“A court said Monday it would delay by one day a ruling that has pitted cell phone operators T-Mobile and Vodafone against each other over the sale of an unlocked version of Apple Inc.’s popular iPhone,” The Associated Press reports.
“The Hamburg District Court had been scheduled to rule Monday on an appeal by T-Mobile, part of Deutsche Telekom AG (Charts), that forced the company to sell an unlocked version of the combination smart phone-iPod media player that can be used on other networks besides its own,” AP reports. “But the court said a ruling was now expected to be announced Tuesday afternoon.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Mike in Helsinki'” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
German court to hold hearing over Apple iPhone exclusivity on Monday – December 02, 2007
Vodafone obtains restraining order on T-Mobile’s Apple iPhone sales in Germany – November 19, 2007
Report: Vodafone blows it (again); O2 wins exclusive Apple iPhone deal in UK – September 13, 2007
How Vodafone blew UK Apple iPhone deal – July 06, 2007
How Verizon blew the Apple iPhone deal – January 29, 2007
Free ALL PHONES!!!
If my carrier s*cks, I want the option to switch to another.
Competition is good, lock-in is bad.
The iPhone is a GOOD device, it deserves a GOOD carrier.
Unlocked Phone People just want the option of a open phone legally at a fair price, even if it costs slightly more to buy the phone up front.
Those who need to pay more by the month with a contract can continue to do so. But if it’s not for you then you shouldn’t have too.
Ya(re)volt!
@Pete
Keep dreaming. iPhone is not in prison, nothing to be freed. What you should do is free yourself to go and buy a HTC, Voyager, Razr or maybe a nice Blackberry.
You have choice of devices, choice of carriers, choice of subscription plans.
Steve Jobs is not going down the same tired, stupid road with carriers that all the other zombies do. He invented the best mobile device on the planet, and HE MEANS TO GET PAID.
No operator is going to tell him how to sell the device to consumers, how to distribute the device to consumers, how it is to be updated, what features are to be ‘customized’, what features are to be crippled, what UI tweaks are to be made, what branding alterations are to be done, etc.
THIS NOW ENDS WITH iPHONE. Jobs is going to change this industry like he changed the music industry, the computer industry and next the movie/TV industry. He will tear them down, piece by piece, and rebuild them anew to be customer friendly.
Fear not … he will be challenged at every step of the way .. just watch asshat Vodafone try to block him Germnay.
He is going to pull their teeth if need be.
@mike_in_helsinki
WELL AND DEFINITIVELY SAID, SIR!
Well said, mike_in_helsinki. I’m so sick of this “unlock the iPhone!” whining.
In addition to netting Apple extra revenue from the cell phone contracts, the current “locked” approach may be a necessary evil to break the market open. This is the similar to the effect that the iPod had on “MP3” players.
How many people were complaining about being tied to M$ WMA? How many (incorrect) articles have there been since on being tied to iTunes/Fairplay DRM? Now we are seeing more widespread DRM-free electronic music distribution – thanks to Apple.
Now people are complaining about locked iPhones because they want them! I don’t recall many complaints about Blackberries or RAZRs or other phones that are not universally available on all carriers. But the iPhone, well that’s different…
Once the U.S. cell phone system is cracked then good times will follow. Unfortunately, the AT&T;exclusivity path was chosen to make this happen. I guess that makes it a “necessary evil.”
Don’t get me wrong. I agree, that the iPhone should be unlocked, and maybe in the next few years, we’ll see it. The main problem though, is that the carrier is the one who provides the extra services, such as visual voice-mail.
I guess that if you don’t mind not having that feature to get the mobile carrier that you prefer then that’s OK. Go for the hacks, or wait a few more years for an officially unlocked (and updated) version of the iPhone.
@mike_in_helsinki
I agree, I don’t want the carriers dictating what Apple should do with their device either.
I’m sure Apple would be more than happy to sell unlocked iPhones for everyone from any carrier to use, as over 250,000 were sold to unlockers as it is now.
The carriers should just offer a rate plan and a SIM card.
We need to keep the iPhone exclusive for the following reason:
Verizon’s and Vodafone realize that the iPhone is the game changer that Job’s claimed it was.
They don’t want people to switch and the only way to prevent this is to claim they want “openness” in the telephone industry so that you can use whatever phone on any system.
The problem with this is that most people won’t switch and will remain with an existing service (see M$ windows as an example), so the only way a new company can make headway in a market is to have something (iPhone, etc.) that is not available with the market leader (verizon, vodaphone, etc.).
So the market leaders – are using this claim of “openness” just to preserve their market lead.
In a way limited competition (exclusives) actually leads to more competition allowing the small guy/company to compete with the big/large market share leaders.
I hope the courts and those that keep asking for unlocked iPhones realize this and grant the exclusivity principle back to T-Mobile
…so the only way a new company can make headway in a market is to have something (iPhone, etc.) that is not available with the market leader (verizon, vodaphone, etc.).
So that’s why Apple choose the big US carrier AT&T;right?
I think the days where Apple supports the underdog and fights the upstream battle are over. Just look at the Intel switch, why not AMD? Apple is going downstream and attempting to control it all.
“@ mike_in_helsinki
Keep dreaming. iPhone is not in prison, nothing to be freed. What you should do is free yourself to go and buy a HTC, Voyager, Razr or maybe a nice Blackberry.”
And the rest of the world will indeed do that. After Apple sales the 1st 10 million phones to Kool Aid drinkers like you, the rest of the world is still left. And the iPhone is locked tighter than a drum.
Of course, to folks like you “whatever Steve says” is gospel. Good luck and I look forward to the day where you might be able to think for yourself.
@Me. Laughing at you … you come to this board like a little snitch, think you have a right to have the iPhone on your network, at your price, in your market … never mind about Apple’s preference to run it the way they see fit, and now you cry like a little baby … wahh, wahh, its locked, wahhh’
1) Carry it. Find another board with whiners like you
2) Go back to your Razr and enjoy every minute of the freedom it bestows you.
Don’t worry mike. Tens of millions will do just that! Don’t worry, as long as people like you are willing to overpay for locked down, unexpandable, and feature challenged phone, Steve may get a new 90 million dollar jet.