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Information Technology News Why Apple will resist attempts to unlock the iPhone
Information Technology News Why Apple will resist attempts to unlock the iPhone | Why Apple will resist attempts to unlock the iPhone |
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| by Stephen Withers | |
| Thursday, 12 July 2007 | |
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Page 2 of 2 One explanation is the old bogey of trailing commissions. It has been reported that Apple receives from AT&T a percentage of the service revenue associated with iPhones. This would make Apple very keen to maintain the integrity of the network lock.Featured Whitepaper
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(A related issue is the way carriers have enough clout to require phone manufacturers to provide custom versions of the firmware that emphasise certain features and block access to some functions that the phone would otherwise support, but that's another story.) Consequently, manufacturers make locking sufficiently robust that the 'average user' will stay with the original carrier, but not so strong that the unlockers can't offer a service to those that require it. But Apple and AT&T are in bed together, and they both benefit from maintaining the lock. For this reason, it seems likely that any technique for unlocking the phone will be defeated as part of a subsequent firmware upgrade from Apple. Sure, there's nothing forcing people to upgrade unlocked phones, but the company - like others we could name - has a way of bundling beneficial and detrimental changes into one release. (Think back to the reduction in the number of CD burns allowed by iTunes.) People don't usually bother upgrading the firmware for their phones, but we would be very surprised if Apple fails to deliver a series of updates providing additional functionality during the coming months. The unlockers will probably find a way around the changes, but how many times would you be prepared to pay to have your iPhone unlocked? How many people will be comfortable with the idea of repeatedly unlocking their iPhones by following instructions or running programs found on web sites of dubious provenance? We suspect the answer in both cases is "not many." What does this mean for other markets? As much as we'd like to see an unlocked iPhone, we discount suggestions that it will happen in Europe or in other markets. Demand for the iPhone will drive carriers to Apple, and Cupertino will insist on trailing commissions in return for an exclusive arrangement, reinforcing the company's determination to maintaining the network lock even in the face of determined attackers.
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