So here’s the question… Why isn’t Apple selling unlocked iPhones directly to the public?

It’s obvious that there is demand, over a million unlocked phones, and the latest firmware has been cracked too.

Apple reportedly makes “as much as $400” per iPhone sold in additional revenue from the carrier, so wouldn’t it make sense to sell iPhones at some substantial portion of the $400 (somewhat less, since the full amount would be released to Apple immediately, rather then $400 over 2-3 years) above the additional cost, completely unlocked?

There are plenty of ads on Craiglist showing unlocked iPhones for $600-$750 a pop, so the market is obviously there, and with a profit margin of 50%, you’d think Apple would want to crank up sales.

Is it just Jobs’ control freak nature keeping the iPhone away from the obvious consumer demand?

Apparently there is at least one feature not implemented into my iPod Touch MP3 player… Cool!

And here I was thinking about entertainment and PDA features.  Think outside the box, Dave, think outside the box… Or maybe this IS an entertainment feature.

Thanks toBruce Schneier for pointing it out.