What’s wrong with Apple (or why the iPhone sucks)?

Apple – like any other company in the world – has to make money. For a long time they did a pretty good job balancing their need to make money and their public perception as a nice, non-evil company.

Well, yes – many developers (including myself) always felt a bit like those disinformation (marketing) tactics suck like hell and we don’t like those sometimes completely stupid NDAs (not being able to discuss specific issues with other devs [also under NDA] while the whole world already knows better) but this has always been a level of anoyance we accepted, probably because we still like the products and tools they constantly create and innovate.

So whats wrong with Apple?

Basically the situation got really worse with the iPhone. Steve obviously got a victim of his own success. While Apple really re-ignited the discussion about DRM free music, they just lost their mind with this crippled locked-up piece of technology they call the iPhone.

• Apple obviously thinks customers shouldn’t be able to choose their cell network.
• Even customers pay the full price for their iPhones (during the contract period or via an early termination fee), Apple still thinks: It’s ok if our customers have worthless x-hundred $ iPhones, when they leave their contracts. But when the contract period is over (or the customer payed the early termination fee) the contract is fulfilled. Still their iPhones are useless, since Apple decided not to offer authorized unlocks after the contract period is over (which b.t.w. is common practise of EVERY other cellphone company in the world)

If you are a developer and want to develop software for the iPhone, the situation is even worse

• there is no hardware purchase program for developers, so if your company has 5 developers, you have to buy 5 iphones with 5 contracts, just for in-house testing
• the no-customer-choice issue mentioned above is even BAD FOR YOUR business, since you’ll probably sell less iPhone software, since many people who’d probably love to buy the iPhone won’t buy it, because they don’t feel like signing a contract with one of those exclusive-carriers.
• Think of all the old iPhones which are currently sold – since there is no official unlock many people will probably NOT upgrade to the AppStore capable firmware. If you are a developer and want to sell your products this clearly sucks, since you wont sell your software to those iPhone users who fear bricking their used iPhones with the 2.0 update and instead stay with the inofficial installer.

Great Apple. Thank you for screwing your developers.

I am quit sure that you – dear readers – will have whole bunch of additional arguments, why Apple should offer authorized unlocks, maybe why they even should be legally obliged to do so (at least after the contract period). Looking forward for a lively discussion.