Apple Limits Sale of iPhones: Two Per Person and No Cash
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Apple no longer accepts cash for iPhone purchases and now limits sales of the cellphone to two per person in a move to stop people from reselling them.
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(InfoWorld) - Now that Apple's iPhone is finally on sale, the race is on to see who can unlock it. Locked phones can only be used with cellular service from one carrier, a move designed to guarantee carriers recover the cost of subsidizing a handset through monthly service charges. But the cost of the iPhone, which is priced at either US$499 or $599 depending on the model, is not subsidized by AT&T. Users must pay full price for the handset and sign a two-year contract, which requires them to pay from $59.99 to $99.99 per month for cellular service. Unlocking the iPhone will enable the handset to be used with any cellular provider with a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) or EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) network, not just AT&T's network. That's an attractive proposition for users who already have a cellular contract with another carrier, or users outside the U.S. who can't wait to get their hands on Apple's new handset. Efforts to unlock the iPhone are being tracked on several Web sites, including Hackint0sh and the iPhone Dev Wiki. Initial signs look promising, although the iPhone remained locked at the time of writing. Like other GSM phones, the iPhone uses a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card, a removable smart card that contains a user's phone number as well as limited storage space for contacts and messages. SIM cards are designed to be swapped between phones, allowing users to change handsets while using their cellular service. They can also be switched when users travel, allowing them to avoid international roaming charges with the purchase of a prepaid, local SIM card. A removable SIM card is a good sign for hackers, because it indicates the phone is locked using firmware, which can likely be cracked. Of course, unlocking the iPhone requires more than simply changing the SIM card. Swapping the AT&T SIM card used with the iPhone for a SIM card from another carrier results in an error message that reads, "Incorrect SIM. This iPhone must be used with an approved SIM." To unlock the iPhone, hackers must first circumvent the handset's activation process. New iPhone users are required to activate their handset using the latest version of iTunes, released on Friday, before they can use the phone. Without activation, which requires users to sign up for an AT&T service plan, none of the iPhone's functions, including the camera and music player, can be accessed. If hackers can circumvent the activation process, the next challenge will be to unlock the SIM card itself. That could happen as soon as Monday. By Sunday night, U.S. time, hackers had made progress towards circumventing the iPhone activation process, gaining access to key system files and finding two passwords used with the phone, according to the iPhone Dev Wiki. "I think by the end of tomorrow we'll have an activation crack," one user wrote on the site.
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As we reported Friday, Apple is trying to head off black market iPhone resellers by refusing to accept cash or check payments for iPhone sales. Stores will accept Apple gift cards as partial payment, we found, although policies seem to vary from store to store.
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Apple Inc  said on Monday it  has sold its one-millionth iPhone, a few weeks ahead of  schedule, reassuring investors who had worried that last week's  price cut signaled weak demand for the phone.
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Blog: Apple details rules for iPhone purchasers.
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In retrospect, Apple should have made a disclaimer before the iPhone went on sale Friday at 6pm: If you want an iPhone, don't go to an AT&T store. Hoping to avoid massive crowds, many iPhone buyers ventured to smaller AT&T stores, like the one in Asburn, Virginia. But it turns out the real stock was located at Apple's own stores, and standing in line was not a requirement.
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InfoWorld - The number of iPhones manufactured by Apple may not be enough to meet customer demand when the smart phone goes on sale later Friday, CEO Steve Jobs said in an interview published the same day.
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AppleStore buyers' ratings scheme limited to non-Apple products
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Apple Inc. said on Tuesday its hotly anticipated iPhone could cost as much as $3,000 with a required two-year service contract, and a handful of eager buyers started lining up to spend their money.
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Steve Jobs on Wednesday unveiled the new iPod touch, essentially a phone-less version of the iPhone, at a press event in San Francisco. Jobs also announced a $200 price cut for the 8-GB version of the iPhone, which he said was the more popular version.
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Blog: An informal survey of AT&T stores across the country suggests each store had no more than 100 iPhones prior to launch--many with far less--while Apple stores had plenty.
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Coming too soon at too low a price Apple will release a second-generation, lower cost iPhone in September for an iPod-like price of $249-299 - if a Chinese-language newspaper report citing Taiwanese industry moles is to be believed, that is.â¦
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Apple will offer a $100 store credit to people who bought the iPhone before the company slashed the price by $200, the companyâs chief executive, Steven P. Jobs, said.
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Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs apologized and offered $100 credits Thursday to customers who shelled out $599 for the most advanced model of the iPhone, only to have the company unexpectedly slash the price $200 in a push to boost holiday sales.
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Consumers planning to buy the iPhone at the end of the month will need an iTunes Store account to activate the device.
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During its quarterly earnings conference call Monday, Apple Chief Operating Officer Timothy Cook estimated that 250,000 iPhones were sold to people with the intention of unlocking them, adding that most of those sales happened after the $200 price drop.
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Apple Inc.  said on Tuesday  its hotly anticipated iPhone could cost as much as $3,000 with  a required two-year service contract, and a handful of eager  buyers started lining up to spend their money.