Quote:
Originally Posted by Flames0910
Having an invested partner from the start was huge for Apple. It's easy to look back now and say that it was a mistake, but i think we underestimate how much AT&T played into getting the iPhone out the door (properly tested, subsidized and well-supported)
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I'm not saying it was a mistake because I don't think it was. Apple did what was best for Apple.
Apple makes hardware and software - they had no interest in setting up their own cell phone service company with towers, etc. so they were always coming into this as a hardware (with software) manufacturer, but they wanted the control to do it in such a way to maximize their profitability, which is what they did. It was their resources that allowed them to have the leverage to make such relatively outrageous demands on the cell service providers.
My point was to fanin80 that said Apple made an exclusive deal with AT&T for the chance to revolutionize the industry:
Quote:
Originally Posted by FanIn80
They did it in exchange for the ability to change the entire industry. Whether anyone uses an iPhone or not, every cell phone user on the planet has benefited from the changes that have stemmed from this "incomprehensible" business decision.
We could always go back to paying $25/mb for Blackberry data and browsing the internet on our WAP-enabled phones with the little scrollballs.  |
They actually did it for the chance to make more profits. They knew they were sitting on a goldmine and negotiated accordingly. And yeah, they changed the industry but that wasn't their motivation...their motivation was making money on a sweet product.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flames0910
The cellphone market is so big, even Apple would have had trouble going at it alone. The others would have just walled them out and made it incredibly difficult + expensive to get an iPhone plan, ensuring a flop. You can'tjust shake up a multi-billion dollar industry on a whim. It takes an incredible amount of resources and relationships to pull off.
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What do you mean going at it alone? If they didn't have this exclusive deal with AT&T are you suggesting the other option was to start building cell towers? They had an awesome product and they struck the best deal they could with it.