[s73ver_]

"No one would have purchased the original iPhone were it not heavily subsidized by AT&T. No one."

The original iPhone was not subsidized by AT&T at all. It cost about $500, had lines of people waiting to buy it, and went on to sell about 6 million units, making it one of the best selling phones of it's time.

[foolrush]

I should have been clearer: it required a contract that AT&T offered lower data rates on the actual phone. This recovered the money they were paying to Apple IIRC. Still subsidized, but perhaps not explicitly on the phone itself.

[vilmosi]

I'm not agreeing with the grandparent either but I do have to admit that once carriers subsidised the iPhone, the sales skyrocketed. It can't be a coincidence.