Switching carriers for the iPhone
619402
AT&#38;T competitors could take a hit in the next few quarters as enthusiastic Apple fans switch providers for the hyped device.
756253
- Apple Inc.  and AT&T Inc.  said  they will launch three service plans for iPhone, which is  scheduled to be launched on June 29, starting at $59.99 per  month.
251960
Vodafone to be the UK provider? A German newspaper has claimed that Apple's iPhone will be coming to Europe through a deal with local carrier T-Mobile.â¦
118940
Blog: Group claims it can unbind the iPhone from a specific carrier to "expand the functionality" of the device.
567686
It&#39;s easy to be wowed by Japan&#39;s mobile communications infrastructure. &quot;Next-generation&quot; 3G coverage is now so ubiquitous that carriers have already stopped launching 2G phones; an impressive array of attractive handsets offer free digital TV; phones can be used to pay for goods and train rides, thanks to embedded contactless smart cards; and on the mobile information superhighway data whizzes along at 3.6Mbps. But watch out for the off-ramps.While Japan has led the world with many of the services offered to consumers, in some ways the mobile ecosystem here is downright backward as I found out last weekend when I tried to buy a new phone. A broken handset necessitated a new model and this is where my story begins.In Japan, phones are sold by carriers and not the phone makers. Companies like Fujitsu, NEC, Sony Ericsson, and a few foreign vendors including Nokia, Samsung, and LG sell their phones in the thousands to carriers. This gives carriers the ability to pretty much dictate to the phone maker what software needs to be installed.This model is one of the reasons that mobile Internet services like I-mode took off here so quickly. There was no chicken-and-egg situation with phone makers and users waiting for each other to take the plunge. NTT DoCoMo decided I-mode would be in new phones and so it was.But this model has a downside. Phones are so tightly customized to each carrier that it&#39;s not practical to keep the same handset when switching carriers, and if you see a phone you like you can only buy it if it&#39;s offered by your carrier.Back to my story. The new phone was looking quite expensive so I decided to switch carriers and take advantage of a free phone on a competitor network. Japan launched number portability a year ago, so I could make the jump without losing my cell-phone number. I&#39;d still have the hassle of a new e-mail address, but it appeared a small price to pay.Before long I had a new phone in my hands, but my phone numbers remained locked in the old handset. The new carrier didn&#39;t have a cable to hook up to my old phone so they couldn&#39;t transfer the address book and it wasn&#39;t possible to beam it between the phones. While my old carrier was gung-ho on Bluetooth, my new carrier wasn&#39;t so enthusiastic, so the new phone had no support. Similarly, while the new phone offered infrared, the old phone didn&#39;t. Heavy customization strikes again.Back home I fired up my PC and managed to get my address book from the old phone into the computer. Getting it to the new phone via a memory card seemed like an easy task ... but no! The VCard file wasn&#39;t being properly read by the new phone. Carriers, it was explained to me when I called the help line, often used custom fields in their VCards so there were sometimes problems. So much for a common standard.I won&#39;t bore you with the technicalities of how I eventually got my address book into my new phone, but suffice to say this story has a happy ending. I&#39;m now back in cruise control, enjoying all the attractions the mobile superhighway has to offer.The number portability system that enabled me to keep my phone number is coincidentally one-year-old this week. About 3 percent of users in Japan -- roughly 3.7 million people -- have made use of the system during its first year -- far less than the industry predicted, or feared.One thing that&#39;s said to be stopping users from switching is the inability to keep their e-mail addresses. While carriers fussed over the details of keeping numbers, they forgot, or perhaps ignored, the need to carry e-mail addresses between carriers. In other countries this wouldn&#39;t be a big deal because most messaging is done via SMS, which relies on phone numbers, but in Japan the advanced stage of the market has again caused hassle for consumers.
424824
Freeing the most hyped cell phone ever for use on the networks of other carriers -- including overseas ones -- a 17-year-old New Jersey kid unlocks the iPhone and says he's using it on T-Mobile's network.
220768
Only one per buyer at AT&amp;T stores When Apple's iPhone goes on sale tomorrow evening, buyers will only be allowed to take home two of the "revolutionary" mobile telephones, the Mac maker said today. That's twice as many as AT&amp;T, the only carrier offering the iPhone for the immediate future, will allow.â¦
55408
Baby steps Hands on I'll admit it. I'm an unashamed fan of the iPhone. I had an unlocked device in the UK running on my cheapskate Vodafone tariff before November's official launch.â¦
225352
Apple made a big splash when it announced the iPhone last month. But with its hefty price tag, restriction to a single carrier and departure from many traditional smart-phone features, buying the iPhone requires careful forethought.
43176
BlackBerry fans can now own a handset that also does WiFi. But you will find, as with other hybrids, that switching between cellular and WiFi service is hardly seamless.
445977
UniquePhones is writing an app that will let customers use a carrier other than AT&amp;T with the iPhone.
188037
InfoWorld - A company that unlocks cell phones in Europe said it is close to having an application that will allow customers to unlock their Apple iPhones so they can use SIM cards from carriers other than AT&amp;T to activate the phones.
193949
Unlocked iPhones will finally be available but only in France, where the law prohibits tying the sale of a mobile phone to a specific cellular operator.
243532
What&#39;s the best way to beat the  commitment involved in iPhone ownership? Bad credit. AT&T Inc.   said on Friday that people who buy Apple Inc.&#39;s   much-hyped iPhone but do not meet its credit requirements will  still be able to keep the phone without having to commit to a  two-year contract.
334065
The voice and data plans offered by AT&T and Apple for the iPhone compare favorably with competing products. And that will help the iPhone win over customers frustrated by complicated smartphone plans, analysts say.
375481
NEW YORK - AT&amp;T and Apple on Tuesday said wireless service for the iPhone will range from $59.99 per month to $99.99 per month. The $59.99 monthly plan includes 450 minutes of voice time; a $79.99 plan includes 900 minutes; and a $99.99 plan includes 1,350 minutes.
593907
A new service promises cheaper mobile calls by exploiting VOIP, but it's not going to be easy. The big carriers must be considered, plus customers will have to punch lots of extra numbers. By Rachel Metz.