Full FeedWill the iPhone Ever Make it to Other Carriers? It better.
In light of a recently revealed 2006 Apple Patent Application, there is new hope for us who want a iPhone- but have a certain lack of nearby ATT coverage in their area. Apple’s application shows technology that would not only allow the user to register with many of the big cellular companies, but it would also permit users to register with multiple carriers, for better coverage all around the world. This feature would probably use some sort of Mobile Virtual Network Operator Server (MVNO). Users would then be able to choose networks like they choose WiFi Hotspots. Although it is unlikely that many users would actually do this, there is some speculation that certain providers would allow a non-registered user to talk, charging them on a by-the-minute basis.
Not having open-source iPhones is up there with some of the biggest mistakes Apple has made in the last few years, in terms of profit maximization. The iPhone is still one of the most sought-after items in the technology industry, and the lack of an open-source system is what could drive me away from an iPhone towards some other smartphone. Should Apple add an open source feature to the iPhone (Maybe in the much anticipated 3G iPhone? Maybe? Lets hope), it would open them up to a huge amount of new customers that would really etch Apple’s name in the books as having the best smartphone.
Let us know what you think, drop a comment below with your thoughts on the subject.
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Why not get Verizon and Sprint to get off that non-global standard CDMA network infrastructure (and get Japan and Korea off it as well) and onto the global standard GSM? Then, getting devices on multiple carriers is a far simpler process than getting devices on multiple networks. Competing infrastructures is exactly what has fractured the US cellular industry and made our cellular capabilities far less than those of single network (CDMA-Japan/Korea, or GSM, everyplace else). We need to compete on functional capability, not on having different roads to drive on.
The 2 major GSM network US carriers - AT&T;and TMobile, both have iPhones, although at this time, TMobile has iPhone in Europe only. Negotiating with carriers is far less effort than also engineering additional technology to support the relatively minor CDMA market.
If I had to make a marketing / engineering decision when playing catch up, like Apple’s late entry into the cell phone market, I would support the global standard GSM network, particularly when there is little technical benefit to supporting CDMA. Yet in the US, we seem to support fractured infrastructure, and even when we don’t we adopt the technically inferior Windows platform and all Microsoft’s closed proprietary data formats. Go figure.
on April 12, 2008 at 02:17 PM - LINK