Apple said in a press release today that programs like iPhoneSIMFree used to unlock iPhones to run on carriers other than AT&T will “will likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed.” and goes on to add that “he permanent inability to use an iPhone due to installing unlocking software is not covered under the iPhone’s warranty.”
I haven’t unlocked mine, as I’m fairly happy with my service on AT&T. I have installed third-party applications, however. Thankfully there is no indication that this refers to those programs, but only to the programs that modify the firmware to allow the device to operate on a different carrier’s network. I should be ok. I will say however that I’m really seriously hoping that an SDK is released to help improve the quality of third-party applications. The web applications are useless without data, and I have definitely seen a drop in stability with my device since I installed a few applications. A full restore takes me back to factory settings so I am not to concerned about it, but I’d like to see improvements.
I received an email from the Apple Developer’s Network today about some new Tech Talks regarding developments for the iPhone. It only mentioned web applications, so I’m not sure the SDK is any closer at all. It could be that Apple just wants to let someone else deal with it via crowdsourcing that they aren’t necessarily supportive of, but not overtly against either. They’ve kind of taken a “do it if you want but we make no guarantees” stance with the third-party non-unlocking applications.
Apple gave all the early adopters a $100 Apple Store credit. I’m having a little trouble deciding how to spend mine.
Some options:
- $100 Credit + $29 = Apple’s Bluetooth Headset. My current earpiece is old and busted, doesn’t hold a charge very long, and has miserable sound quality. This could be a good option.
- $100 Credit + $29 = Leopard, the next update to the Mac OS is set to drop next month. Getting that for $29 out of pocket could be a good thing.
- $35 of the credit on an Incase Multifunction Sports Case for my iPhone still leaves me with $65 to buy an iTunes gift card or save towards Leopard or the bluetooth headset. There is a $30 Belkin, but I tend to trust the Incase stuff more.
- $100 Credit = .Mac account. I’m currently running a trial that will expire soon. I’m not exactly using all the features, but they are handy and maybe I would use them all more with the 10gb of space. I do like the Web Galleries in iPhoto, and you need .Mac to use those..
Thoughts?
Today, Apple got rid of the 4GB iPhone, and dropped the price of the 8GB model by $200. This comes just over two months since the product launched in the first place. That has to be a record for fastest price-drop.
Basically, now I can go to an Apple store, and purchase an 8GB iPhone for $100 less than I paid for my 4GB.
Gah!
They also announced some other stuff, including an updated iPod Shuffle in new colors (including a Product (RED) offering), a new iPod nano (affectionately dubbed by some, the “fatty”) which supports video and the WiFi iTunes store you can access from the iPhone soon and from the new iPod touch which is basically an iPhone without the phone. The disk space on all the models got moved around too. Looks like the 8GB nano comes in all the colors now, not just black, and looks like the price came down a bit.
On top of that, they announced a partnership with Starbucks which will allow Starbucks customers to instantly buy songs that are playing in Starbucks locations. Kind of neat, but I wonder what T-Mobile thinks about that. T-Mobile provides the WiFi access inside Starbucks locations, but does not carry the iPhone, which is exclusive to AT&T. So, in a round-about way, T-Mobile has a partnership with a company that does not benefit T-Mobile in the least.
So after just over a month with my iPhone, I have a list of things which I would like to see pushed as a software/firmware update to the phone. As far as I know, none of these would require hardware changes.
- Highlight, Copy & Paste. I’m not entirely sure why this was left out in the first place.
- Landscape Mode in SMS and Email Applications. Again, not sure why this was left out.
- Video Support. Let me take short videos with sound. Add a button to automatically upload to YouTube and/or my .Mac Web Gallery.
- MMS. No reason why a camera phone shouldn’t be able to send and receive picture and video messages.
- Group Messaging. Sending one message to one person at a time is annoying. Change it.
- Bluetooth Auto-Syncing. I would like to be able to sync via bluetooth. With this, I’d like the option to select which things I would like to sync in this manner. Calendar, Address Book, Bookmarks and Mail should be a no-brainer. Syncing the iPod over bluetooth would be pretty maddening, so I’d pass on that. Also, I would like this to work automatically, with both the computer and the iPhone detecting changes on the other. I don’t want to have to push buttons for the basic stuff.
- Smarter Google Maps. If I navigate away from from the Google Maps application, don’t send me back to the start of my directions. Remember where I was, and start back there when I tap the Maps icon again.
- Smarter Weather & Stocks. In the weather and stock applications, let me select a frequency at which the data will be automatically updated. This will avoid me loading up either application while I’m out of service area and having the data displayed be a day old, or not displayed at all.
- Add GPS support via Bluetooth. This will let me carry a small GPS receiver in my pocket and interface with that via the Google Maps application.
- Make the Notes sync with something. I am assuming this is coming with Leopard and the new Mail.app, but it is annoying now. If for some reason I have to restore my iPhone, my notes are gone. Not cool.
Tim @ The New AT&T ran my credit check and tells me I will need no security deposit. That is exciting, as it means it will be easy for me to switch carriers, and it means my credit is improving.
He’s going to call me on the morning of 6/29 to sell me an iPhone and switch me over to AT&T.
I guess I have until then to decide if I really want to jump on that bandwagon right away (as I do desperately need a new phone) or get one of their lesser model freebies that they give away with new accounts. The problem with option #2 is that I know I will eventually want to upgrade to an iPhone, which will certainly reset my contract if I want any discount on it at all, and will still likely be more expensive than if I was a brand new customer immediately buying one. I’ve always found it pretty crappy that a new customer gets a better deal on new technology than a customer that has been supporting a cell phone carrier for much longer.
