121–130 of 191 posts
Wow this is a serious game changer, I was thinking about this the other day. I would be great to be able to turn off and on a sim card in your smartphone. So if you were using an iPhone and wanted to use your Android phone you just turned the iPhone sim off and used your android phone without having to call and de-activate it everytime.
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> Why should I have to go to some stupid store to get a SIM card when I could just switch online in 30 seconds? Because online you'll be limited to whoever Apple has a deal with. SIM cards are about freedom. Sure, an online infrastructure and the laws to force an implementation of it are technically simple, and could be done, but with thousands of carriers in 200 countries, it's never going to be all-encompassing. SI…
That's not a reason to keep a stupid, obsolete design around. It's a reason to fix the problem correctly with a modern public key infrastructure.
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People with loads of money just buy two phones? ;-) You're right, but it does feature in some higher-end phones http://www.phonearena.com/phones/Lenovo-Vibe-Z2_id8895
I'm not really privy to the psychy of someone who uses a dual SIM, I doubt most readers on Hackernews use one. To me, I visualize a Chinese business man who wants separate numbers to separate his official (married) life and his gray (mistress) life. But this is just a stereotype I developed to deal with going to the provinces. Is Lenovo now considered high end?
A common use case is a local SIM card when travelling or commuting to a different country. Even people who don't travel a lot for work will typically travel semi-frequently in other countries in Europe, for family or vacations.
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What is... "store"? In the 6+ years I spent in Silicon Valley, I entered a Walgreens every three months to pick up a prescription, and probably could've dispensed with that if I'd taken half an hour to figure out my provider's online thing. Other than that and the rare emergency, everything else (yes, including groceries) was ordered online and delivered to my home. The only businesses I routinely entered were my wor…
> Why should I have to go to some stupid store to get a SIM card when I could just switch online in 30 seconds? Because online you'll be limited to whoever Apple has a deal with. SIM cards are about freedom. Sure, an online infrastructure and the laws to force an implementation of it are technically simple, and could be done, but with thousands of carriers in 200 countries, it's never going to be all-encompassing. SI…
In this case, maybe the carrier is gated by Apple. However that's a big step beyond a carrier locked phone at the hardware level like it used to be.
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That's not a reason to keep a stupid, obsolete design around. It's a reason to fix the problem correctly with a modern public key infrastructure.
I would love that, but it's a utopian vision. Apple will create a closed system only for them. Google will create a separate system. Firefox OS or any future competitors will be screwed over.
Particularly in light of close regulatory scrutiny in Europe, that seems unlikely.
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Walk in any providers store and they will do it for you, free of charge. Takes 2 minutes. People who understand what a SIM like this does, will definitely understand how to replace SIM's. In my opinion anyways.
Most people don't even understand what a SIM is , let alone how to replace one. They probably can find their Settings app though.
I guess to people from the US this may seem "foreign", but it's really simple and it really works.
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Walk in any providers store and they will do it for you, free of charge. Takes 2 minutes. People who understand what a SIM like this does, will definitely understand how to replace SIM's. In my opinion anyways.
Most people don't even understand what a SIM is , let alone how to replace one. They probably can find their Settings app though.
Phones here are not appliances that you buy from the carrier. The device and the service are properly decoupled enough that people know the difference.
AT&T is by no means perfect but given all the traveling I've done and my experiences with Verizon and T-Mobile (never tried Sprint) I've found that AT&T and Verizon are interchangeable and T-Mobile is not quite on the same level.
I know my rate plan hasn't become more expensive when I upgrade so how can I expect that it will become cheaper if I bring my own device?
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Yep, no one is going to want to pay $600+ for a phone(in the US). TBH, over $200 for a phone on contract is really high as well.
shrug Just paid $750 for an iPhone 6, unlocked. The alternative was renting it from my carrier for a similar amount, divided into 24 months, and being handcuffed to them for unlocks and the like. By using BYOD pricing on my ATT plan, I pay less every month than I would on a subsidy. Yeah, I'm not everyone , but arguing that "most people" won't do what I did is kind of missing the point-- they already DO pay that much…
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I would love that, but it's a utopian vision. Apple will create a closed system only for them. Google will create a separate system. Firefox OS or any future competitors will be screwed over.
This is effectively saying that the very GSM standard you cited is impossible. Particularly in light of close regulatory scrutiny in Europe, that seems unlikely.
The new standard will be designed by corporate behemoths who's goal is lock-in and a competitive advantage (not just Apple and Google but companies like AT&T and Vodafone who want to kill MVNOs).