Apple should be perfectly allowed to do this, but if they insist on continuing with such behavior, you can be sure that when my contract is up for renewal, an iPhone will not be my next device.
When will we finally reach a better wireless marketplace? Five years, I bet. It's sad, too, because Google has really been trying to break up the death grip of these carriers (spectrum auction, open-source mobile OS, Google Voice), but they're up against multiple 1,000lb. gorillas.
I have an iPhone with 50 voice minutes and a 6GB data plan (I live in Canada). Clearly I value data much more than voice. I understand why the carriers are anxious about customers like me, but their business model has to change.
My 50 minutes cost $15/month. My 6GB cost $30. I have the voice because the contract stipulates I must. Why I should be prohibited from using a portion of data for voice remains a byproduct of history.
The VP of Credit Cards in any bank hates the VP of Debit Cards for eroding his revenues (and thus his personal annual bonus).
The VP of Voice in any wireless carrier hates the VP of Data for similar reasons.
The winner, of course, will be Google and any wireless carriers who structure a business purely around data delivery.
I just wish the market would move more towards generic data access like an ISP. Voice, SMS, wireless Internet...it's all just a data pipe to me (and them), so charge me like an ISP (with speed and bandwidth caps, if necessary).
Truth be told, I've constructed a plan I shouldn't have been sold. I should have had to buck up more than the combined $45 plan that I'm on.
Rogers and Fido offer slight variations on the same theme: $60 and $75 plans containing 250 minutes and up to 6GB of data . . . plus other overpriced amenities like visual voicemail, texting, and caller ID.
I was able to purchase what I have because their systems don't actually enforce their business rules. The iPhone is just another phone to the guy at the kiosk in the mall. This may have changed since December 08, but I've kept my paper copy of the contract :)
Carriers around the world compete on price, features, coverage, and high-tech phones. Carriers in the US compete on how much they can get away with. Even "small" carriers in the US still suck just as much as the big guys. They are just presenting a more friendly image.