Does Apple Understand GSM?

I’m firmly convinced that Apple does not fully comprehend the GSM standard, and more specifically, the concept of SIM cards. I have an iPhone, and I wanted to use my AT&T SIM card in it. Shouldn’t be a problem, right? Well, I’m only borrowing the iPhone for a bit, and I don’t want to give up my current MEdiaWorks package just to test this thing out.

I’ve used GSM phones exclusively for a long time now. I prefer GSM for the convenience of SIM cards. I can pick a phone, and as long as it’s unlocked, or locked to AT&T, I can pop my SIM card in there and go. No worries, no issues. Well, except for the iPhone.

You see, for whatever reason, Apple decided to lock the iPhone down so that you had to use an iPhone SIM card in there, even if you already had an existing AT&T account. That means when I put my AT&T SIM card in the iPhone, it said invalid SIM. I had to go through TONS of online walkthroughs and dialling secret numbers and such to ‘jailbreak’ my iPhone, and then install an application and unlock the iPhone.

I’m not worried about me. I’m seasoned with the idea of unlocking and the like, and suffered through. However, let’s take a look at the normobs getting an iPhone. Since GSM was introduced, along with SIM cards, it’s been an uphill battle to educate consumers about SIM cards, and that they can insert the card in any handset from their carrier and it would work. There’s been quite a bit of legislation and court cases recently regarding the locking/unlocking of handsets, and Nokia’s got a huge campaign going that attempts to educate consumers on unlocked handsets.

Enter Apple’s iPhone, which now says, yes, you can put a SIM card in here, but it must be the SIM card specifically FOR the iPhone, regardless of everything everyone else has been teaching you. Even an AT&T SIM card won’t work in here, you need the iPhone SIM card.

I’ve happily unlocked my iPhone, and can now use it like GSM was intended – open. But what has been done to consumers, and do you really think that Apple understands GSM fully?