You can use the iPhone to listen to your favorite songs,or watch a movie during your travel. Although the device presents all of these impressive features, it still needs improvement in one area:its network and carrier. Rumors have it that Apple originally approached Verizon Wireless for a contract but the carrier rejected the offer and laughed at their device. So, Apple reoriented towards AT&T.
AT&T is the biggest fixed telephony network provider in the United States,and the second largest mobile phone service with over 85.1 million wireless customers and over 210 millions total customers in the world. However,during its contract with Apple,AT&T did not impress the customers in any way.More than that, iPhone clients found AT&T highly irritating. The clients complained about the high taxes imposed by the carrier, about the contract-busters, and about he restricted access to Google-based apps that were removed from the AppStore. At the presentation of the iPhone 3G, Apple highlighted by omission that AT&T was the weakest feature of the device,as it was at the time the only available carrier for iPhones in the U.S.
When Apple presented the list of providers that would be offering tethering and multimedia messaging, AT&T was absent,and when the carrier was brought in discussion at the Apple Worldwide developer conference,the response was negative. AT&T was dealing with numerous complains regarding their data network (that was believed to be too slow and congested), for its limited 3G features, and for its often call drops, and other such aspects that made AT&T the number one public enemy for the iPhone users.
2010 represented the deadline of the Apple-AT&T contract,and everybody was sure that a new carrier would be used. Everyone,from simple clients,to journalists and media were sure that Verizon would be the new iPhone carrier. However,an analyst named Doug Reid speculated that the iPhone would hit T-Mobile's US network instead, as Apple would be better off with a quick deal than engaging into long and uncertain negotiations with a company that made fun of the iPhone in their Droid adverts."Apple wants to move away from exclusivity. T-Mobile would achieve this for Apple in the US."said Doug in an interview.Apple was already in business with T-Mobile in several European territories,including Germany, the home of Deutsche Telekom, the mother company that also includes T-Mobile.
With over 350 million subscribers, T-Mobile is the third largest wireless multinational carrier, after UK-based Vodafone and Spain-based Telefonica. However,users seem to be very glad that an Apple-Verizon deal is discussed and keep their fingers crossed for a dual-SIM model of the iPhone.This is unlikely to happen as Apple likes to keep it simple and rather develop a phone that can read both T-Mobile and Verizon.