The last couple of days the big news in the non-gaming tech world is how Judge James Ware of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has allowed a 2007 lawsuit to gain class action status.  This lawsuit alleges that AT&T and Apple have broken antitrust laws by signing an exclusive agreement that kept the iPhone with AT&T for 5 years, even though consumers signed up for a two year contract which in some weird technical way locked the consumer to AT&T for 5 years.

Here is where things start not making sense to me.  Before you sign a new contract with a carrier you should already know the terms.  Now granted we're not going to sit there and read 20+ pages of legalize, read: bullshit, to get your new phone, but we do know the basics.  "Ok, I am buying this phone and stuck with your sorry ass service for 2 years.  Gotcha"  Now where did anyone think that after two years you can take that phone and go anywhere?  I really don't understand the thought process there.  Sure you are stuck paying for 2 years but then after that you're no longer under contract.  No one said you can goto another carrier with that phone.

Now don't get me wrong, I am by far not for the carriers at all.  They all suck to some degree, whether it's SprintPCS horrible customer service or AT&T dropping or calls, or Verizon's crazy ETFs they all have something to piss someone off.  Maybe it's just me but I don't see a problem with this system.  If you do please let me know I'd love to discuss it with you at length.

Another part of the class action suit that doesn't make sense is about how the Cupertino, CA based company Apple Inc disallows anything that's not in their App store.  Anyone who argues this just gives me a headache.  Why and how can anyone get upset about this?  Another part that I attribute to the consumer.  Do your homework!  Who told you that you could install your own Apps from some other place?  The Apple iPhone was designed by ... wait for it ... Apple and was designed to run ... Apple approved Apps.  What's the problem?  When you buy some low-end flip phone no one complains?  Why?

The parties listed in the lawsuit claim that these unfair acts apparently hurt competition which I really don't see how.  Perhaps Google should have made a better phone than the Nexus One to compete with the iPhone.  Don't get me wrong I think the Android OS is fantastic, and as a huge Google fan, I hope to see Google really push the OS the way they have for a long long time.

Is it because after 50 million iPhones sold in the last three years people think Apple is loaded, which they are, that a few lawsuit settlements won't hurt them and some consumers are trying to get a piece of the pie?  Is this a real problem?  Not allowing 3rd party apps and not allowing the iPhone on Verizon or SprintPCS?  Don't those carriers have Android phones?  I don't understand.  Someone explain it to me!