This is a discussion thread for the "Customers Predominantly Choose Carrier Over Operating System" story posted on the front page.
This completely misses pretty much every other country in the world, where all phones sold in a country are compatible with every carrier in that same country (and usually the surrounding countries too). Are any stats in the trial from outside the US irrelevant because it is a US trial? Seems a bit strange if that is the case. The stats are also "Top reasons for buying an Android among those who considered iPhone (based on the 25% of the Android buyers who considered an iPhone)". Translating that to "Customers Predominantly Choose Carrier Over Operating System" seems a bit of a stretch to me.
In what countries are phones you get from one carrier compatible with any other carrier? Maybe technical it is but practical it's locked for the duration of your contract and even then you have to ask your carrier to unlock it. And having service in other countries other than yours is due to roaming - it has nothing to do with the phone being unlocked or something. The carriers just agreed with each other to give users service outside of their networks. On topic: Though I don't think that customers give (a lot) more importance to the carrier than to the phone, I think it's right that the iPhone being exclusive to one carrier is counterproductive. Here in Germany it was not until the iPhone 4 that other carriers than T-Mobile got the iPhone. It was not until then that it became less expensive. Thank you, competition!
In many European countries smart phones usually come unlocked even when you buy them from carriers. I know it is in Sweden and I've seen the same in other countries too. Even if they are locked, it's very easy to unlock. You never have to buy a new phone just because you switch carriers like you do in the US, either do to different frequencies or different technologies. The iPhone is also sold on every carrier and has been so since its release here. Naturally you are dependent on roaming if you want service in another country with your own SIM. However I could go into a store and buy a SIM from a local carrier when I'm traveling and then use that in my phone to call at the local rate. That's all thanks to standardization of the technology and frequencies used. Yes, I agree that it was counterproductive to have the iPhone exclusive to one country in the US. I don't however think it has had as much of an influence in other parts of the world. Apparently Germany is one of the few countries where it was carrier exclusive. I did not know what so thanks for letting me know.
