21–30 of 233 posts
I bet Samsung was hoping to "quietly" trick customers and keep kickbacks from carriers. Welcome to the real world!
How would this stay quiet? All it takes is for one blogger to go traveling for it to blow up.
Time to grab bag of popcorn and watch Samsung trying to save it's face ...
Last time I asked a Canadian shop (staples and one other I think) for local sim card I had to explain the concept of a separate sim card in detail. Are sim cards more common now (or is this the one place where Americans has an edge on Canadians? ;-)
To everyone else an AT&T phone is an AT&T phone, not a GSM phone, and no-one ever opens them up to pull out the SIM cards.
Whenever I've purchased a SIM card, I've gone to an AT&T store, and convinced the employee to look around for them. They always have them both pre and post-pay, but even AT&T employees don't necessarily know that till they look them up on the computer.
If this is driven by carrier request, as the article speculates, then it is yet another example of how the mobile market is broken... Are phone manufacturers selling to consumers/end-users or are they selling to networks/providers? You can't do both, equally -- at least not at the moment -- because the carrier's interests and profit models generally directly conflict with the interests of consumers. Until the wireles…
Apple still works with the carriers quite a bit. For example, you can't turn on tethering unless the carrier allows it (often requiring you to pay more money), and most iPhones sold in the US are locked to a single carriers. But who can blame them? Of the $650 cost of a new iPhone, the user only pays $200, while the carrier pays $450. Apple knows where their bread is buttered.
Last time I asked a Canadian shop (staples and one other I think) for local sim card I had to explain the concept of a separate sim card in detail. Are sim cards more common now (or is this the one place where Americans has an edge on Canadians? ;-)
Pure speculation here, but my guess is that this has to do with different models being certified by different bodies. IE, perhaps the model sold in Europe is subtly different and hasn't passed FCC or some other certification for use in the states, ergo, they lock them to where they HAVE been certified. Doesn't change the fact that I wouldn't buy it, but I don't think it is something that is done for some evil reason…
Heck, I can use just about every wifi device in 'EU' mode and operate outside of the limits of the US regulation, right?
I believe this is a dick move, nothing more.
1. Galaxy S 3 includes undeletable Pizza Hut bookmark http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1707047
2. Galaxy custom web browser allows random web sites to make links that wipe and reset the phone: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/117422-samsung-galaxy-s-3-re...
My HP printer is region-locked. When I moved from Europe to the US it refused to accept ink cartridges bought in the US.
My HP printer is region-locked. When I moved from Europe to the US it refused to accept ink cartridges bought in the US.
I had to flash it to accept a toner bought elsewhere.
It caught me off guard, my previous laser printer (also Samsung) happily accepted other cartridges (I would have bought Samsung, but they were out of stock).