2 iPhones and NO CASH

Apple has stopped accepting cash payments for its iPhone mobile handsets, requiring instead that customers pay with a credit or debit card in order to discourage ”unauthorised resellers”.

Apple also said it had reinstated a rule limiting iPhone purchases to two per customer in order to “ensure that there are enough iPhones for people who are shopping for themselves or buying a gift. Apple said it had sold 1.4m handsets since the iPhone went on sale in the US in June. An Apple spokeswoman said requiring customers to buy their phones with a credit or debit card would allow Apple to maintain records of customer purchases.

Apple said that because it had yet to announce rate plans and other details of the iPhone’s launch in Europe next month, the new restrictions applied only to phones sold in the US.

In addition, according to an article from Slashdot,

The NYTimes reports that Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, has studied Apple's financial statements and come to the conclusion that AT&T is paying Apple $18 a month, on average, for each iPhone sold by Apple and activated on AT&T's network — up to $432 over a two-year contract.

This shows how much incentive Apple has to maintain its exclusive deal with AT&T rather than to sell unlocked phones or cut deals with multiple carriers.

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