With the expected announcement and launch on Verizon this month, AT&T exclusivity will be over and the iPhone will finally be available on another US carrier — but it will still be locked.

Unlike most other countries where iPhone is available on multiple carriers, you won’t be able to go to an Apple store and pay full price for an unlocked iPhone you can use on any network — or any carrier around the world with a simple SIM swap. Verizon, being a CDMA rather than GSM carrier doesn’t use SIMs.

Instead US customers will have the choice between two locked iPhones — locked to AT&T or locked to Verizon, unable to move between the two, and not even able to officially move to the other GSM and CDMA carriers in the US, T-Mobile and Sprint. While we don’t know for certain, in all likelihood you won’t be able to call your carrier and get your iPhone unlocked, you won’t even be able to pay them to unlock it.

That means if you’re currently an AT&T iPhone user and you want to move to Verizon you have to buy a new Verizon iPhone. You can’t take it with you. And if you get a Verizon iPhone and decide life on AT&T really was better, there’s no bringing your new iPhone back.

Will there ever be a time when an American can walk into an Apple Store and buy an unlocked iPhone, capable of working on any carrier in the US, just like in most of the rest of the world? Because come this time next month the iPhone in the US — land of the free — will still be locked. It’ll just be locked to two carriers instead of one.

AT&T has been quietly accumulating smartphone units to add to their war chest in anticipation of the iPhone being made available through Verizon in the near future. Bloomberg reports:

AT&T Inc., facing the possible loss of its hold on the iPhone, is adding handsets at an accelerating clip and retraining store staff to help reduce reliance on its top-selling smartphone during the holidays. AT&T clearly has tried to diversify themselves away from the iPhone, and that’s probably the right strategy since they’ve relied so heavily on the iPhone these past few years [...] this handset strategy could shelter them from some customer losses.”

AT&T has also been revamping many of their retail outlets and giving alternate smartphones to their staff in order to be less dependent on the iPhone in a post-exclusivity world. Is AT&T right to worry or just smart to prepare? Sound off in the comments below!

[Bloomberg]

by Andrew Wray

AT&T released some pretty impressive numbers today with 5.2 million iPhone activations in Q3 2010. The iPhone obviously contributes a significant portion of AT&T’s smartphone sales, or what they are referring to as “integrated devices”. AT&T also claims that over 80% of postpaid activations (contract lines) were integrated devices. Around 8 million integrated devices were sold in total. Since the iPhone can only be sold with a contract, it’s safe to assume those 5.2 million iPhones were a portion of that 8 million. That means that around 65% of AT&T’s smartphone activations were iPhones. That’s tremendous. It also tops AT&T’s previous record for iPhones activated in a quarter, which was 3.2 million.

AT&T relies heavily on iPhone sales to boost their margins and bottom line when it comes to smartphone sales and data plan sales. If another carrier in the US should start carrying the iPhone, that could hit AT&T where it hurts. A lot of people that are tied into family plans and business accounts (which is a good majority), are probably less likely to migrate due to the cost of ETFs and migrating. Users that are out of contract or on single line plans may be more prone to jump ship. I’m personally one who thinks not as many people will leave when they realize how much it’ll cost them. AT&T’s got them for a year or two. What do you guys think?

[via AT&T]

T-Mobile has been the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in Germany since the first iPhone in 2007, however there is new evidence to show that T-Mobile may lose its exclusivity to O2 and Vodafone in the coming weeks.

• The O2 Germany website, has launched a ‘keep me informed’ page, that offers “the latest news and everything to know about the iPhone 4 on O2”

• The Vodafone website has launched a similar page that allows you to sign up and select which iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS you want to be notified about.

Both carriers are yet to announce any official pricing or release date, however one source at iPhone-Ticker.de has said that Vodafone will have iPhone 4’s starting Wednesday 27th October, with prices starting at €729 and as high as €849, off contract.

Rumoured contract prices start at €169,90 for the handset and €45 a month for the low-tier contract, to as high as €119,95 a month, with the handset at €1 for the higher-tier contract.

This marks the end of T-Mobile’s exclusivity in Germany, and sees them join the likes of the UK and Canada in the list of multiple-carrier countries. Unless and until Verizon iPhone (or Sprint or T-Mobile) rumors prove true, the US remains exclusive to AT&T.

So, any T-Mobile Germany iPhone users tempted to switch?

[iPhone-Ticker.de, AppleInsider]

by George Lim

Credit Suisse has run a survey asking, if AT&T lost iPhone exclusivity, would users switch to another carrier like Verizon. 23% said they would go to Verizon while 3% would go to Sprint and 2% to T-Mobile.

When TiPb ran a Verizon-only switching poll, 34% of our readers said they’d make the switch in a heartbeat, while 20% said they were AT&T for life, and the said it would depend on the plans and rates.

We’ll only know for certain when and if iPhone goes non-exclusive in the US, but that’s got to happen at some point, right? The only question is whether or not it happens before a white iPhone 4 ships, or the Beatles hit iTunes…

[Business Insider]

No one outside a very few at Apple and AT&T know exactly how long iPhone will remain exclusive in the US. While the original deal was for 5 years, deals are subject to all manner of renegotiation, renewal, termination, amendment, and service level agreements. It could run out earlier than expected or it could continue on longer. While we can’t see the dark matter that is Apple and AT&T exclusivity, we can see some of the gravitational ripples around it.

Holding out for BlackBerry, Android, and Palm heroes

Since launch in 2007 through 2009, iPhone was AT&T’s single hero phone. iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS were not only the biggest they were the one and only flagship release of the year. They were also the only real, full screen, touch-centric devices on AT&T’s network. You went to AT&T for iPhone and some even stuck with abysmal AT&T service in their area just to get iPhone.

In 2010 iPhone 4 was still a huge deal. The hugest deal perhaps. But for the first time it wasn’t the only deal. AT&T got Palm Pre Plus. They didn’t do much with it, of course, nor with the first Android phone they got — the unfortunate Backflip. In July they added a real Android, the Samsung Galaxy S branded as the Captivate. Both the Palm Pre Plus and the especially the Captivate offer very iPhone-like experiences. They’re both real, full screen, touch-centric devices on AT&T.

Then August brought the BlackBerry Torch. Back in May we wondered what this device meant for AT&T and iPhone. While media reception to RIM’s first slider has been lukewarm to say the least, the device itself was built specifically for and with AT&T, and was introduced by AT&T head honcho Ralph de la Vega who reportedly ordered millions of them.

Again, real, full-screen, touch-centric device on AT&T’s network, and this time with a huge network push behind it.

From zero comparable devices/OS to three in a year? The pace is being picked up.

Look at the locks

In recent SEC filings AT&T has gone further than ever to try and assuage investor fears about what losing iPhone exclusivity would mean to the carrier. Much of this involves new iPhone 4 customers who are just beginning a 2 year contract stint, but also states that 80% of iPhone users are locked into hard-to-transport corporate and family plans. And there’s that new ETF.

AT&T also remains the only US carrier fully compatible with current and past GSM/HSPA iPhones. T-Mobile is compatible for EDGE data but their 3G bands are another story and Verizon and Sprint use CDMA/EVDO radios that would require a completely different radio.

That AT&T is taking the time to point all this out, and doing it now, at the same time they’re releasing other hero phones in noteworthy. That they’re pointing it out to investors — the people who know just how much of AT&T’s profits and ARPU (average revenue per user) have been tied to iPhone over the last few years — is noteworthy.

Lies, damn lies, and iPhone on Verizon

It used to be that everyone was talking about the next iPhone having a hardware keyboard. No one cares about that anymore. 4 years later and they’re still talking about the next iPhone coming to Verizon. That they care about. And the punishment for that caring is year after year, rumor after rumor, that an iPhone on Verizon is just around the corner. Always, just around the corner.

Better service is one of the most closely held hopes. Whether AT&T has a poor network or any single network would suffer under the sheer volume of iPhone usage — or both — the reality and perception is that, for many users, Verizon is their network of choice.

We heard back at CES in January, and many other outlets have heard since, that the technology for a Verizon iPhone was in place but Verizon and Apple couldn’t come to an agreement. Two such controlling companies, go figure?

Since then it’s been revealed that Apple has flirted with Verizon several times over the years but never pulled the trigger.

Follow the money

The bottom line is, there will come a point where everyone who wants to or is willing to use AT&T for an iPhone will have one. Apple will reach saturation on a single network. 4 years in, old contracts are done, new towers are in place, the price is cheap-ish and brand awareness is through the stratosphere. It’s becoming an upgrade, not a new user business for both AT&T and Apple in the US.

AT&T obviously knows this, hence the Palm Pre Plus, Android Captivate, and BlackBerry Torch. Users who actually like AT&T but for some reason don’t like the iPhone might just come on over for one of those. (And, of course, when iPhone does go non-exclusive, AT&T will have other platform bases established from which they can attempt to build).

For Apple, selling tens of millions of additional iPhones in the US means getting on Verizon. (Or, okay, Sprint and T-Mobile since why leave any money on the table?). Verizon tried and failed to appease would-be iPhone converts with the BlackBerry Storm, and tried and succeeded with the Android Droid line, but while that stemmed the bleeding it didn’t suck in the massive iPhone market. An iPhone on Verizon would.

Apple probably won’t let Verizon paint a huge logo on iPhone, stick on garbageware, or BOGO it come January, but Verizon has Droid now for all that.

It’s just, and all, about the money both will make from the deal at this point — if they can reach it.

But what about the LTE, man?

While AT&T and Verizon don’t have compatible 2G or 3G networks, they’re both moving to 4G networks based on LTE (Long Term Evolution). This makes many believe Apple will wait for LTE before releasing a Verizon iPhone.

Maybe.

It has less to do with LTE and more to do with timing. When Apple and Verizon have a deal in place, iPhone will ship on Verizon. If that’s after LTE is ubiquitous, it will be an LTE iPhone on Verizon. If not, it will be CDMA. The first AT&T iPhone didn’t even support 3G.

Sure a CDMA iPhone will be a re-design, but so would an LTE iPhone and the only thing that matters — again — is what return on that investment Apple figures they’ll make.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Time is running out on AT&T iPhone exclusivity. AT&T knows it; they’re lining up alternative hero phones and preparing their investors for the day their profit reports aren’t lined with Apple gold. Apple knows it; they’ve been talking to Qualcomm about CDMA chips and seeing what multiple carriers have done for them in almost every other market outside the US. We all know it, hence the annoying amount of rumors that keep hitting the interwebs.

It’s just a matter of time and Apple and Verizon making the deal.

The class action lawsuit against AT&T’s US iPhone exclusivity has been certified, which means a judge thinks it meets the legal requirements to go forward. If you remember back, The crux of suit states that customer contracts are 2 years, but the AT&T exclusivity is 5 years — so customers were falsely lured to AT&T for 5 years, not 2 — if they want to keep iPhones, that is. The lawsuit seeks to include all current AT&T iPhone customers.

Now, whether or not that original 5 year exclusivity has changed over the past few years is anyone’s guess — the only people who know that for sure are the AT&T and Apple higher ups that sign the contracts. In this day and age, contracts change constantly.

My opinion? I don’t know if a court will buy this as falsely leading on customers. Most carriers don’t ever specify how long their exclusivity deals are, it’s all hearsay until they announce it. Yes, the iPhone deal is unique in length (I don’t believe any carrier has ever had an exclusive anywhere even close to the length AT&T scored with Apple), but I don’t necessarily know if I believe it misleads customers. When the first iPhone was released, the 5 year deal was already publicized, even if it was hearsay, and people still bought iPhones. And honestly, if you get an iPhone, no one’s forcing you to get another one. If you upgrade and lock yourself in, that’s pretty much your decision, your hand isn’t forced.

We’ll watch this one but I personally don’t think it will go very far.

[Engadget]

With Apple all but certain to announce a the 4th generation iPhone (iPhone HD/iPhone 4G) with iPhone OS 4 at WWDC the week of June 7, and AT&T to release it later the same month, why would AT&T want to release the new BlackBerry 9800 slider running OS 6.0 at around the same time?

Since 2007 the iPhone has been AT&T’s summer blockbuster. It’s been the phone that got the users and made the numbers, quarter after quarter. Some would go so far as to say iPhone exclusivity is the only thing that’s kept AT&T competitive with their arch-rival, Verizon.

Rewind. Back in March our sibling site CrackBerry.com did a Q&A roundup about the BlackBerry Slider, which could end up being part of the Bold lineup. A full, capacitive touchscreen device with a Palm Pre-style vertical slider it would give the BlackBerry faithful the Storm-like experience needed to compete in today’s mainstream smartphone market, but keep the industry-leading physical keyboard those same faithful are so loathe to do without. And CrackBerry thought it was going to be released on AT&T, and in the summer.

Today Boy Genius added fuel to that fire, saying the BlackBerry Bold 9800 slider would launch on AT&T in June, be exclusive for 3-6 months, and that AT&T had placed an incredibly large order for the device — easily exceeding 1,000,000 units.

Repeat. Why would AT&T want a huge order of an exclusive, powerfully branded, touchscreen smartphone with keyboard differentiation at the same time they’ve traditionally, and successfully launched their heretofore exclusive new iPhones?

Since I’ve sworn off Verizon iPhone rumors this week, including rumors of Verizon iPhone ads, manufacturers and equally large manufacturing runs, and increasing chatter, I’ll let you answer that in comments.

The original iPhone exclusivity agreement between Apple and AT&T was for a 5-year period running from 2007 to 2012. Confirmation of this comes by way of court documents from 2008, however, and 2 years is an eternity in corporate contract-dom.

In other words, anything from AT&T’s service levels (or lack thereof in New York and San Francisco) to their deal for iPad 3G data plans could have led to renegotiations, extensions, or new contracts entirely since then.

So file this away under iPhone trivia unless and until a Verizon iPhone shows up… sometime.

[Engadget]

According to the Wall Street Journal, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson took the opportunity, while speaking at an investor conference, to once again talk about the iPhone remaining on his network, and also touch on the iPad, problems in New York and San Francisco, variable pricing, and Apple’s new darling, the iPad.

• While Stephenson doesn’t seem to have insisted the iPhone would remain exclusive on AT&T, he does say the iPhone will remain an important part of their offerings for “quite some time”.
• He’s pleases with the steps AT&T is taking to address network problems and dropped calls in New York and San Francisco. “We’re hitting our metrics,” he said. “I feel really good about our path.” And call quality should improve by mid-2010.
• Stephenson claims AT&T is carrying half of US wireless traffic due to the amount of data use the iPhone generates. Carriers will have to eventually move to “variable pricing” so that heavy users are charged more and light users, less.
• AT&T is “not in a tremendous hurry” to roll-out their 4G network; it won’t be widely available, and there won’t be a good amount of products using it, until 2012

So if we mash that all together, even if the iPhone also pops up elsewhere, you’ll still be able to get it on an improved AT&T network with tiered pricing (perhaps similar to the iPad’s $15 for 256MB, $30 for unlimited) until LTE is wide spread in 2012 and the iPhone 4G replaces everything.

How’s that grab you?

No one outside the contract signers at Apple and AT&T know for sure when US iPhone exclusivity ends, but HotHardware is stirring up a storm with the rumor that it ends this Wednesday, at Apple’s “Come see our latest creation” event:

According to an inside source close to the going-ons involved in all of this, a new tablet of some sort may not be the only thing on deck for next Wednesday though. We have been led to believe by an inside source that AT&T will lose their iPhone exclusivity on the same day

Yeahbuwhy?

Inside of AT&T, we are hearing that the iPhone is causing more trouble than ever before. On some level, having the iPhone is hurting AT&T’s image. Because they are the only company to carry it, and it’s such a data hog, it’s largely to blame for AT&T’s network troubles. [...] The iPhone itself doesn’t really handle the switch from 3G to EDGE very well, so calls that are in-progress tend to fail whenever the 3G bands aren’t optimal and the phone attempts to step down to EDGE.

They claim AT&T is tired of the bad press and will let other networks share the burden while AT&T introduces new phones from other platforms (hello Android and webOS?) in order to compete.

The follow on rumor, of course and as always, is that Verizon will then start to carry a CDMA-friendly version of the iPhone 3GS and the new iTablet.

No comment from AT&T yet, but anyone buying this?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

If Apple ends US iPhone exclusivity with AT&T in 2010, could Verizon handle the handset that currently crushes service in data-dense cities like San Francisco and New York? BusinessWeek scored the quote from Verizon Wireless Chief Technology Officer Anthony Melone:

“We have put things in place already. We are prepared to support that traffic.”

“It comes down to backing that process with money. We’ve been more consistent than any carrier in the last 10 years investing year over year.”

“We will handle it if we ever get it.”

To make sure we’re absolutely crystal clear, no one is saying Verizon will be getting the iPhone next year, Verizon is just claiming their network is up to the task if they do.

When reached for comment on that claim, AT&T wouldn’t address it directly but offered:

“We think we are leading the way in how people use their wireless phones. We operate a great network.”

This comes as AT&T is facing increased media (and satirical) attention over their lack of infrastructure investment despite the increase in data revenue the iPhone has brought them. To their credit, however, they are continuing to publicize the “improved wireless network experience” they have invested in for certain areas of the US.

[Thanks to the Reptile!]

Is AT&T to blame for the poor iPhone experience in cities like San Francisco and New York, where calls drop, data fails, and bars depict signal strength with no real connection behind them? And if so, what can they do about it — build more network infrastructure, create tiered pricing, or maybe just give up on exclusivity?

Dan Lyons, writing under his nom-de-guerre Fake Steve Jobs recently posted a curse-filled parody, describing an entirely fictional, frighteningly plausible conversation between his character and an equally fake AT&T CEO, Randall Stephenson. It’s climax:

And now here we are. Right here in your own backyard, an American company creates a brilliant phone, and that company hands it to you, and gives you an exclusive deal to carry it — and all you guys can do is complain about how much people want to use it. You, Randall Stephenson, and your lazy stupid company — you are the problem. You are what’s wrong with this country.

I stopped, then. There was nothing on the line. Silence. I said, Randall? He goes, Yeah, I’m here. I said, Does any of that make sense? He says, Yeah, but we’re still not going to do it. See, when you run the numbers what you find is that we’re actually better off running a shitty network than making the investment to build a good one. It’s just numbers, Steve. You can’t charge enough to get a return on the investment.

AT&T has made billions in profit off of its user base (and off the iPhone!) and many of those users think it would behoove AT&T to take a large portion of those profits and re-invest them in expanding and improving their network. AT&T claims they’re doing just that, especially in high iPhone-density cities like San Francisco (now getting the 850Mhz band) and Dallas (upgrade to 7.2Mb HSPA). And as Fake Steve so deliciously skewered, AT&T Mobile CEO, Ralph de la Vaga has unfathomably discussed stopping users from using their devices under the “unlimited” data plans AT&T markets to them.

But is the problem really AT&T?

The New York Times recently ran an article claiming AT&T had a great network despite consumer dissatisfaction… a great network for every other phone other than the iPhone. Of course, few other data-centric phones are as numerous as the iPhone, and none are as easy to use, or have as many users using as many data-centric features. Not to mention other carriers, such as Rogers in Canada and GSM networks across Europe don’t seem to report the sheer number of problems AT&T users do. (We also remember with horror what happened when CrackBerry.com‘s Kevin took his just-release Rogers BlackBerry Bold to New York.) Perhaps it’s the unique combination of AT&T’s specific network setup and Apple’s iPhone radios.

Either way, the perception problem is entirely AT&Ts at the moment and even with new customer-facing strategies like “Mark the Spot“, an app that lets iPhone users report problem areas, it’s not likely to change any time soon.

So let’s say AT&T does invest billions in infrastructure — more fast 3G HSPA bars in more places. It’s the right and logical things to do, and the thing Fake Steve absolutely nails AT&T for being too greedy to go about doing. The end result of that could be higher user satisfaction — and where do that lead?

Many suffer poor AT&T service just to own an iPhone. If they didn’t have to suffer any more, if AT&T’s network was considered as vast and solid as Verizon’s, how many more might jump on it? Could even a greatly enhanced and expanded AT&T handle 10 million more people getting iPhones and using even more data, requiring billions more to keep up, and who knows how much to actually get ahead of demand?

AT&T’s stick to go along with their network expansion carrot is, of course, capped data and tiered pricing. 3% of users “watching video” (or unofficially tethering, perhaps), using 40% of network resources. (And again, AT&T sold their bill of goods as “unlimited” so it’s hard to sympathize). But even capping, throttling, and/or tiering those 3%-ers won’t stop the millions of other hitting AT&T’s towers over and over again like high volume machine-gun fire. It’s not tenable. (Unless they’re willing to accept their destiny and become “dumb pipes“, then we’ll talk).

So that leaves moving the iPhone out of AT&T exclusivity and onto other US networks. It’s happened in the UK and Canada.

AT&T acknowledges it will happen eventually. The date is unknown to anyone outside the contract-signers, but exclusivity is generally pegged to end in 2010 — perhaps the end of 2010.

It won’t be an easy transition — T-Mobile uses a different frequency for their 3G bands and Verzion and Sprint use an entirely different radio technology. (Yes, even if Apple sold the iPhone 3GS unlocked, for use on any carrier, the only US carrier that whose 3G network is compatible right now is AT&T). That means, even with Verizon being interested, Apple would have to add T-Mobile’s bands, perhaps switch to an entirely new, GSM/CDMA hybrid radio so that it can reach America’s three other networks. A non-trivial solution to say the least, but perhaps a necessary one now.

If volumes keeps growing, even Verizon couldn’t handle the iPhone by itself either. Just like new highways ease traffic congestion, letting the iPhone speed along several carriers might just make it better for everyone involved — including AT&T.

If anyone can do it, Apple can. If not, Google might just be waiting in the wings…

On the heels of a Bloomberg TV interview with Brian Marshall [YouTube link] Turley Muller of Financial Alchemist puts foot to assumptions, and figures the following:

• AT&T likely subsidizes the iPhone to the tune of $400
• If AT&T loses exclusivity (i.e. if Verizon gets the iPhone), the subsidy probably won’t change. (Not a revelation to the rest of the world where multiple carriers hasn’t changed the subsidy or pricing…)
• iPhone users are 14% of AT&T’s wireless customer base.
• iPhone exclusivity with AT&T may terminate at the end of 2010 but only Apple and AT&T know for sure.

Disclosure, he’s long on Apple, but short on Marshall, it seems. Anyone really, truly surprised by any of the above?

[via Daring Fireball]

AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega stated that his carrier’s exclusive agreement to sell Apple’s iPhone in the US… will end one day. Of course, we knew this. You knew this. AT&T and Apple knew this. Everybody knew this, because they’ve said it before. Still, on the eve of a highly successful quarterly results report, where the iPhone once again carried the day for AT&T earnings, they obviously felt the need to say it again:

“We have a legacy of having a great portfolio…that will continue after the iPhone is no longer exclusive to us. We think we will continue after the iPhone…to drive [results]….” [...] “we feel really good about our non-iPhone [subscriber] adds and net adds…. We feel really strong about our portfolio in quick messaging devices, including BlackBerry and all the smartphones.” [...] “Even if we lose exclusivity [of the iPhone], we will be the only carrier with HSPA 7.2 [a network specification being deployed at AT&T] and [new devices] will work on our network faster. I feel as strongly as ever [about] the capability of devices in our lineup and [am] super-excited about the deals with e-readers and personal navigation devices.”

Apparently, like Verizon, AT&T will seek post-iPhone solace in much more carrier-control friendly Android…

[Via Macworld]

Speaking at Fortune’s Brainstorm tech conference, AT&T CEO, Randall Stephenson, discussed the iPhone and it’s exclusivity with AT&T.

“There will be a day when you are not exclusive with the iPhone.”

Nothing was discussed regarding any negotiations that may be taking place at this time between the two companies but be assured that AT&T will do everything and anything in it’s power to keep Apple’s device under lock and key for as long as it possibly can.

All good things must come to an end, however. With that being said, AT&T’s exclusitivity deal with Apple’s iPhone is no different. It will eventually end. Sure there are those of you out there that can’t wait until Apple breaks free of it’s chains from AT&T, just don’t count on that happening anytime in the near future.

[Via Engadget Mobile]

It is no secret that AT&T has the iPhone locked up through the year 2010. Today the Wall Street Journal is reporting that AT&T is in talks to add yet another year to the current deal. Of course neither side is commenting about the matter at this point, and when contacted, an Apple representative said:

“We have a great relationship with AT&T.”

While we here at TiPb are well aware of how many of you truly despise AT&T, is this where we give them another chance? It has been rumored they are still beefing up their network for the next iPhone launch.

Personally for me here in the Chicago area, I’ve never had such great service. No other cellular service performs as well for me and I’ve tried tried them all. Yes, I said it, go easy on me.

So what do you say? Is another year of AT&T iPhone lock-in a good or bad thing?

[Via WSJ Thanks also to Tyler for the tip!]

We’ve had our fair share of gripes and complaints about AT&T here at TiPb but we don’t give them enough credit for trusting Apple and letting them go wild with the iPhone. Sure, they may be out to squeeze every dollar from their customers, but few carriers would even imagine giving Apple the freedom to create the. best. gadget. ever.

Plus, AT&T is well aware of the attention and added dollars they get by having an exclusivity agreement for the iPhone, so it comes to no surprise to us that one of those old, reputable, print companies is reporting that AT&T has added another year of exclusivity (until 2010 now). If AT&T were to lose the iPhone now, it’d be a complete disaster since the iPhone is starting to entrench itself in the market.

So I guess since AT&T will never give up on the iPhone, it’s on Apple to make every customers dream come true and deliver a fully unlocked iPhone. Maybe then, carriers will begin to lower their prices and the power will come back to the consumers.

ReadVia

[Updated following Phone Different Podcast #19, see below!]

Way back in February, Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, Tim Cook said:

“We’re not married to any business model.”

At the time — and it’s scary how long ago it seems already — the iPhone was only available in the US, UK, Germany, and France, with rumors of Ireland and Austria waiting in the wings. What’s more, these were all exclusive deals, with Apple doing their best to lock the iPhone down to single carriers in each territory in exchange for lucrative — and unprecedented — revenue-sharing deals that some have estimated could be netting Apple up to $15 per month, per subscriber.

So, with a potential billion dollars on the table, while they weren’t married to it, they no doubt felt more than a little lusty.

But in true Apple fashion, invoking perhaps the pirate mantra of old, and embracing the same mindset that has them run iTunes as a near-loss leader, price-cut the iPhone a scant few months in, and offer cheap family upgrade options on their OS and iApps, it looks like Tim Cook was serious.

Read on to find out just how serious he was…

Late April brought rumblings of carrier “discounts” in Europe. Apple claimed carriers could charge what they wanted. Pundits on various sides pointed to clearing stock in the face impending 3G, or desperation to nudge thus-far-disappointing sales.

Then the floodgates opened. Literally. What had been a scant 5 countries with official first generation iPhone deals, became a torrent of announcements, week after week, of dozens upon dozens more. Canada. Australasia. Africa. Latin America. The Middle East. Scandinavia and the Baltics. And more. Double, triple, quadruple, the numbers became near-exponential.

The strange part? Multiple carriers began announcing iPhone deals in the same countries or territories. Vodafone and Telecom Italia both claimed Italy in early May.

Carrier exclusivity was gone.

No doubt at Apple’s behest, press releases were short to the point of single sentences at times, all with the promise of more details to follow, but Orange did let slip that there would now be non-exclusive deals (where no carrier had the sole rights to the iPhone and any GSM provider could theoretically support it), and co-exclusivity (where two or more carriers had sole rights and only they could officially support it).

Orange didn’t stop there either. Rumor has it they are now calling up existing iPhone customers and offering them €50 upgrade paths to the next generation iPhone 3G. Talk about a subsidy!

So why, with so much money at stake — and let’s face it, cachet — are Tim Cook’s words suddenly ringing so loudly?

Steve Jobs has said that one of Apple’s greatest failings during his absence was that other leadership chose to grab for money rather than grow market share. And Steve Jobs is known to think about products and positioning years into the future.

Our own Dieter Bohn has teased some of his thoughts on this, and promises to follow up on the next Phone Different Podcast. Don’t miss it.

UPDATE: Dieter, having brainstormed with another one of our writers, Chad Garrett, is offering the following: Given the massive amount of carriers now announced for the iPhone 3G, managing activation via iTunes may get a lot tricker… unless Apple offers the iPhone unlocked, and iTunes simply provides a way to connect to one of the established carriers in exchange for a subsidy, or — dream of all dreams — lets you keep running unlocked if you’re willing to forgo said subsidy. How’s that for a new business model?

For my part, I’ll mention this again:

Apple is alone among modern technology companies in enjoying near spherical integration. They make the iPhone hardware. They develop its software. They provide .Mac services. They market pro-level content creation tools. They own the high-end computer market that runs those — and the developer — tools. They sell content via the #1 music retailer in the US, iTunes. They have a toe in the accessory business with a headset, docks, cables, etc. They license 3rd party accessories. They get revenue sharing on subscriptions from current carriers. They are about to launch an App Store, getting a cut of commercial sales in exchange for putting product in front of every single iPhone user on the planet. They have an international online store, and their growing chain of retail Apple Stores make more per square foot than Tiffany’s.

So, unlike many others who have to survive on platform licenses, hardware margins, service contracts, or any other single or small number of profit streams, Apple can choose to take hits in multiple streams (like revenue sharing) and still earn money hand over fist in many, many others.

In short, Apple isn’t married to any specific business model because they can afford not to be. And come WWDC in June, and the long expected iPhone 3G announcement with it, Apple’s plans may just result in a windfall for consumers as well…

Tom Cook, Chief Operating Officer of a little Cupertino company named Apple, spoke at the Goldman Sachs Investment Symposium, mercilessly teasing the faithful with the following bombs:

• Apple is not “married to any [single carrier exclusive] business model”. It’s apparently all about the “best phones in the world”, baby, and if unlocked, CDMA, and/or pre-paid proved, in the future, to provide the greatest sense of childlike wonder (or complies with future Congressional mandates), Apple could (possibly, maybe) go with that flow.
• Apple believes the global unlocking epidemic is a good sign of the iPhone’s potential, and that there will always be a percentage of unlocks in the wild because of the high demand.
• That the upcoming iPhone SDK would allow developers to “only be limited by [their] imagination.” (And whatever restrictions Apple imposes on accessing the metal and distributing via iTunes, ‘natch).

To the delight of Wall Street, Cook also continued to hold firm on the 10 million iPhone march through the end of 2008.

Check out Apple Insider for all the details.

Is Cook telling us Apple will make good on their promised smart phone utopia? Or Is he just cranking on his own mini Reality Distortion Field? Hit the comments and let us know what you think!