Banwatch: I'm starting an iPhone thread

[Asher]

And here's a look at the iPhone sales.



Compare this to blackberry sales which are always pretty even keel and it's quite an interesting picture. Maybe now that the iPhone isn't a technical relic and also has a more palatable initial price will spur sales yet again...but I have a feeling this cycle will continue with massive initial sales, then taper off quite quickly.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Agathon
Yeah right. Leopards are changing their spots all over the place these days.

Speaking of Leopard, how about Snow Leopard (10.6)? A presumably apple-style mandatory upgrade with virtually no new user-facing features, coming next year?

I can only imagine the vitriol you'd spew if MS did the same.

[Ming]

Hi folks... I really don't care if you guys continue with this endless circle jerk.

But don't make it personal. Discuss the topic, attack the arguments, call each other wrong... I don't care. But NO personal insults.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Ming
circle jerk.

Family site.

[-Jrabbit]

Originally posted by Asher

BTW, isn't it a bannable offense to use the upload feature for non-Civ stuff? Oh, the irony!

I dunno, is it? I haven't read the site rules since joining. I just wanted a place to store the graphics without opening a Photobucket or Flickr account.

But if it's a bannable offense, I have no leg to stand on. And yes, it would be quite ironic.

[Ming]

Originally posted by Asher
BTW, isn't it a bannable offense to use the upload feature for non-Civ stuff? Oh, the irony!

Yeah... it is funny. And yes, it is against the rules.
But just a warning is in order.

Jr... please remove non civ related images your upload files. Thank you.

[Wezil]

As a non-techie that whole issue confuses me.

Are you talking about the "attach" feature at the bottom of the new post page? I'm not allowed to use that for non-civ stuff?

[Asher]

No, you can use that for whatever.

There's a separate Upload feature for civ mods, etc.

[Wezil]

Okay thanks.

I'm unlikely to do that.

[MarkG]

New iPhone's business model is tough on unlockers

NEW YORK - The new iPhone and the way it will be sold look set to shut down a small industry that arose to make the first version of the iconic phone available around the world.
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The original iPhone, which launched in June last year, was initially available only in the U.S. and only for use on AT&T Inc.'s network. In little more than a month, however, enterprising hackers found a way to "unlock" the phone to make it usable on other networks, including networks in other countries.

IPhones soon flowed out of the U.S., and analysts have estimated that one-third to one-half of the phones sold never made it onto AT&T's network.

"I saw it in action and I had to have one," said Ernesto Zeivy, a 50-year-old restaurant owner in Mexico City. He had one friend buy an iPhone for him in San Diego for $500 and another unlock it using software downloaded from the Internet.

Apple announced a new iPhone Monday for use on 3G, or third-generation, data networks. It will stem the flow of unlocked phones in two ways.

First, the phone will be sold in more countries. Apple added five countries beyond the U.S. for the first phone, but the second one will go on sale in 22 countries on July 11. Apple has said it will add more countries at a rapid clip and reach 70 by the end of the year. That takes away one of main incentives for unlocking.

Second, Apple is abandoning the unusual arrangement under which the iPhone was being sold. Customers could buy them from a carrier or from Apple without activating them on a service plan, and that meant customers could go home and unlock the phones — and never sign up with AT&T.

"Anyone can unlock it without paying anyone anything," said Blas Caballero, another iPhone user in Mexico. "It's so easy. A minute-and-a-half, and all you have to do is push a button," said the 32-year-old Argentine, who owns a bar in Mexico City. He bought his iPhone in New York.

The new phone will be subsidized by carriers, which accounts for its lower price: $199 for the 8-gigabyte model, down from $399. This brings the phone's marketing in line with standard industry practices.

The carriers plan to make back what they spend on the subsidy through service fees, which means they likely will require two-year service contracts from everyone who buys the phone. AT&T said buyers will have to activate service before leaving the store with an iPhone.

"It's looking pretty bleak for unlockers," said John McLaughlin, founder of Uniquephones.com, a New York-based company that sells unlock codes for cell phones. After being warned away by AT&T's lawyers, it doesn't help unlock iPhones. Unlocking software is available free online.

Apple tried to secure the device technically with its software updates, but couldn't. It's the requirement that buyers of the new phone sign up for service in the store that will be hard to get around, McLaughlin said.

Freeit4less, a company based in Syracuse, Utah, has posted prices on its Web site for unlocked 3G phones at $100 above store prices, but chief executive Kyle Jourdan said the company is not accepting any pre-orders given uncertainty surrounding the activation requirement.

"We're just crossing our fingers and hoping for the best," Jourdan wrote in an e-mail. He speculated that Apple or AT&T may sell unsubsidized phones, which would leave an opening for his company. Freeit4less has sold about 121 unlocked first-generation iPhones and 5,104 licenses for unlocking software, Jourdan said.

Federal law allows consumers to unlock their own phones. But selling someone the means to unlock a phone and unlock another person's phone may be illegal. At least one U.S. carrier has won civil cases, not involving iPhones, against unlocking businesses.

AT&T charges customers who break a two-year contract within the first month a $175 early termination fee plus the $36 activation fee. That would bring the cost of the new iPhone to $411 for an unlocker, just slightly more than the old model's $399 price.

That math may mean it is still attractive to unlock iPhones for use on other networks and that AT&T will lose money on unlockers. Analysts estimate AT&T plans to subsidize the phones by more than $200 each.

But Ralph de la Vega, head of AT&T Mobility, said Monday that it and Apple are working on "penalties" for users who buy phones and don't activate them within 30 days. AT&T could, for instance, bar buyers who repeatedly buy iPhones and break the contracts from buying more.

One major incentive for unlocking remains, especially for Europeans. Those who travel to other countries with unlocked phones can use local prepaid service plans rather than paying exorbitant international roaming fees to their home carriers.

Uniquephones.com helps unlock 10,000 British cell phones of all kinds every day, McLaughlin said, with travelers being a core customer group.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080610/...phone_lockdown;_ylt=Au26uiNrdhDlmj5nfsXl4Y8jtBAF

[Asher]

AT&T charges customers who break a two-year contract within the first month a $175 early termination fee plus the $36 activation fee. That would bring the cost of the new iPhone to $411 for an unlocker, just slightly more than the old model's $399 price.

That's it? In Canada, it's $20 per month (at least for Telus). If I wanted to break my 24-month contract, that's a $480 fee...

[Panag]

Hi ,

you know intrestingly enough there is one euro country , belgium where all the phones are unlocked , ...

why on earth does one want a locked phone ?

ones you get an open phone you are hooked for a live time

have a nice phone day

[-Jrabbit]

Originally posted by Ming


Yeah... it is funny. And yes, it is against the rules.
But just a warning is in order.

Jr... please remove non civ related images your upload files. Thank you.

My precious Banwatch grafx are now deleted from Poly Upload.

Mea culpa.

[Asher]

Welcome to the club of Apolyton troublemakers.

[-Jrabbit]

I've been banned before. But thanks.