Again, the phone companies should be so lucky. Every single phone company that has the iPhone, has lost market value since they got the iPhone on their networks, due to the massive amounts they have to pay Apple(Apple reportedly collects as much as massive $600 per iPhone user in royalties from the carriers, on top of the hardware profits from the phones).
“As an object lesson, the wildly successful Apple Store had its genesis not in any strong desire on the part of Apple to get into retail, it came of necessity due to existing players in the retail channel treating them poorly”
I love my service(and the great rates) from T-Mobile. Significantly, they don't carry the iPhone.
“A tightly controlled user experience is part and parcel of just why Apple products work so well and in turn sell so well”
The widespread Mac botnet and the notorious antennaegate scandal with the iPhone 4 beg to differ.
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Mac-Botnet-Infects-More-Than-600000-Apple-Computers-699749/
http://mashable.com/2012/02/18/antennagate-iphone-settlement/
“Do you see what I mean yet?”
Nope.
My goodness, accusations of a botnet, gasp! That’ll have them screaming back to Redmond. /s