Unlocking the iPhone – good or bad?
Depending on who you ask, unlocking an iPhone can be good and bad. To consumers, it means good news as they can use the iPhone without restriction free from a specific provider. To Apple, it means a loss of control over the iPhone hardware and software. While the iPhone 3G has not been software unlocked, the 2G iPhone can be fully (and easily) unlocked, allowing the use of any GSM provider.
The fight to unlock iPhone did not come about for no reason and the locking by Apple did not come without its ciritics. The original iPhone was locked to one provider only, AT&T (and O2 in the United Kingdom), who owned the exclusive rights to the iPhone, implying it could only operate on their networks. So, shopping for an iPhone was worthless unless the user also signed a contract with AT&T, a contract which included multiple years and multiple clauses (in some countried the iPhone is required to be sold unlocked, hence the availability of software unlocked iPhone 3G's.
As such, hackers all over the world worked every day to liberate the iPhone from control of AT&T. In order to give the users option in who he or she contracted with, the hackers tried to unlock iPhone capabilities. On account of these hackers, the iPhoneâEUR(TM)s popularity was raised.
Fun without Boundaries
While the iPhone sold out of most stores the first day of release, lots of buyers were unaware of AT&TâEUR(TM)s exclusive rights. They were oblivious to their own incapability to use their new media devices with any cell phone company. They were also unaware of exactly how expensive monthly charges would be when AT&T could charge what they wanted. In a sense, AT&T held a monopoly on iPhone usage, until hackers decided to take matters into their own hands and unlock the iPhone.
Fascinatingly enough, when they succeeded, the iPhoneâEUR(TM)s popularity increased; lots of apprehensive consumers were swayed to buy the device once they realized their hands were no longer tied. Consumers need freedom, and the freedom to choose a cell phone company became the deciding factor in many subsequent iPhone purchases.
With the ability to unlock the iPhone, the ability to use the iPhone the way consumers wanted emerged. With an unlocked iPhone, anyone could use it with their existing contracts without having to pay penalties or take out secondary agreements. This undoubtedly increased the profile and pervasiveness of the iPhone, especially the iPhone 2G, which for alot of consumers was a perfect match to their needs.
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