All the more reason to go with an Android-powered device.

I'm sorry, I couldn't hear your iPhone over how rooted I am.

"Consumers are craving greater control," says Joel Kelsey, a public policy analyst with Consumers Union. So much, he says, that "they're willing to risk turning their $300-plus investment into a brick."

my device, my rules, learn it, live it, love it. then you will sell even more.

I still think GSM (at least having the account info on a chip of some kind) should be mandatory across the US. Like every landline phone needs to have the same shape plug, and every TV needs the same shape coaxial cable. Consumers should have the option to buy locked phones, but they should be unlocked by the provider as soon as the contract expires. They should also have the option to buy unlocked phones at full price, and use it at T-Mobile, At&t, or Verizon. Pop out the chip, put it in the new phone, done.

hey.. i think this was my tip! i was reading this last night and sent it in... Cellular freedom for all.... hopefully!

@henrygates: Your reasoning is simple, logical and sensible. It will never be adopted by the telcoms.

@JohnDeere:

Its not exactly as cut and dry as you state.

Here is the thing, if you pay full price for the device (that is $600+ for the iphones, hell even the cheapest phones you get for free under contract cost over $200 unlocked), then yes, its your device, you can do as you please.

However, when you pay a subsidized price, you have to play by the rules, now granted you should be able to do whatever you want to the device from an application standpoint, customization etc etc, however it remains locked to the carrier.

What I do not like though, is exclusivity agreements, and ATT's policies once your contract obligation is complete. I see no reason why I should not be able to purchase an iphone from apple with no carrier agreement for a greater cost, that is my choice, and once my contract is complete, or I pay the ETF, the device is mine and I am under no commitment, ATT should provide (or apple) the unlock code to remove the simlock. However ATT refuses to do so, and will never do it, no matter what phone. I use the iphone as an example because its one of my phones, but the same applies to any phone.

@henrygates:
You can already do this. You can use any unlocked device on ATT or Tmobile. Tmobile will also unlock any phone they sell you as long as you have atleast 90 days in good standing with them. ATT however will not, and never will, which pisses me off.

As for the types of networks, well thats due to the initial investment in infrastructure, the US started with TDMA/CDMA (Verizon and Sprint) way back in the day, and built out the network. Should they have chosen GSM, maybe, but thats not the point here, what is built is already built. When the EU countries, and most of the rest of the world deployed the initial cell networks, they chose GSM (makes sense in EU, lots of smaller countries that need to interconnect). 20 years down the line, you cannot just rip out billions in equipment and replace everything, you would have to run a dual network which is costly, since people already have the equipment. Remember, the telephone never started with rj11 network jacks, it took almost a 100 years to come down to that standard.

However, we are heading in that direction, with LTE, where hopefully all the devices will work on all the providers at some point.

@henrygates: AT&T IS GSM!!! It uses SIM cards.. They have completely phased out the older technologies.

AT&T Will also unlock phones just like Tmobile, but never the iPhone... They are eating a lot of the cost of the iPhone, so we can't entirely fault them. You can buy just about any other phone AT&T sells from 3rd parties (or even the manufacturer) in an unlocked form, but it will usually cost $200-300 more.

@henrygates: While I personally use a GSM phone, I don't exactly share the love affair with GSM. In a technical sense, it really is nothing more than a glorified version of TDMA (and the voice call quality is relatively similar; leaves more to be desired in any case.)

However, I do agree that ALL phones, regardless of technology, should allow for SIM cards, so that users can change phones at will.

I know that CDMA-based phones sold in South Korea use SIM cards and conceivably, they are easily interchangeable with other CDMA-based phones.

iPhones are investments now?

@henrygates

I agree. You can get amazing GSM phones from outside the US for less than what contract phones cost here. The markup on cell phones is just shy of a crime against humanity. It's not that hard usually to get a foreign GSM phone to work on an US carrier.

I'm stuck on a CDMA system due to my ex (broke my heart and my cell phone) and can't wait until my contract is over.

On a related note, the European Union just passed a law requiring cell phone makers to standardize chargers so one will charge them all.

@Freeloader: i actually have more control over my phone and it's far from useless...this is just more horror stories to scare the public into not jailbreaking.

@jvanbrecht:
A friend of mine got ATT to send him the unlock code for his Treo. He called and told them that he was going to the Czech Republic. Apparently that is one country that they don't have roaming agreements with. After he got the code, he put my T-mobile sim in it and it started right up! So, if you really want to try it, call them and tell them about your Czech Fantasy Vacation.

There are a few Verizon phones that can be unlocked for use on ATT and T-mobile. The BB Storm is one that comes to mind. Apparently with the storm at least, almost all of the features can be configured to work.

@Chuck Thorne: My last Sanyo phone came with what is supposed to be the standardized charger. Many manufacturers, whether it's law or not, are moving int that direction. Hooray! No more car chargers to throw away and buy new when you need a new phone!

@jvanbrecht: ya this subsidization thing is crap. i apparently got a subsidized direct tv reciever 8 years ago, that they absolutely had to have back when i cancelled.

@JohnDeere: Actually it's Apples device and it's their decision to sell it to you however THEY want it. You don't only buy the device but the terms that go along with it.

Everybody remember: You don't have to own an iPhone. It's a choice.

Furthermore it's Apples product. They can sell it however they want. It's a free market. Don't like it? Move on to another phone.

Updated to 3.0 recently now I get no signal inside my house. So weird. I can go outside, no problem, but inside.... dead. Never had that problem with 2.2.1.

My friend at a BBY mobile doesn't like the phone, he admits they are easy to setup, but there's no profit to be had. If he can't sell the warranty he says it's not even worth the time to pitch it. Every other phone is gold.

I'm scared of unlocking my iPhone. I am in a 2-year plan with AT&T and don't want to switch carriers because I'd have to pay money to do so, so the only reason I'd want to unlock it would be so that I could set custom ringtones for text messages. It beats me why they don't allow people to do that STILL.

@dave_coder: It's not Apple people hate, it's AT&T really. If AT&T were a better provider and didn't have such expensive data plans, I think a lot more people would be fine with AT&T. But AT&T knows it has the phone that the most people want, and they take advantage of the monopoly they have with the iPhone.

Personally, I get why, from a business standpoint, they can have high prices - you're right, it's a choice. The things that REALLY irk me are how they don't support iPhone MMS yet when they're the official carrier for the iPhone, and how they don't allow tethering for it yet either. Both of those things are things they should've been prepared for.

@temporaryerror:
The Storm has a GSM radio in it as well as CDMA?

If you jailbreak your iphone can you unbreak(im thinking restore to default) it at a later point? I'm assuming you're still on ATT.

I'm tempted to jailbreak my 3g just so i can take video but dont want to end up with a brick should something happen.

@Berz:
Yes, you can do that. You just put the phone into restore mode and reload the Apple locked firmware.

I'm no amateur when it comes to computers (which is what the iPhone really is), but I don't see it as being particularly difficult to unlock/jailbreak your iPhone for any who is the least bit technically savvy and not afraid of doing some reading. If you read up on how this stuff works, I would think just about anyone could successfully jailbreak and unlock using the available tools. The best ones simply take an official firmware image, patch it for you, and then have you load it onto the phone using iTunes. All you do is download the file from Apple, supply to the patching program, put the phone into restore mode, and direct iTunes to the patched file. It's four easy steps.

I did it because I bought the iPhone used from a friend who had already fulfilled his contractual obligations. Considering he fulfilled his contract, I don't find anything wrong with unlocking it. I want it mostly for the computer/PDA functions and Wi-Fi use, with the option to make an occasional cell call in a pinch. For that, T-Mobile to go works great and is only a couple dollars a month.

@dave_coder: you are wrong.

@Freeloader:

I'm sorry, I couldn't hear your iPhone over how rooted I am.

Wait, didn't TMobile/Google attempt to put an end to that just like Apple attempted to put an end to unlocking/jailbreaking?

ps I own a G1 (stock) and ADP1. I can count the number of times I've needed root access on one hand with fingers left over.

Here's what I don't buy. Yes AT&T subsidizes the cost of the phone, I understand and agree that they need to be guaranteed to get that money back, otherwise they wouldn't do it. But THAT IS WHAT THE CONTRACT IS FOR. You get an iPhone they have you on a 2 year (in the US) contract. That contract guarantees them a minimal amount of money over that two year period in order to recoup the initial cost of subsidizing the phone. If I break the contract I have to pay a large fee (which is now prorated)

The handset lock has always, and will always be about anti-competitive behavior and controlling the consumer.

If I buy an iPhone today, I should be able to take it to T-Mobile and use it for service. AT&T's is still being compensated due to the contract between us.

But officially unlocking handsets would provide users with a used iPhone market that could be used on a carrier other then AT&T. This way AT&T ensures that all iPhones ever sold will always only be used on their service.

For disclosure, I am a 2G iPhone user, on TMobile.

@italianscallion33:

Couldn't be easier, this is the guide I used.

[gizmodo.com]

you'll need the 3.9 and 4.6 boot loader, get them here: [iphonefreakz.com]

@italianscallion33:

don't be scared. Trust me, unlocking and jailbreaking is easier than ever.

@dave_coder: Further more, why do customers continue to pay over $30/month for a data plan that is slow (basically unusable) with tiny devices that are also slow, with limited caps that make it unusable for anything other than email? I just do not get it.

I couldn't agree more with you guys. In the end the consumer needs to vote with their dollars. I know many of my friends complain night and day about AT&T service, but they are the first in line each year when the new iPhone comes out.

AT&T charges what the do for the iPhone because they know they can. They are (for the most part) the only game in town.

@jvanbrecht: So a car built using specialized tools must be taken to a dealership? I mean that's the way the dealer intended it?

You're misunderstanding the rules. I buy a subsidized phone the phone is mine. If I leave early, I pay an ETF. Those are the rules. Apple and AT&T want to dictate the rules after the relationship has been severed and I don't recall any durability clauses in the contract.

Jail-breaking relates to the warranty, not the cellular plan.

I love how the article mixes up Jailbreaking and Unlocking right in the first paragraph.

Jailbreak=run unauthorized apps
Unlock=use with any GSM-capable carrier

@tackhouse1: QFT. I have 2 2G iPhones running on T-Mo right now, both long past their contract with AT&T.

@dave_coder: If they were renting it out, I might agree with you.

However, they are giving away ownership for a price. When you do that, you either own it or you don't. There's no such thing as half-possession of a product. And so long as they are gimping their own product solely for their own benefit, they lose all rights to outrage when I act in mine.

This doesn't apply to Apple specifically, as I don't use a phone enough to care about an iPhone, but it goes for anyone I do business with.

@JohnDeere: I don't know why everyone is arguing with you. The article states that you run the risk of bricking your device. You are agreeing with taking that risk. That's fine, as long as you understand that risk.

It has to be obvious, that on some level, Apple doesn't care and even really loves what's going on with jailbreaking.

Remember they used to hang a pirate flag above their headquarters. They love that subversive, counter culture feel that their products engender.

And besides, with every release of jailbreak software, they get free press. When's the last time and mainstream media wrote articles about any jailbreak software for any Windoze based products. It just isn't cool or hip, even when such software is released.

@chris_d: That's correct. It even comes with a dummy sim card when you get it with Verizon.

@Shadowman615: About as much of a return on them as a Madoff investment, so I guess they are now.

@JohnDeere: YOU are wrong.

@Shadowman615:
No, not until the next version comes out. But for now, I'm sure you can find an app to suffice.

@dave_coder: Unfortunately there is no other game in town for a full featured smartphone with medical apps. Even after a poor experience with the Palm TX and disaster Treo 700p I waited two years for a decent smartphone and eventually gave up with inital PRE reviews and just went with the iphone. FWIW I don't get reception in my office. Thanks ATT.

@dave_coder: The thing is, when you buy something in this society, it's yours. You are welcome to do with it as you wish. That's why people can't get on board with this whole restricted-use equipment thing.

When you buy eggs, you aren't forced to cook them only over-easy in a licensed frying pan. When you buy a radio, you can listen to any station you can obtain. You can even add a coat hanger to increase the reception.

Back when the phone company (Ma Bell) restricted the use of telephones, they leased them to users. You didn't pay a purchase price for the phone; you paid a monthly rental fee. If you wanted the black dial phone, it was $1.30 a month. If you wanted the powder-blue princess model, it was $3. Insurance was included in this fee. If your Trimline's cool backlit touch dial pad stopped lighting up, you returned it for a new one, no questions asked, and no deductible paid.

With cell phones, it's as if they are screwing you both ways: You buy a device at inflated cost (Euro cell phones are purchased outright for less $$ than in the U.S.). But you have to use your purchased phone as if you are renting it. Yet none of the benefits of renting are provided.

Your line about "it's Apple's device and it's their decision to sell it... and "it's a choice" reeks of paternalism. Either they sell it, or they rent it. They shouldn't be able to have it both ways.

@jvanbrecht: If the CDMA infrastructure is in place, why do GSM phones work on them? Since they both work, why would it be necessary to rip out the existing infrastructure to switch to GSM?

I'm not familiar with the technical aspects of these networks, but it would stand to reason that you could just build a phone with a chip that contains your account information, instead of it being built in and programmable only by the provider, be it GSM network or CDMA.

@greyspot: uhh uhh

@tackhouse1: I bought my 3GS not so long ago. I bought it on my mom's account, since 1. She already had an iPhone 3G, so there'd be no change in the plan (and it was bought via Craigslist, so no contract), and 2. I ditched AT&T long ago and didn't feel like tying myself down again.

It was a displeasure to use at first because I swear AT&T's data network kept dropping every other second. Voice quality was horrid. Every time a car passed me when I was walking down the road, the person on the other end had to hang up because it sounded like a high-pitched screech.

Got it unlocked (Via ultrasn0w) and it's been a happy iPhone since. No dropped calls or data on T-Mobile. I know I'm stuck with EDGE data, but a reliable EDGE data connection is far better than a spotty 3G connection to me. Voice quality is much improved.

Better yet, T-Mobile's pricing is much better. $35 for unlimited texts and data. AT&T? I would have to pay $30 for data, and another $20 on top of that for texts.

@italianscallion33: You want to jailbreak, not unlock. To get your text tones, you need to jailbreak. The only purpose for unlocking is to use other carriers. Go to iphonehacks.com and read up.

You do not have to do both.

@Berz: Yes, you'll be fine. To clarify @chris_d: you just plug your phone into itunes and hit the restore button and choose the restore point before you jailbroke. ALWAYS before you jailbreak, make a backup of your phone.

You can also reset your phone to factory settings and sync with itunes to get your purchased apps and music library, this takes much longer though.