...now why doesn't Apple come to it's senses & follow suit...?

with the exception that many of the phone features which makes the iPhone so great (for example: visual voicemail) wont work, as at&t made special changes to their network for said features.

As for why Apple wont come to the senses, they would have had to do so back when they made the deal with Cingular. They signed a 5-year exclusive deal, which would be incredibly tough for them to get out of (unfortunately).

...not everyone will use every feature - even a simple phone/ipod/contacts/camera may be better than others & just fine...

And, just where are they going to get these mysterious unlocked iPhones from?

If Apple was smart, they would keep them at AT&T for at least six months, and then send them elsewhere.

Why would AT&T want to give up that pot of gold to others also?

And, since Apple controls its product so horrendously, just where will anyone get unlocked phones from?

Good luck!

-Daniel

They will not be buying unlocked devices and selling them. They will be buying standard iPhones, and modifying them so they are unlocked. That's their business model.

All 'Pure Mobile' needs to do is buy phones at retail from AT&T (or Apple), break the two-year contract and pay the subsequent penalty (currently, about $200 for ordinary phones on most common plans). Once they do that, phones are theirs to do anything they want with them. As long as they figure out how to safely unlock them, they can sell them for $1,000 and have themselves a nice profit. There are very many people out there who'll pay $1,000 for a contract-free device, especially if it is an iPhone. There are less spectacular phones out there costing just as much in legitimate supply chains (especially in European markets).

The only way I can see is that these guys will be buying iPhones, cancelling the 2-year contract almost immediately, unlock the phone and re-sell them. Of course, the phone's going to cost a lot more.

But, now, hey, if you don't care about the phone, there's an idea for you. $499 + $200 cancellation fee, and off you go!

And this also presupposes the phone will work at all unlocked, as it might be tied to the at&t network more-so then other phones. As "MarkLT1" said, at&t made changes to their software for the phone. I wouldn't be too surprised to see the iPhone look specifically for some indicator from the phone network that its at&t before allowing it to work.

One little issue with this idea may be the contract you sign. They might stick something in it that you're "leasing" the phone and are required to return it if you cancel before two years. h***, if I know Apple, they'd rather refund a pro-rated $600 back to get the phone then dare let someone keep it without Apple getting a cut of the long-term profit.

If you noticed the other article today, about an iTMS account requirement, maybe Apple is planning on some kind of weird iphone/itunes lockin, where it checks your account when you turn the thing on to see whether its still valid. If used from another network, it locks you out?

...refuse to 'play ball' then Apple has little to lose by allowing iPhones to 'leak' into other countries, effectively cannibalizing the sales of those unwilling to deal...