Thread: iPod Touch (threads merged)
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Milhouse is offline Milhouse
2007-09-09 , 20:51
Posts: 3,401 | Thanked: 1,255 times | Joined on Nov 2005 @ London, UK
#192
Originally Posted by namtastic View Post
Now... an iPhone designed as an unlocked phone might have been the breakout mass-market sensation that finally got citizens to care about the issue -- they definitely had the public momentum to do so. But they went with AT&T exclusivity because they needed them for features and support and that's exactly why networks are so annoyingly powerful in this business.
No, they went with AT&T exclusivety because anaylsts are conservatively predicting that Apple receives between $3 and $11 per month per subscriber from AT&T... Apple wouldn't be able to receive such fees if the phones were SIM free and unlocked, and Apple only receive the larger fee if customers switch to AT&T in order to obtain the iPhone (hence the exclusivety).

Apple have the product and the marketing which allows them to dictate their own terms to the network operators. They're repeating this story across Europe now, and will become a major global force in telecommunications in the future. The iPhone is their new mobile platform, it's a total money spinner, they'll earn far more income than Nokia or the others ever could on each phone, and the phones will only get better.

In addition to that, the iPhone platform is compatible with the iPod Touch, ensuring that developers will have a vast target audience for their applications, ensuring development snowballs. The closed nature of the devices is an issue right now, but I'm sure that will change in time, one way or another.
Last edited by Milhouse; 2007-09-09 at 20:54.