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Deathbed Revelations

By HappyDude (Sat Dec 08, 2007 at 10:02:05 PM EST) wireless, google, verizon, att, android (all tags)

The US wireless industry has made for some interesting news lately.

The big story lately is Google's (perceived) entrance into the wireless network business. They don't have a network yet, but they're making lots of motions that indicate that they might have one eventually... sometime...

The really entertaining part of all this is watching the established players react. It's like they've all found religion and they can't wait to tell us about their miraculous salvation.

It's a pile of horse shit.

Take Verizon. Their CEO sits down for a chat with BusinessWeek and drops a bombshell. Verizon is jumping on the Android bandwagon. Or so he says. They have yet to join the Open Handset Alliance, which for all intents and purposes means that the guy was talking out of his ass. Whatever though, he scored some huge fucking PR points by making people believe that the high walls of his company's garden were being dismantled from the inside.

On a less cynical note, it would be sweet if he was telling the truth. Android looks really nice as a mobile platform. That, and unlike BREW it's not owned lock, stock and barrel by Qualcomm.

But the PR coup of the week goes to AT&T. Wired News summed it up best:
How to Jump on the Open Access Bandwagon By Doing Absolutely Nothing
"You can do anything you want on our network, really!" Just don't try to do it with a phone you bought from them....

Lastly, we have the iPhone. For all its polished web browsing and snappy interface, it's still the same piece of shit ball-and-chain that the carriers have been selling all along. Good job Apple. You really upset the industry balance with that one... </sarcasm>

I'm not really going anywhere with all of this, but I feel better now. Why did you even read this far?

< Travelling is over for this year. | BBC White season: 'Rivers of Blood' >

Deathbed Revelations | 9 comments (9 topical, 0 hidden)

Verizon by duxup (2.00 / 0) #1 Sat Dec 08, 2007 at 11:05:38 PM EST

I remember an article a while back where Verizon made a big announcement that you could not get YouTube on your Verizon cellphone. The CEO made several canned statements about YouTube's success bla bla bla. Oh by the way getting YouTube on your cellphone means each month they select 10 videos you can watch on your phone...

W T F

Nothing like offering a service on your phone in a manner that entirely defeats the purpose and the reason for that service's success.
____

: That said, by ambrosen (4.00 / 1) #8 Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 09:20:13 PM EST

YouTube mobile is barely any better than that regardless of operator. There's almost nothing on it.

[ Parent ]

Not a technology problem by jump the ladder (2.00 / 0) #2 Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 12:29:12 AM EST

The US seems to have dysfunctional mobile phone market. How come any GSM phone works on any network in the UK?

: I understand that by HappyDude (2.00 / 0) #5 Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 08:21:06 AM EST

After spending time in China, I discovered how a mobile phone market should look. Since then I've hated the US carriers with a burning passion. That's why I'm so happy to see them running scared in the face of competing with Google.

[ Parent ]

Analysis of google's motives & strategy by johnny (2.00 / 0) #3 Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 02:42:21 AM EST

I think this if very interesting.
Buy my books, dammit!

AT&T openness by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #4 Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 07:33:25 AM EST

When you buy a phone from them (or Verizon, T-Mobile, etc.) you get it at a steep discount, repaid by being tightly tied to their system. You want freedom? Pay for it. An unlocked GSM phone costs a few hundred more than one that's tied to a particular system.

Earth First!
_{(We can strip mine the rest later.)}

I have by HappyDude (2.00 / 0) #6 Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 08:24:24 AM EST

I own my GSM phone.

Unfortunately, owning your phone in the US isn't enough. Most carriers don't offer plans for people who bring their own device. They have pay as you go, but I'm looking for a bit more variety than that.

[ Parent ]

I know T-Mobile sells SIM cards by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #7 Sun Dec 09, 2007 at 11:45:58 AM EST

with various plans. Pretty sure AT & T does as well. I've used sims to move from one network to another with the same phone.

Verizon and Cingular are CDMA, which doesn't use sim cards.

Earth First!
_{(We can strip mine the rest later.)}

[ Parent ]

: Cingular is the new ATnT! by greyshade (2.00 / 0) #9 Mon Dec 10, 2007 at 12:14:50 PM EST

Which I hate. Cingular used to be the 'go to' people for solid service around here. ATnT bought their customers, but only about half of their towers. (at least in my area) So now their service is shite.
Also, I've been with Cingular for years and every phone I've got through them had a sim card.

"The other part of the fun is nibbling on them when they get off work." -vorheesleatherface
[ Parent ]

Deathbed Revelations | 9 comments (9 topical, 0 hidden)