August 30th, 2007
Apple and AT&T playing "good cop, bad cop" over iPhone unlocking
It’s been interesting to observe the iPhone unlocking efforts by the hacking community, but it’s been entertaining to see how this will be countered by legal, technical and policy changes. So far I’m seeing Apple play the role of good cop and AT&T being the bad cop. While AT&T has gone ahead and released the legal hounds, Apple has been pretty quiet.
First off, let’s dispel the idea that Apple won’t lose out (financially) because of iPhones being freed from AT&Ts grip. Apple gets a cut of the fees that AT&T receives from both existing customers that switch to the iPhone and a bigger cut for new customers. Apple will make more money from the iPhone if customers sign up with AT&T than if they don’t. From this point of view, Apple has an incentive to make unlocking the iPhone as difficult as possible.
But so far, Apple doesn’t seem to be all that bothered by all this talk of unlocking and seems to be allowing AT&T to go after the hackers alone (and field all the flak from this move). It’s a similar position to that which Apple takes to DRM - Steve Jobs gives off all the signals of being someone who is opposed to the idea of DRM and takes on the position of being as much of a victim of the recording studios as customers. Clever.
My guess is that Apple is happy with the current situation. Unlocking the iPhone is tricky and beyond the capability of most of the users. For the few that want an iPhone but dislike AT&T enough to want do something about it (or who just want the feeling of being able to stick it to Apple, AT&T or both companies), Apple is happy to sell them a phone that they might be able to unlock. I’m also guessing that Apple engineers will engage in cat and mouse games with the hackers just to keep AT&T happy.
Thoughts?
Adrian is a technology journalist and author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology. He also runs a popular blog called The PC Doctor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations
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