As expected, AT&T is benefiting from its exclusive relationship with Apple. The telecommunications company reported on Thursday that it has 2 million iPhone customers. iPhone monthly sales figures doubled in December.
As the US market becomes saturated with mobile phone users, the telcos rely more on getting customers and corporate accounts to switch providers. As I discussed on 13 January and 11 January 2008, carriers and manufacturers are rushing new handsets and features to market. it’s a new level of competitive rivalry, and the timing is good for consumers and corporate accounts. Stockholders may suffer, however.
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Surprisingly AT&T still has a lot of iPhone customers despite the fact that users have found a way to unlock the iPhone after its first few days or public release.
Apple has been very aggressive about relocking the iPhone firmware with each new release. (ApplePhoneShow.com)
New firmware also includes new features, so Apple is creating incentives for users to keep their iPhones locked. The home screens feature in v1.1.3 is a good example of this.
At any point, Apple can ‘brick’ or deactivate unlocked iPhones, or ban unlocked iPhones from specific networks, for ‘security’ reasons. Such is Apple’s power in the exclusive contract with AT&T and other providers.
There is one confirmed unlock procedure for the new firmware, but its developers have decided not to release their work yet. (Digg.com)
The Sharper Image has taken a very different approach by selling the store’s own unlocked GSM mobile phones. But TSI has no deals with mobile carriers. It’s a more flexible distribution model than Apple’s, but TSI customers don’t receive features like visual voicemail. Also, TSI’s customer support is not as robust as Apple’s. (GearDiary.com)
Does AT&T really have almost a million iPhones in inventory? Seems silly, as Apple will release a second-generation iPhone with 3G data services sometime in 2008. Apple promised those features were promised to European telcos, after all. (Apple Insider, CNET)
According to Business Week, Apple has sold 3.7 million iPhones. If AT&T’s 2 million figure is accurate, BW estimates there are between 800K and 1M unlocked iPhones, probably in use in countries where Apple has no carrier agreements.
As long as the user doesn’t update the firmware or hard reset the phone, most of the unlock patches in use will continue to work.
Engadget reports that a software unlock for iPhone version 1.1.3 firmware is available.
According to the Bloomberg, The Sharper Image has filed for bankruptcy protection. The chain plans to close 90 of its 184 stores.
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