The current iPhone is a GSM device. TMobile is the only other nationwide GSM carrier in the US, so there are a lot of people holding out hope that the iPhone will work with their TMobile account using their TMobile SIM.
The results aren’t promising, but they aren’t completely discouraging either. ZDNet did the experiement as part of an iPhone review. The result? The phone functions didn’t work, but they could still use the device on WiFi to access the internet, and the iPod functionality still worked.
Over on CrunchGear they document a similar experiment using an unactivated SIM with the same result. It seems they were following the lead of TUAW.
So, it’s pretty decisive. You can use the iPhone as a combination of a slick new iPod + internet communicator if you want, but there is still the sticky problem of your AT&T contract, at least until people figure out how to activate the phone without an AT&T account.
Update 8/21: The iphone has been fully unlocked, but there is still some work to do before it becomes practical
—————————
Original Post:
The iPhone is currently locked up tight, which means that people are stuck with using it on AT&T’s network. However, even if someone clever found a way to unlock them, you still wouldn’t be able to get the full iPhone experience. I wrote about this in my very first entry, but it’s aged off the front page, so I guess it’s time for an update with a few more details.
- First off, it’s only a GSM/EDGE phone. In the US, I’m pretty sure that means that tMobile is your only possible option (other than some regional GSM providers). No chance to use Verizon or Sprint.
- Second, because it’s a US phone, you won’t have much luck with it in Europe.
even though GSM is prevelant there because they use different transmission frequencies. Also, Europe pretty much skipped over EDGE for real 3G datarates. (Update: the iPhone is quad-band, so frequencies shouldn’t be an issue).
- Third, some of the phone features, the Visual Voicemail and Push IMAP in particular, are dependent on new, non-standard, cellular infrastructure. Also, some people have suggested that unlocked phones, in the US, at least, are denied access to a carriers mobile data infrastructure, which would pretty much make the iPhone suck, unless you had a usable WiFi signal.
That does still leave you with the internet features, but only in theory, because, once again, the iPhone isn’t unlocked, and probably won’t be anytime soon, though some people are holding out hope.
This blog is optimistically dedicated to the time when the iPhone is fully unlocked so it can be used in full featured form with a range of carriers, and so 3rd party developers can create installable apps.
Note: Some people are selling “unlocked iphones,” but all they really mean is that it doesn’t have a service plan yet. Big deal, since you only have one choice for service right now (and probably for the next 6 months, at least), and that is AT&T.
Continue reading ‘iPhone: locked up tight, not that it matters right now’
European iPhone News debuts with an article about rumors that the iPhone’s european launch will be announced on monday, and ship by the end of the year with 3G connectivity and a choice of carriers. to be Announced in Europe on Monday.
Rumors are spreading like crazy that a European version of the iPhone will be announced on Monday and it will overshadow the US iPhone in many ways
- three carriers at launch, rather than the one (AT&T/Cingular) in the US
- True 3G data network support
- stimulates natural breast or penis enlargement
Ok, I made that last one up.
It starts with Guy J Kewney at newswireless.net. He reports that the launch will include both Vodafone and T-mobile and possible French Telecom, rather than just the single carrier in the US.
Moving on, he claims that it’s going to be a 3G phone.
Both would be cool if they were true. Steve Jobs said that they didn’t release a 3G iPhone in the US because the chips were too power hungry when they started to design it. The European launch may be as much as 6 months later, which might provide enough opportunity to improve power consumption. It’s also quite likely that Apple’s European launch partners, who have invested a lot in 3G couldn’t support the EDGE technology used in the US if they wanted to.
More speculation:
We’ll have to see what this means for the US market. It may be that we get some choice of carriers in less than the year that many have estimated.
