Who is to blame for iPhone Bricking?

A new word has come into the spotlight during the past week. People are becoming much more familiar with bricking in regards to their iPhone. A brick, in this sense, is a fairly useless iPhone. So who is to blame for this phenomenon, AT&T or the fine folks over at Apple?

Right now, opinion seems to be fairly split on the matter. Techies have drawn party lines on the issue, with some placing the blame on Apple, while others assert that AT&T is the one to blame. Where does the truth lie in all of this?

The primary question at hand is one of motive. Why might Apple want to go out and brick a ton of iPhones? With recently unlocked iPhones being able to run on different networks, like T-Mobile, Apple might be looking to protect its bottom line. Where’s the motivation in that for Apple, though? AT&T would be the real loser in such a scenario.

Apple has established itself as a hardware company first and foremost. It makes money by developing, marketing, and eventually selling computers and other electronic products. If you really think about it, unlocked iPhones can appeal to many more customers, thus increasing the total amount of revenue that the company can bring in. With that in mind, why in the world would Apple go about the business of alienating its own customers?

Dan Resigner over at CNET has an interesting take on the matter. In addition to backing Apple in this debate, he takes a pretty hard line stance on AT&T’s supposed guilt. It looks like the power is being wielded by AT&T in this case, as Apple has done some major backtracking in recent weeks. Originally, Apple indicated in a statement that it wouldn’t support to reprimand those who unlocked iPhones. Now, the tune is much different, as Apple has sought out those who unlock iPhones and called them “rule breakers”. What is the impetus for this reversal?

There are interesting arguments that might support the notion that Apple was behind the bricking, though. During its history, Steve Jobs’ Apple Company has released products that were not highly customizable. Their iPod couldn’t be modified a whole lot, so why would they want the iPhone to be misused and changed? Apple always seeks to keep control over its products and monitor what customers were doing with the things. This latest run of actions fits into that line of thinking.

What’s the bottom line on this high stakes blame game? The fact is that the truth lies somewhere in the middle. AT&T was probably pushing Apple a little bit to lock down the rogue iPhones in order to keep profit and a good working relationship. Apple obviously didn’t object to this, as they’ve never been a company that liked being pushed around.

If you’re really looking to get mad at somebody over the bricking of your precious iPhone, then get mad at yourself. AT&T and Apple are only looking to protect their large investments and they rules had been laid out previously. Who is leading this witch hunt? It doesn’t really matter in the end. Bloggers will undoubtedly try to uncover the motivation behind the action, but it comes down to the almighty dollar. If you want to use the iPhone, you are going to have to play by both Apple and AT&T’s rules. Even with the updates and new released planned by Apple, that is one thing that you shouldn’t expect to change in the near or distant future.