It's cool, it's sleek, it's revolutionary, and it has all sorts of bells and whistles. It's also the most hyped product since Windows 2000 (and we know how that turned out...). Its main technical issue seems to be slow internet speeds, as its network is not 3G; but there's something even worse about its network: it's AT&T. Not only is AT&T's cell network notoriously unreliable, but AT&T has seriously bad politics.
Here's what Salon's Farhad Manjoo has to say:
Apple has chosen AT&T as the iPhone's exclusive network provider. This week Working Assets, the phone company whose mission is to do well by doing good, put out a petition urging Steve Jobs to "unlock" the iPhone -- that is, to let people use it on any provider they choose. People ought to have the right to choose whatever device they'd like to use on whatever network, Working Assets argues. And if you're going to get stuck with a network, AT&T would likely come up last in your list. Here's a company that is currently fighting network neutrality, helping the NSA spy on Americans, and developing a way for Hollywood to police the Internet. As Cory Doctorow asks, "Honestly, is there anyone who believes that having a captive audience of two-year-locked iPhone customers will incentivize AT&T to behave better?"
For more on the importance of Net Neutrality, check here.
Many Daily Kos readers are early adopters. I have no doubt that some are even Apple employees. We need to let them know: even if we love some of your products, we're not going to sacrifice our values to buy them. Dump AT&T.