dumb for getting it.

[sully]

very true, but one thing that i really like that we've just launched is hotspot @ home. with specific phones (that admittedly aren't super neat looking) and a wireless broadband connection, you can make your phone calls inside your home over a wifi connection. it's kickass for people who get good coverage outside their home, but lousy inside, students in dorms, etc. it's pretty kickass.

Exactly!!! All carriers have strong and weak markets. ALL OF THEM!! No carrier that is honest can guarantee that your phone will work in a structure. Sometimes customers say that brand A gets better signal in structures than brand B....well, if they have a tower that is closer than the others, that would most definately make sense. The radio waves traveling in the air don't care what brand they are associated with. -Lou

[rjohnstone]

Looks like Apple is going to have a shitload of 4GB iPhones hanging around.
525,000 units sold over the weekend. Of those, 95% were the 8GB model.
Give it a few months and you'll be able to get the 4GB version on clearance.
Personally I think the $100 price gap is what did it.
Everyone I spoke with about it said the same thing.
If they're going to spend that much, kick in the extra $100 and get the top of the line.

[Ralph E.]

Funny...

To whoever bought one now... In six months they'll be $299+ rebate. lamo

That's what i'm waiting for...