[globile]

Don't forget about Telcos.

Your AT&T, Vodafone, Verizon & Co, put an enormous amount of pressure on Apple to limit and protect device unlocking.

This is a cat & mouse situation where either party might benefit from tight unlocking controls.

For example, MVNOs benefit from manufacturers with flexible and open unlocking policies that make it easy to unlock devices (without approval from the original operator), whereas long-term commitment contracts with traditional operators want to make it as hard as possible for you to leave with an unlocked device (regardless of whether you are legally entitled to or not - but that's a different story).

The economics of whether Apple would benefit from less strict unlocking policies (ignoring Telco's wishes) are not that clear.

You might think that unlocked devices would have longer lives, and therefore limit Apple's ability to push a new one to you, but you could also say that giving phones 2 or 3 different owners in their lifespans could help with app store purchases, limiting jailbreaking and possibly avoiding going with a newer less expensive android version.

Disclaimer: We unlock phones for MVNOs and individuals who get bullied around by their telcos.

Edit: Spelling

[lotsofpulp]

Apple sells plenty of unlocked phones, all you have to do is buy it from Apple.

Lock restrictions only come into play if you want the mobile network to subsidize your phone.

[globile]

Agreed! But a big majority of phones out there, especially in secondary markets to the US like Latin America are locked by default from within the Telcos, and will go though several hands before ending on a shelf or refurbished and sent to the middle east.

Each country has different policies when it comes to unlocking. Locked phones greatly outnumber unlocked ones.

Take Chile, where phones must be legally unlocked by the telco or manufacturer to work WITHIN other operators in the country, but not necessarily abroad.

Buy an "unlocked" phone from a Chilean and you might get stuck with a brick.

The different and complex type of unlocking levels Apple has for its devices (and there are many) are designed to assist the Telco and any countrywide regulatory policies that need to be enforced.

There are many parts to this jigsaw puzzle.

[Twisell]

Yeah it’s more law related than anything.

Here in the France the telco are compelled by law to fully unlock any phone bound to their network 6 months after the purchase (or earlier if initial contract duration was lower than 6 month).

Apple comply gracefully to this law.