The iPhone used to be a special animal. It was controlled completely by Apple and At&t was merely the carrier. Due to the arrangement, it was left untouched by At&t, and all firmware updating was handled by Apple.
Things have changed.
The price is now "technically" subsidized, and the revenue sharing is gone. Apple is now more akin to a normal device manufacturer, and At&t has received much more control over it. The iPhone specific data plan is already gone, and there are rumors that future firmware updates will need special At&t approval, and At&t may be given the right to charge for them.
What could be next?
Could we possibly have to suffer through the loads of At&t branded crapware that all their other smartphones suffer from? BlackBerrys, Windows Mobile devices, Palm devices; all preloaded with tons of crap that 90% of us don't want, won't use, and hate to be stuck with. There are ways to remove the crap on Windows Mobile devices, but with the closed nature of the iPhone, will it still be possible? Will it just not happen?
I don't know about you, but I am getting a bit nervous. I think I may have preferred paying $400-$500 for it if Apple retained the same level of control they used to have....
Or am I just reading to much into the fresh rumors and news?
Things have changed.
The price is now "technically" subsidized, and the revenue sharing is gone. Apple is now more akin to a normal device manufacturer, and At&t has received much more control over it. The iPhone specific data plan is already gone, and there are rumors that future firmware updates will need special At&t approval, and At&t may be given the right to charge for them.
What could be next?
Could we possibly have to suffer through the loads of At&t branded crapware that all their other smartphones suffer from? BlackBerrys, Windows Mobile devices, Palm devices; all preloaded with tons of crap that 90% of us don't want, won't use, and hate to be stuck with. There are ways to remove the crap on Windows Mobile devices, but with the closed nature of the iPhone, will it still be possible? Will it just not happen?
I don't know about you, but I am getting a bit nervous. I think I may have preferred paying $400-$500 for it if Apple retained the same level of control they used to have....
Or am I just reading to much into the fresh rumors and news?
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