software companies like autodesk, norton, and sun has promoted the use of software subscriptions. just as long you buy the software once, and pay an annual fee, you get any updates and revisions as long as you maintain your contract. now apple in business with AT&T have released the iphone.
is this the start of a software subscription model for apple? to date, final cut studio and mac OS X have software licenses that last in perpetuity. the iphone includes the ability to play music and watch videos, but requires activation. what will happen after the initial subscription is over? will the iphone continue to work, or become a very expensive paper weight? if you continue to pay your phone bill, i’m sure apple will update the applications and iphone OS, but can you get updates without the AT&T contract?