iPhone v.1 resale value secured...
The resale value of Apple's first-generation iPhone looks set to shoot higher as the company engages in a new strategy to defeat iPhone unlockers.
It's a pretty simple strategy, authorisation of new devices will now take place in-store in both the US and the UK. Essentially, when you purchase an iPhone you'll be asked to sign an contract on the spot, or you won't be able to buy the device. This means you're tied into a contract, or you're paying AT&T or O2 and Apple a monthly fee in addition to the purchase price in exchange for owning an iPhone 3G.
As the all-new model hasn't hit the streets yet (it launches July 11) we also don't yet know what hardware locks may have been put into place to secure the new model against being jailbroken, which suggests the original iPhone may become a collector's item, and seems likely to command high prices once the initial rush of second-hand sales have passed. We anticipate many of the older iPhones will migrate to Russia, where no launch plan has yet been announced.
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Comments (26)
No one is interested if you unlock it or not, because anyway you signed the contract and you are paying.
In Italy they will sell iPhone for 499 operator free (or discounted price if you subscirbe a plan), and... seems that in the iPhone box there is also the tool to open the sim bay for change the SIM, so... Jailbreak could have sense not for unlock the sim... but just only for install un-authorized apps of install them for free, so... it will damage Apple but the operator sleep like babyes...
do you know how to talk? wtf
Quanti linguaggi voi parlano il genio? Non era perfetto, ma non ho avuto difficoltà che capisco il suo inglese.
Does that mean O2 are still sharing the subscription revenue with Apple?
Yes O2 are still sharing the subs revenue with Apple, though I suspect the slice to have been reduced, but that's how come they maintain UK exclusivity,
No there's no revenue sharing any more - that's why they're able to offer pricing more in line with traditional contracts rather than the expensive pricing previously.
Also PayT phones would be pretty impossible under a revenue sharing deal.
if you read the news AT&T will no longer share revenue with Apple. A new contract was signed so my guess is that all the contracts have been changed at least to sell the 3G iPhone. Maybe the current phones will maintain their sharing but new phones will not.
"If you read the news" -= maybe that is true, instead I read the SEC filing Apple made last night, which said revenue sharing would continue in some territories, but not all. We had a story on it, but that was, like, HOURS ago.
pay the termination fee to ATT. You get a 3g iPhone for less then the current model. If you buy a smartphone in Asia where everyone brags about the open market, you pay $500 to $1000 US for a device.
What happens if we buy it online at the Apple store? This sounds illegal in the US. That is like buying a car at a car lot and them telling you that you can't buy the car unless you buy their own car insurance. This has got to change!
Maybe an online contract? Though I'll just wait to buy one on ebay, so I can get it without the sim.
I'm betting you won't be able to buy the new iPhone from the online store. Only Apple brick and mortars or an AT&T store.
Wasn't there some lawsuit recently prohibiting things like this? Am I thinking of http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/05/supreme-court-o.html ?
So I guess countries not included in the roleout, will have to buy "full price" iPhones in selected European/Asian countries this time rather than the US.
I expect some anti-AT&T US customers might do the same...
Anyone got a list of the countries that will offer the option of iPhone3G without contracts?
Contract bound devices, especially to specific companies, are totally prohibited in European Countries by regional and E.U. laws. Therefore Apple will have to employ a different technique in such countries as mine (Greece).
That is European Union countries of course.
I hate the iphone. still no redesign macbook pro and the iphone still locked...whats up with that?
that should give the willies to gray market traffickers/jailbreakers:
SECURITY, SECURITY, SECURITY
El Jobso liked it so much he replayed it...
"Essentially, when you purchase an iPhone you'll be asked to sign an contract on the spot, or you won't be able to buy the device."
I'd like to know in what country you can walk out of a mobile phone dealership WITH a brand new phone contract + phone and NOT sign on the dotted line first?!
Until now you could walk into an AT&T store and buy an iPhone but you didn't have to sign up on the spot, you could take it home and activate it there if you like, or just put it on your shelf and never use it.
Now you will not be able to buy the phone and walk out the door without signing a contract.
...or wrap it up in pretty paper and give it to someone else as a gift.
I'm ever annoyed that they put up so many hurdles rather than provide an alternative path for those that want something other than the locked down, subsidized bussiness model they prefer.
Wouldn't it be easier if they just came out and SAID "Unlocking will be available for $500".
Do remember that so far paying the ETF has never meant "unlocking the phone".
At this point I truly believe that the only solution is better regulation of the communications industry at the federal (US) level. Communications companies need to be regulated by law to offer consumers more options: all phones available with or without contracts, all phones available pre-paid and post-paid, all services available a la cart.
The United States for one.
this is the death of jailbreak, ziphone, installer. if you have it locked, you have a contract and you dont unlock. if you have it simfree, it's already unlocked.
app store kills installer.
apple=if you cant fight them, copy them!
Don't most cellular contracts have a 30 day cancellation period without penality?
Also, what about having a minor sign the contact. Minors have the option to cancel contacts at any time. I'm not sure if this is a state-based law or a national law. We talked about this briefly in my Business Law class.
If there is no revenue sharing with AT&T, why is the iPhone locked to them? Is there be a per-contract fee that AT&T is kicking back to Apple instead of a month-month continuing revenue sharing?
I seriously doubt this will do a lot to secure the value of the old iPhone. The newer ones are cheaper, twice as fast, will have an abundance of free apps (no need for a jailbroken phone), and will be much more widely available. I seriously doubt there are that many people who are so dead set against using the carrier that has the iPhone that they'll want to pay a premium for a phone that's half as good.
Not to mention the fact that, as rapidly as phones change, a year from now Apple will roll out a new iPhone that will make the first generation ones seem completely obsolete. They'll have to. Mobile phones are not like computers. They evolve much faster and there are a lot more players involved in the game. Additionally, other carriers and phone manufacturers are working hard to come out with similar products which a lot of people will deem to either be better, just as good, or close enough.
Bascially, what I'm sayin' is that owners of the first generation of iPhone will just have to live with the fact that they are either stuck with what they have or they're just gonna have to sell the things cheap and chalk it up as a lesson. One they should have already learned if they paid any attention whatsoever to the industry in the past. Fan boys may be willing to pay a premium for anything with an Apple logo on it but most mobile users won't and they certainly won't for an outdated phone.