The Wall Street Journal has a detailed story about how Apple and Cingular came to partner on the iPhone (full article available to non-WSJ subscribers here or here). The deal is unique in the extent that Apple called the shots and wrung unusual concessions from Cingular:
- iPhone will not have Cingular branding on the case or in the software.
- iPhone cannot be sold except in Apple or Cingular corporate stores.
- iPhone will be sold at full cost, without a Cingular subsidy.
- Apple completely controls the software loaded.
Iljitsch van Beijnum, adds that Apple did not totally undo the standard wireless carrier paradigm:
- iPhones sold in the US cannot be unlocked and run on other (non Cingular) GSM carriers.
- Services, like integrated visual interface to voice mail, are very much tied to Cingular.
So, is this phone an example of the wireless carriers beginning to be forced into offering less closed and restrictive products, or merely an example of Cingular caving to the Steve Jobs reality distortion field?
Iljitsch says:
A true revolution would be for Apple to sell the phones and for the carriers to sell the minutes and data plans, without colluding to squeeze the last dime out of their collective customer's pockets. Don't hold your breath, though.
I'd love to see phones as open platforms, where developers can deliver truely innovative services unhobbled by petty restrictions and limitations of highly proprietary devices -- restricted by both the device manufacturer and the carrier. Apple claims that the iPhone runs OS/X. But without the ability to create and run any OS/X applications, what good is the underlying locked system?
It remains to be seen if the Apple/Cingular iPhone moves either of our visions along.
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