[Macworld]

Post your comments for Apple ?disappointed? by French ruling on iPhone here

[Mims]

Don't sell it in France. Problem solved.

[nikromatt]

Just shows how much smarter the French are than the rest of the world.
How many more iphones do you think apple would have sold if the they made it available through all providers.
The very reason I don't and won't have an iphone is AT&T.

[KGBguy]

Welcome to Europe Americans. Taste the freedom of our market. Very pleased with French.

[pcharles]

I wish I could use an iPhone with Tracfone. I do not care about 3G because where I live there is barely any signal of any description. What I want is the Wifi and GPS.
If Apple released the Touch with GPS that would work as well.

[dreyfus]

Disappointed? They tried to change the rules in an otherwise consumer friendly country for the worse and got caught. Serves them right. Limiting suppliers and networks is not something "that benefits all consumers" from any imaginable point of view – it is the exact opposite. Selling locked phones in countries where travelling internationally and swapping SIM cards like underwear is second nature, did not benefit customers or Apple. Last time I looked, the sales figures in France were nothing to write home about?!

[George3]

I seriously doubt that Apple is truly disappointed. This just means that they are free to sell MORE iPhones because they are not tied to ONE provider. They probably need to feign disappointment because of contracts like AT&T and other companies.
Secretly they wish there were no exclusive contracts tying them to only one phone company. Think of all the additional iPhones they could sell to people that are locked into Verizon (or other) or simply don't want AT&T service.
Disappointed? I really doubt it.

[n4hhe]

What will happen is not an unlocked $200 iPhone for the French but something more along the lines of a $500 iPhone locked exclusively to the French market.

[warlock7]

Good. Don't buy it. The fewer of you whiners on my network, the better.

In case you haven't noticed, your issues haven't stopped Apple from being the most successful handset maker at the moment. But, that's ok, you're entitled to your opinion, however irrelevant it might be.

Caught me in a good mood today.

In response to your question. Apple doesn't need to other service providers to sell their phones. As is the problem with most peoples perception, it's not necessarily about quantity as much as it is about quality. The vast majority of people on AT&T are satisfied with their service.

You want multiple carriers, go with Android and it's massively successful community.

[People_Eater]

At first, I thought you had your tongue in your cheek when you wrote this:

Quote

Just shows how much smarter the French are than the rest of the world.

... but then you go on to write this:

Quote

The very reason I don't and won't have an iphone is AT&T.

... which sounds like you were being serious.

[khaled]

Apple should just sell the iPhone unlocked. I am still waiting for an iPhone. Should I just buy it from Hong Kong?