Originally Posted by alanw

They did the right thing. The main reason Macs work so well (and PCs don't) is that Apple controls the entire platform: they don't have to worry about running into wierdo Chinese video cards from 1987 and the like, so they have a closed system that they can optimize. They took the same approach with the phone. They know all the services they need are there, they're configured from the factory, and they will not be inundated with calls asking where to put the IP for their WAP gateway and whether the bearer is PS or CSD.

The only option they had was to pick a carrier with enough reach to get them worthwhile numbers. Adding T-Mobile to the mix would have doubled the complexity and doubled the risk of support nightmares.

Above call quality, above how the browser renders a page, above battery life, above everything, this handset must get "the Apple experience" right on the first try or it's doomed. It has to "just work".

If I were Apple, I would have done exactly the same thing.