I am an Apple fan.  I've used Macs since the ][e and either owned or have heavily used a Plus, LCIII, Bondi Blue iMac, G5 iMac, iBook, and a Macbook Pro.  I've owned two different iPods.  When the iPhone was announced and then shipped, my wife strongly encouraged me to buy one and replace my aging Treo 650.  My current carrier is Sprint, which makes that problematic.  Besides, I rarely purchase hardware before it goes through a couple of revisions.  That said, I've handled the iPhone several times and it is slick.

I want one...

However, the recent bricking of iPhones has me troubled.  Apple, who have traditionally been strong in customer support has started down a path of making its customers into enemies.  I understand that Apple has a strong alliance with AT&T.  However, the law says that if someone unlocks a phone, they can use it with any compatible carrier.  Still, I can understand that Apple wants to force users to use AT&T--they get a cut of every iPhone subscription.  I don't like it, but I do understand it. 

What really bothers me is that in the last iPhone update that not only were unlocked phones bricked, but phones that were still using the AT&T service were wiped of third party apps.  Why would they do such a thing?  This is extremely un-customer friendly.

I still remain an Apple fan, but my trust is shaken.  I hope they change course.