Hi Guys, just saw this article. Hopefully somebody will be able to test this. According to Apples
website they are going to be selling unlocked phones in Canada. SO if any Wind customers
wouldnt mind trying this I am sure a lot of people would jump on it.
T-Mobile USA is very close to getting the iPhone in the fall, ending Apple’s exclusive relationship with AT&T, according to a highly placed source at the wireless company.
Talks between Apple and T-Mobile are at an advanced stage, our source says, and it’s 80 percent likely that the iPhone will be coming to T-Mobile in Q3.
The source works at T-Mobile but asked not to be quoted directly and to remain anonymous because they aren’t authorized to talk to the press.
T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom, which carries the iPhone in Germany, was able to influence, the source said. T-Mobile USA is the fourth-largest U.S. carrier with 33.7 million customers.
Apple’s exclusive contract with AT&T is reportedly ending this year, and many expect Apple to offer the iPhone to other wireless companies. Overseas, Apple has routinely added extra carriers when exclusivity deals in those markets expire.
Most pundits expect Apple to add Verizon Wireless, the nation’s largest mobile phone provider with 92.8 million subscribers. AT&T is the second-largest US carrier with 87 million customers. The major problem is hardware: Verizon’s network is based on incompatible CDMA technology. However, Apple is already working with chipset-supplier Qualcomm on a CDMA chip for the iPhone, according to Wired.
But some analysts think it would be a lot simpler for Apple to go with T-Mobile, even though the carrier has a third of the customers of Verizon. AT&T and T-Mobile are the two primary GSM carriers in the US, and the iPhone wouldn’t require major hardware changes. Indeed, many T-Mobile customers already use unlocked iPhones on the company’s network.
Perhaps more importantly, a switch to Verizon would require a major realignment of corporate allegiances. Verizon is committed to Apple’s main wireless rival, Google, and has spent the last year heavily marketing the search giant’s Android phones. Verizon routinely runs ads directly attacking the iPhone. The most recent attack ad mocked the iPhone 4’s “death grip.”
Several analysts see Apple moving to T-Mobile. Last month, Shaw Wu, an analyst with Kaufman Brothers, predicted the iPhone will come to T-Mobile because of its compatible GSM network. “We continue to believe that T-Mobile USA is the most likely candidate given its use of similar cellular technology as AT&T,” he wrote in a note to investors.
Doug Reid, an analyst at Thomas Weisel, has also said on several occasions that the easiest way for Apple to extend the iPhone market would be to offer the device to T-Mobile. ”Apple wants to move away from exclusivity; T-Mobile would achieve this for Apple in the U.S.,” Reid told The Street. Reid noted the battle lines drawn up between Apple and AT&T versus Verizon and Google.
In fact, Deutsche Telekom’s CEO René Obermann already told the Financial Times that T-Mobile is getting the iPhone. ”T-Mobile USA is hoping to start selling the popular smartphone later this year or next year,” he said.
One important point, to which I don’t have the answer, is whether the iPhone 4 is compatible with T-Mobile’s 3G network. Customers with unlocked iPhone 3GS are able to use T-Mobile’s Edge data network, but not the faster 3G, which operates on the 1700/2100 MHz bands. According to Apple’s specs, the iPhone 4 adds the 2100 band, but not the 1700 band, which has led some to conclude that it is incompatible with T-Mobile’s 3G network.
However, there is some debate whether Apple simply didn’t list the 1700 band, which seems to be the convention when listing such specs. And no one has yet tested the iPhone 4 on T-Mobile’s network. Despite the efforts of the Dev Team, there isn’t yet a publicly available unlock for the iPhone 4.
T-Mobile declined to comment. “T-Mobile does not comment on rumor or speculation,” said the company’s PR department in an email to CultofMac.com.
Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Apple already tried to partner with Verizon before the iPhone launched. Apple offered the carrier an exclusive deal in 2007, which Verizon rejected over issues of software control and revenue sharing. The iPhone has been credited with AT&T’s robust growth these last few years.
A T-Mobile iPhone and a Verizon iPhone have been rumored since it's debut in 2007. Anything is possible... as always. I see a Verizon iPhone more likely to happen next year since Verizon is getting their LTE network up soon and as we saw with our CDMA carriers (Bell & Telus), once they got LTE, they got iPhone.
A T-Mobile iPhone seems less likely in my opinion since they are like the 3rd or 4th ranked carrier in the USA and AWS isn't as widely used compared to AT&T 3G and CDMA... if it happened though, you would see a slow exodus of people go to T-Mobile and WIND for the unlimited data.
Also wanted to add that maybe an iPhone on another carrier might happen depending on how the class action lawsuit against Apple goes or how they intend to handle it.
Meh, too little too late. The new iPhone is pretty crap compared to previous versions with all it's issues. So unless they somehow automagically make the old ones compatible, no spanks.
as we saw with our CDMA carriers (Bell & Telus), once they got LTE, they got iPhone.
Wait.. What?! Bell and Telus' new network is NOT LTE, it's HSPA+
Also, AWS WILL be added to the iPhone, that is without question. Bell, Telus, Rogers, and AT&T all own AWS spectrum. AT&T's plan at least is to use their AWS frequency for LTE, which is likely when it will show up on the iPhone.
Meh, too little too late. The new iPhone is pretty crap compared to previous versions with all it's issues. So unless they somehow automagically make the old ones compatible, no spanks.
Go read the mea culpa-ish posts published by many major tech blogs, including Gizmodo and Tech Crunch, before making up your mind on that…
I've said it before, I'll say it again: until Verizon gets a full, nation-wide LTE network operating, they do not stand a chance at getting an iPhone. There's too much design work inherent to using a CDMA chipset for it to be worth their time and effort. On the other hand, AWS is easy (quite possibly trivial) to add, continues the Apple + GSM trend, is now used by a few North American carriers (T Mobile, Wind, Mobilicity) and most importantly, requires little to no extra retail effort on the part of Apple. When iPhone 4 comes to Canada, you'll be able to buy it straight from any Apple store, unlocked. Thus no need for carrier negotiations/agreements, and no hassles for anyone.
Yes, T-Mobile makes sense. Will it happen? Who knows.
The article seems to suggest that the current iPhone4 has AWS as an unlisted band. Well, we will be able to prove them wrong, because Apple is making iPhones available factory unlocked. All you need to do is buy an unlocked iPhone 4 and stick in the SIM when it's released on July 30th. My opinion is that it won't work but they could be using a multi-band chip and antenna like RIM and just locking the bands. The same phone might work on AWS.
It will happen eventually but my sense is that no, you will not see iPhone on AWS this year.
Even with the unlocked iPhone, Apple can still disable the AWS band via firmware until they want to make it available. Wait for the 45 day FCC hold to expire (3 more weeks?).
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I hope this plays out, I hope WIND offer's the iPhone through Apple exclusively and not in store as WIND doesn't do contracts, and Apple sells direct, no commitment unlocked phones.
I also hope, that the existing client base understands that there are no contracts, phones are full price, and they can figure out how to get it.
WIND needs an iPhone, they needed a good android, and they need to get rid of huawei from their line up ASAP.
Who needs it, I heard that iPhones are junk. :P
Besides, does anyone still buy cell phones with the hope that if they have a cool one, that it would impress the girls?
Who needs it, I heard that iPhones are junk. :P
Besides, does anyone still buy cell phones with the hope that if they have a cool one, that it would impress the girls?
I love my iPhone and will continue to buy them (not yearly, though) and use as my primary device. Not to try to look cool, but because it's functional, and I've spent a small fortune on apps, which are VERY useful and have come to depend on. Switching mobile platforms at this point isn't really an option.
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Originally Posted by Jonavin
Trust me, you don't look cool when you have an iPhone. Everybody's got one. It might as well be the new RAZR.
There are lots of iPhones yes. There are also lots of BlackBerries. What's your point?
The iPhone works very well. It may just be the dumbest smartphone out there. And I don't mean that as an insult. I mean that in that it's very easy to use, versus a BlackBerry at any rate, can't speak about Android.
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Originally Posted by Plazmic Flame
OH! Canada Plan
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