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Hype of the Apple iPhone
Even before the iPhone’s release, technology blog and forum users were fiercely discussing its arrival. Despite Apple’s marketing nous and knack for generating desirability, so fierce has the rush been for the new product that the iPhone has, to a degree, generated interest irrespective of Apple’s advertising. In addition, the Apple iPhone is not the first “smartphone” on the market, with the BlackBerry from Research In Motion (RIM) having been available for many years. However, whereas the BlackBerry has always been a forerunner of functionality in business communications, the iPhone seeks to raise appeal of the smartphone for the personal and general user. Users have always appreciate the simplicity and functionality (ease of use) of Apple’s products, and this is a large factor in the iPhone’s marketing angle. In addition to the ability to make telephone calls, take photographs, store 8 gigabytes (GB) of music and video, and access the Internet wirelessly with the iPhone’s Wi-Fi feature, users control the phone’s function completely via touch screen, with the keypad having been replaced by a virtual “QWERTY” keyboard on screen. The phone also has the added quirk of being able to intuitively tell if it is being held upright (portrait) or on its side (landscape), meaning that a photo can be quickly be viewed (or a video watched) either the standard way or on an extra-wide viewing space, simply by rotating the iPhone. Of course, such exciting features come at a price, with the iPhone being notoriously expensive. Furthermore, complaints tend to mention the iPhone’s text function and Apple’s desire to lock the device to a certain mobile phone network provider.
The iPhone in Australia
With the announcement that the iPhone was not to be released in Australia until early 2008, Apple’s hype machine backfired, with fans frustrated at having to wait such a long time after such a great deal of speculation. Many have opted to buy an iPhone from United States retailers and find a way to unlock the phone to use with Australian mobile phone network service providers. Forum and blog users have enthusiastically debated US retailers and easiest way to unlock the iPhone for general use. Despite not having to wait an exceedingly long time for the Australian release, many simply do not wish to wait, and with a way to unlock the American version being circulated, users have decided to take the early plunge.
iUnlock for the iPhone
Very soon after the iPhone was released in the US, numerous tech-enthusiasts reported that they had already cracked the phone’s lock, tricking the phone into thinking it was connecting to chosen carrier AT&T, while in actual fact connecting to any number of other carriers. Prospective iPhone owners in other countries began to weigh up the cost of importing a handset and hassle of switching it their chosen service provider. APC magazine even published a guide on how to crack the lock. Technically speaking, unlocking the iPhone for personal use is accepted as not illegal, but unlocking the iPhone with a plan to distribute is. Was the ease with which users broke Apple’s code just another trick by Apple’s canny marketing machine, aimed at generating yet further interest? Time will whether or not this new universal smartphone can dominate its respective market like its cousin, the iPod.
