4 ms·

AT&T lock-in is one of the larger barriers preventing the universality of the iPhone as "the" mobile computing platform.

dbreunig 17y ago
Very true. It's a huge hinderance. However, the international audience of the device cannot be ignored. Neither can the huge base of iPod Touches.
- yhnbgty 17y ago
  The international audience is the problem with iPhone. You can finally now get it in Canada (a year late) and the UK.
  - godDLL 17y ago
    You still can't get it in Israel. You can import an unlocked device from France or something, but you'll have no visual voicemail, no 3G (EDGE/GPS works with Orange/Partner with some tweaking). The Maps app doesn't have any info beyond the general border outline. You can get street names and all that from maps.google.com/ but that works awful in Mobile Safari.
GHFigs 17y ago
The author means universal in the sense of a universal remote control, not universal adoption. Also, a big chunk of that 40 million is iPod Touch owners, who are not subject to carrier lock-in. The point is that it is a sufficiently generic and popular platform that many companies that might once have rolled their own hardware have diminished need to. If the platform supports what they need and they can make do in a market of 40 million (and growing), why not? For consumers it is the same way; why buy a device when you can just download that functionality? It raises the threshold of utility. The market doesn't have to be universal, it just has to be big and and consistent. Right now the iPhone is the only platform that can claim to have both of those qualities.
- sunkencity 17y ago
  Yeah, comparing the iPhone to the horror of making a J2ME application the iPhone is truly the currently best device for applications.
Silentio 17y ago
Totally agree. I don't have an iPhone (can't afford a data plan at the moment) but want one. Something feels wrong about being locked in to any one carrier for service though. My main PC isn't locked into anything. As long as the market I live in gives me choices of internet service providers, I get to choose. Does anyone know if we'll see a more open environment in cellphone service (data, voice, etc) in the near future?
deleted 17y ago
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rictic 17y ago
It's my understanding that you can buy an iPhone without a contract, it's just ~$600 more expensive. Visual voicemail is right out on other carriers though. 3G might work though, depending on your carrier.
cubicle67 17y ago
AT&T lock-in is only a problem in the US, remember. Here in Australia the iPhone is available from 4 different carriers (Telstra, Vodafone, Virgin and Optus) and the fifth carrier offers plans for unlocked phones as well.

dbreunig 17y ago

Very true. It's a huge hinderance. However, the international audience of the device cannot be ignored. Neither can the huge base of iPod Touches.

yhnbgty 17y ago
The international audience is the problem with iPhone. You can finally now get it in Canada (a year late) and the UK.
- godDLL 17y ago
  You still can't get it in Israel. You can import an unlocked device from France or something, but you'll have no visual voicemail, no 3G (EDGE/GPS works with Orange/Partner with some tweaking). The Maps app doesn't have any info beyond the general border outline. You can get street names and all that from maps.google.com/ but that works awful in Mobile Safari.

GHFigs 17y ago

The author means universal in the sense of a universal remote control, not universal adoption. Also, a big chunk of that 40 million is iPod Touch owners, who are not subject to carrier lock-in. The point is that it is a sufficiently generic and popular platform that many companies that might once have rolled their own hardware have diminished need to. If the platform supports what they need and they can make do in a market of 40 million (and growing), why not? For consumers it is the same way; why buy a device when you can just download that functionality? It raises the threshold of utility. The market doesn't have to be universal, it just has to be big and and consistent. Right now the iPhone is the only platform that can claim to have both of those qualities.

sunkencity 17y ago
Yeah, comparing the iPhone to the horror of making a J2ME application the iPhone is truly the currently best device for applications.

Silentio 17y ago

Totally agree. I don't have an iPhone (can't afford a data plan at the moment) but want one. Something feels wrong about being locked in to any one carrier for service though. My main PC isn't locked into anything. As long as the market I live in gives me choices of internet service providers, I get to choose. Does anyone know if we'll see a more open environment in cellphone service (data, voice, etc) in the near future?

deleted 17y ago

[deleted]

rictic 17y ago

It's my understanding that you can buy an iPhone without a contract, it's just ~$600 more expensive. Visual voicemail is right out on other carriers though. 3G might work though, depending on your carrier.

cubicle67 17y ago

AT&T lock-in is only a problem in the US, remember. Here in Australia the iPhone is available from 4 different carriers (Telstra, Vodafone, Virgin and Optus) and the fifth carrier offers plans for unlocked phones as well.