2007 was a big year for Apple and its entrance in the smartphone community. Manufacturers like RIM, Nokia, Palm and HTC all began to shake in their boots after the massive ad campaigns lead to excellent sales figures for an entry level device. What made the iPhone such an intimidating force to the market was not simply the design or innovation, but the first carrier partnership: AT&T. With all USA iPhones being sold exclusively by Apple and being locked to AT&T service it was only a matter of time for the unlocking craze to begin.

In 2007 Apple reported that they sold over 3.7 million iPhones, impressive. AT&T on the other hand only reported 2.4 million iPhones being sold and activated on their network which leaves us with 1.3 million iPhones unaccounted for, but where did they go? The answer is GSM networks worldwide by means of either ANYsim, turboSIM, StealthSIM or any of the other unlocking solutions currently available for the iPhone.

Honestly I am surprised that the figures are so low and there were not a much larger number of iPhones being unlocked. One of the biggest complaints about the iPhone are the carrier: AT&T. Since T-mobile USA is limited to EDGE network speeds and the current iPhone only supports the EDGE network it seems as though T-mobile USA could be the perfect pairing partner for the iPhone. Not only does the EDGE network on T-mobile make sense, but T-mobile HotSpot Locations are available nearly every few hundred feet since Starbucks dominates the franchise community. My final reason for T-mobile being the perfect pairing partner for the iPhone is the T-zones 5.99 plan which provides unlimited EDGE network access and can easily be used with the iPhone. Combining the T-zones plan and 14.99 Unlimited Messaging option with T-mobile gives you a savings of nearly 20 dollars over the same services with AT&T.

If you are still deciding whether or not go splurge for that iPhone, feel assured knowing that 35% of the iPhones you see when you are out getting dinner or catching a movie are also being used on a network other than AT&T.

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