I suspect a huge amount of the hype over the iPhone's capabilities is driven by the appalling state of the US mobile network. It is an utter shambles, at a level that beggars belief.
All that aside (including Apple launching a device in Europe that isn't 3G - madness!) the news of iPhones being bricked by the latest update is astounding.
The thought of a vendor deliberately trashing your mobile device - and refusing to carry out warranty repairs if you've unlocked it - is astounding.
Apple's claims that unlocking your iPhone can cause damage to the machine, thus providing the reason for them refusing warranty service, is utterly ridiculous. Changing a software flag somehow causes battery failure, or the machine to stop reading memory cards?
This might fly on the desktop, but Apple need a swift kick in the nads so they can realise that this just won't work. Europeans have been merrily unlocked their phones for well over a decade - it's your device, it's perfectly legal, and it does nothing to harm the machine.
If somehow unlocking your iPhone caused service issues - then yes, there would be a point. But that would be one dealt with by the carrier, not the manufacturer. In the US, AT&T would be perfectly OK to push an update to the phone that re-locked it - if that fixed the problem, then job done. If not, send it in for a firmware flash.
Momentum is gathering in the US for a Class Action suit, and deservedly so. Apple are behaving in an unbelievably arrogant fashion. With a significant price drop coming so soon after the launch, and with the actual technology in the iPhone hardly earth shattering, Apple need to be working overtime to convince consumers that the iPhone is a better bet that a Nokia N95 or E90 over their 18 month contract.
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