Quote:
Originally Posted by photon
Intent doesn't enter into it, breaking a digital lock would be illegal.
That was a problem for the first iPhone, but hasn't been for the second iteration, because they closed the loophole in their process that allowed that to happen.. it wasn't a legality issue that caused that to happen, it was because they didn't require a contract to activate the phone.
If I pay full price (i.e. non-carrier subsidized price) for a device, then yes I should be able to use it on whatever carrier I see fit.
And that's not even considering people who travel a lot and can't use their phones outside their own countries.
Again it's a matter of allowing companies to control what's purchased after the fact. If they want to have that in place (like AT&T exclusivity) that's fine, but do it through business processes and contracts like everyone else does, not through some special part of the law that gives them access to my personal life whenever they want.
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I'm not sure if you saw my late edit or not, but it's pretty much the same thing (I think) as what you're saying.
I think the cell phone makers should compete against other cell phone makers to make the best cell phones they can.
I think service providers should compete against other service providers to provide the best services (incl plans and prices) they can.
I think consumers should be able to purchase a cell phone of their choice from a maker of their choice, and then acquire a plan of their choice from a provider of their choice.
I also think that service providers should not be allowed to lock customers into long term plans with cancellation fees, as this just adds to the complacency of the entire industry.