Cripple the phone? Only T-Mobile?

You can use it on almost any GSM/3G network in the world (instead on only AT&T). How is that crippling the phone?

EDGE would still work. People bought the non-3G iPhone.

It's definitely a disadvantage though, but to say that it will not work with AT&T is false.

Well, there were nothing like iPhone back then. Now we have 3G and 3GS. And on EDGE "web meets phone" will happen veeeery slowly.

People still stuck it out though. Personally I would rather have a phone that could be used on any cell carrier's network though (except maybe Japanese carriers, IIRC they use network tech that no one else in the world uses).

Why are T-Mo and AT&T the only options? Couldn't you use this on say, Verizon?

(I don't live in the US)

Verizon & Sprint use CDMA instead of GSM, which AT&T & T-Mobile use.

Not yet. Verizon and Vodafone coming in Spring '10.

Sadly, AT&T and T-Mobile are the only nationwide GSM carriers in the United States. Every other major player uses CDMA.

Man that sucks. I can understand all of the US using a different standard from the rest of the world (like with NTSC and imperial measurement) but having the US use two standards at once is clearly not in their own interest.

Canadian carriers are the same. The only difference is that all of the smaller carriers have been swallowed up and you basically have the choice of 'The GSM Carrier' (i.e. Rogers who grew their empire out of cable tv) or 'The CDMA Carrier' (i.e. Bell -- the government mandated telephone monopoly).

I actually use my phone primarily to make calls and texts. Access to a 3G network is nice, but it's an accouterment. For many people, the slower data speed is not too big of a hassle when you only need to use it occasionally.