I didn't buy the first iPhone.  I would have if it allowed me to take my existing SIM and pop it in, but that wasn't an unlocked option.  The locked-in two-year at&t commitment to voluntarily imprison myself was luring for sure, but in the end I converted to a skeptical technology laggard in exchange for freedom.  Despite the lockdown I avoided, Apple has nonetheless reached the mobile masses and some industry guru's argue they've changed the mobile industry.  Certainly, convincing at&t to give up applications power and taxes in exchange for exclusivity is one win; a touch screen changed the UI paradigm; and Apple is the first company in history to get people using the Internet on a mobile device in any meaningful volume.  All of these may be leading to changes, but for the most part, the US mobile market is still in the third world of development when it comes to consumer wireless freedom-of-choice. 

Here's a what if scenario though...  The 3G iPhone is due June 9.  What if Apple somehow works their magic and sells it as an unlocked, unsubsidized device in addition to carrier-subsidized options?   Would you pay the freedom premium?  I would.  And I imagine millions of others would as well.  And that would fix the US mobile market because consumer purchasing patterns would change through growing knowledge that mobile devices and their applications are available to purchase from alternative retailers and lifestyle points of sale beyond limited carrier shelf-spaces.   That would change everything, for everyone...