“Movie studios and record labels have bent to Apple. But in the end, Apple bent to Cingular with a multi-year, exclusive US contract for an entire line of different iPhone models, Glenn Lurie, Cingular’s president of national distribution told journalists at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2007) today,” Sascha Segan reports for PC Magazine.
Segan reports, “When asked about a give-and-take leading to the Apple-Cingular partnership, Lurie said, ‘I’m not sure we gave anything.’ Later, he commented, ‘I think they bent a lot.’ That bending included allowing the phone to be locked to Cingular…”
“The contract covers ‘all models’ of the iPhone, including several other devices in the works that may be ‘coming out very quickly,’ Lurie said. His comment addressed in part a criticism that the iPhone doesn’t use Cingular’s new high-speed HSDPA network,” Segan reports.
Segan reports, “That isn’t true worldwide, as Cingular only exists in the US. Apple is free to seek other partners for global distribution, he said. And Apple is also free to build other iPods without phone capability that won’t be sold through Cingular—though he was unclear on whether a Wi-Fi only version of the iPhone would fall under Cingular’s thumb.
“While ‘there are bad guys out there that unlock phones,’ Lurie said, Apple and Cingular are taking unspecified steps to make the phone more difficult to unlock and use on other GSM carriers in the US,” Segan reports.
Segan reports, “The phone will be sold exclusively through Apple and Cingular stores, Apple and Cingular’s Web sites and Cingular’s direct-mail unit, Lurie said. It will not be available through indirect retailers, the ‘Joe’s cell phone shop’ you see on every street corner—though Apple is free to go to big-box stores like Target and Wal-Mart, Lurie said.”
More in the full article here.
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Locking phones is so ridiculous. After the 2 year contract has expired, can I have my phone unlocked?
I travel overseas regularly, and use SIMs from different phone companies because it’s a lot cheaper than using the roaming option (although the phone number changes, this is a minor inconvenience as I make more calls than I receive.) Doing things this way requires an unlocked phone.
Why make a quad-band if it’s not intended to be used as a world-wide phone? It’s not a feature to the customer if it’s not used to its full potential.
” . . . am I forced into a phone contract? Maybe I just won’t send in my details to Jugular.”
If you don’t, they’ll probably keep calling that phone until you do. But only between 7pm and 6 am and on weekends.
critic
I agree, there is no such thing as a free luch, and because the US is so insular, they have no idea of what is availble in in rest of the world or what other technologies exist out there, they would be shocked to talk to a Korean teenager or Japanese one. International travel is a great way to put one’s country in perspective; the sooner you do i the better of you are
This may be the key:
“though he was unclear on whether a Wi-Fi only version of the iPhone would fall under Cingular’s thumb.”
Heh heh. That tells me how Cingular might get Steved:
Apple produces an iPod that isn’t a cellphone by the definition of their contract with Cingular and only has a data connection to the net but… The new iPod uses iChat for text, voice and video communication with other iChat users (and phone users).
Ever heard the old expression, “Cutting off your nose to spite your face”? He won’t be bragging about this in a few years.
If you remember, when Apple started iTMS it was the labels that thought they had the upper hand. And they actually did. None of the labels thought iTMS was going to be a smashing success.
Now look where the labels are.
“While ‘there are bad guys out there that unlock phones,’ Lurie said, Apple and Cingular are taking unspecified steps to make the phone more difficult to unlock and use on other GSM carriers in the US,” Segan reports.
You have got to be kidding. DVD’s locks were broken in what a day? I’m guessing the phone locks will be broken in a couple of days. Besides, most European phones are not locked, so when I’m in the UK next year, I’ll pick one up. No, I’ll pick up two, one to eBay and pay for the one for me!
Lurie’s eating of humble pie will be starting in a couple of hours.
This sounds like the Disney/Pixar deal. Cingular will wish it had played it’s hand better and more fair in dealing with the iPhone deal. Look back at the Disney deal with Pixar. It looked like Disney (in the begining) had the upper hand and they did, but Disney didn’t count on Pixar becoming so popular and in the end Jobs played the better hand. Look out Cingular in a couple of years you will not be the sole player in this iPhone market and you with you would have bent more for Apple Inc.
These phones will be for those who can afford the initial cost and use Cingular. There will be plenty of first time adopters for sure. Neither company will lose out in the short term.
Did you see the CEO for Cingular. The guy had to read from a script. What a lamearse. Very different attitude to presenting products.
Once the iPhones start selling in volume the price will go down and Apple will open up to other vendors in the US. Will probably take a few years though.
Hmmmm, it sounds like that Cingular CEO is as big a fool as he appeared at the Expo.
Cingular had to develop that video e-mail and interface it with the new iPhone system. And I am guessing much more. When it comes to CEOs and telco, you have to assume that there is not too much in the way of smarts.
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N.
I wonder if the Cingular statements have violated any non-disclosure agreements about future products?
Cingular’s hubris is annoying.
In other words, Cingular made Jobs their little bitch.
Cingular’s CEO presented so poorly at the keynote in contrtast to Jobs, that he feels compelled to attempt to regain an equal or superior position to Jobs by proclaiming that he made Apple bend, i.e.made Jobs bend over.
In other words, Don’t drink the koolaid has reappeared as Uh Oh.
There is no point getting upset about locked phones. If Cingular is going to spend money promoting the iPhone (which i am sure they are) and they are going to subsidise the cost of the handset (we can assume that they are) then they need to know they are going to continue to get the income from the handset.
It may also suit Apple – if Cingular are going to work with Apple to develop services and capabilities which only the iPhone will be able to exploit then it may suit both companies to lock in the handsets.
If Apple pursue the same approach to telephony as that they have deployed in iTunes/iPod, then they will want control of the whole experience. Since they have no telephony expertise or capabilities, they have to partner – but why partner with everyone when Apple need only work with one partner? Much simpler to manage!
If the iPhone works, perhaps Apple will buy a Telco. They have plenty of money sloshing around… an iTunes/iPod model would see Apple providing the service (Telco) and the product (range of iPhones).
He does not want to be seen as yet another CEO that let his company give Apple control, as everyone perceives with the music industry.
“And Apple is also free to build other iPods without phone capability that won’t be sold through Cingular…”
Wow. Man, I’m sure Apple is glad they got out of the building with that one! As if that was even the remotest of possibilities.
Dingular bent over a bit more if you ask me. They re-engineered their shitty voicemail to work the way Aplle wants it to work. Like Cingular wasn’t falling all over themselves to get hooked up with Apple. They’re the perfect company to use while Apple works out the bugs in the initial iPhone release. Isn’t Fingular the company that does the “fewest dropped calls” commercials? Well, bullshit. I’ve had more dropped phone calls and crappy reception with them than I ever did with T-Mobile.
I don’t get it, I thought Congress ruled not so long ago that carriers can no longer lock the phones they sell to their network?
How can Cingular lockt the phone under this perspective?
Source at the Library of Congress (among many if Googled):
http://www.copyright.gov/fedreg/2006/71fr68472.html
I think Apple is going to (and should) fuck Cingular up the ass on this.
Just buy an unlocked phone from europe when they become available. I have Cingular but I use an unlocked phone that came out of Germany.
I’ll be buying an unlocked version this time next year. The upside to that is by then I should also be able to see the other versions that are coming out. Usually the first versions are the most expensive. BTW, Cingular isn’t nearly as bad as people make it out to be.
One more thing. Who would Apple go with in the States besides Cingular? They are the biggest that allows the iphone to still be compatible with other parts of the world once unlocked. From Apple’s point of view Cingular makes the most sense.
This is incorrect. Example: France, UK, Spain, Japan.
Carriers subsides the phones to attract customers.
The differentce between the US and the rest of the world is that phones being sold here in the US are lagging their counterparts in terms of features, though that gap has been reducing over the last year or so.
The only carrier that deserves business in the US is T-Mobile, for being well-priced and having good customer support. Their “3G” network isn’t ready but it’s being built now. I would not give any business to Verizon, Sprint or AT&T aka Cingular, iPhone or not.
“Comment:
From: critic
Jan 15, 07 – 12:40 pm
I don’t think it’s fair to single out Cingular. They are no worse than any of the other US carriers, and it is the US consumers’ own fault.
Everywhere else in the world people actually BUY their phones. Here, we expect to get something for free. Clearly nobody learned from their parents that nothing in life is free. In return for the “free” phone, the wireless companies get the power to treat you like crap, since they know you can’t leave (actually you can, you just have to pay for the damn phone you should have paid for in the first place).
Why consumers here in the US are so stupid is beyond me.”
The whole system selling cellphones with prefixed operator is stupidest idea I’ve ever heard.
Can someone please answer this:
Comment:
From: Richard Franco
Jan 15, 07 – 03:16 pm
I don’t get it, I thought Congress ruled not so long ago that carriers can no longer lock the phones they sell (with or without a contract) to their network?
How can Cingular lock the phone under this perspective?
Source at the Library of Congress (among many if Googled):
http://www.copyright.gov/fedreg/2006/71fr68472.html
I think Cingular and the rest of US carriers are going to find out that the iPhone is their “Trojan Horse” We’ll see who gets bent!
The problem with phones is that they can get outdated quickly. The buy cheap or free lets you go for a tech and be locked in for a year or two.
I wonder how much Cingular are subsidizing the iPhone?
The CEO of Cingular that talked during the Stevenote is named Stan Sigman.
The jerk with the big mouth (Glen Lurie) is the (maybe soon to be ex-) president of Distribution. In other words – nobody.
A look at the incorrect and inflamatory headline explains the mis-inderstanding of all the responders. Nice Job MDN. Since you clowns are the first to jump on anyone making an erroneous statement…..