Published in August 28th, 2007
BURLINGTON, Vt. - There's a digital ax hanging over John Canning's head, but he doesn't much care.
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The South Burlington resident is too busy surfing the Internet, perusing his e-mail, compiling driving directions and keeping track of the stock market - all on what amounts to a portable computer he cradles in the palm of his hand.
Canning bought an iPhone, the trendy gadget from Apple that combines a wireless phone, iPod digital music player and Internet and e-mail applications.
That made Canning something of a risk-taker. The device is tethered exclusively to AT&T, which offers no wireless service in Vermont and threatens in legal documents and media interviews to terminate the contracts of anyone who buys an iPhone while living here.
Canning is among a sprinkling of people in Vermont and other states nationwide where AT&T has a limited or non-existent presence who have purchased the gadget regardless of the risk.
Those pioneering users have weighed the gizmo's utility and hip factor against the potential of AT&T expulsion, and they've decided the gamble is worthwhile.
"It certainly is much easier to use and more well-thought-out than any other cellphone I've ever used," says Canning, president of Physician's Computer, a Winooski-based software developer for pediatricians. "I used to sit down on the computer, but now I just grab my iPhone."
Apple released the iPhone to considerable fanfare and critical and consumer acclaim on June 29. The device is available to any of the 284 million people in 13,000 communities across the country to which AT&T says its network extends.
Vermont and Alaska remain the only states where the company has no presence whatsoever; the iPhone also is unavailable to people who live in large but mostly rural regions that lack AT&T coverage in 17 other states.
AT&T devices work in locales without direct coverage through agreements with other companies that do offer service. In Vermont, AT&T's partner is Unicel.
Earlier this summer, AT&T announced plans to buy Alaska's primary wireless provider, a move that would leave Vermont alone in its cocoon of iPhone isolation. AT&T says it hopes to complete the deal by year's end.
Allure vs. risk
Casting their worries aside, some of Vermont's most devout Apple enthusiasts have paid $499 to $599 for one of the iPhone's two models.
Canning purchased his during a recent stay in Boston. His hotel was next to an AT&T store, and his resistance crumbled each time he walked past the prominent display.
"It said, 'Buy me, buy me!' " Canning said. "I withheld for the first two days, but I finally broke down on the third."
Demonstrating the device one afternoon at his busy office, Canning clicked through Web pages, e-mail messages, photographs and a camera interface with a flick of his finger on the touch-sensitive screen. The display read "AT&T" in listing the service provider on whose network Canning's phone was operating.
"I've been using it non-stop," he said.
Canning said he's confident he's adhering to his contract terms. A provision says users can't spend more than 40% of their monthly minutes on non-AT&T networks, and Canning said he's closely monitoring his talking and surfing to keep within that boundary.
AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel points to another contract clause, though, which says users must live in a community that receives direct service.
The company has canceled the contracts of "a very small percentage" of its 63.7 million subscribers, Siegel said, declining to provide figures. People who live in places where AT&T offers no service shouldn't buy an iPhone, he said.
"Just by doing that, you're violating the terms of the agreement," Siegel said.
Conflicted resellers
The risk of termination is too much for some longtime Apple aficionados. Bert Samsa, who owns Apple reseller MacMan in Fairbanks, Alaska, said he won't buy an iPhone until he can do so properly.
"The only way we can get one is to go to Washington and lie," said Samsa, in the Apple business since 1990. "As soon as it's available, of course, we'll all jump right on it."
For employees of Waitsfield, Vt.-based Apple reseller Small Dog Electronics, the iPhone's allure has proved persuasive enough to overcome the worries.
Chief Executive Don Mayer formulated a back-up plan: If AT&T boots him, he'll sell his iPhone through online auction site eBay. The gadget's technological advances overshadow potential hassles, he said.
"It is an incredibly innovative and handy device in a nice, small package," said Mayer, who estimated about half a dozen other Small Dog employees also own iPhones. "I have virtually everything I need in a handheld device."
