Since When Did Hollywood Get To Control Our Mobile Phones?
from the says-who? dept
Someone over at Verizon Wireless seems very confused about who the company’s customers are. Of course, it’s unfair to pick on just them, since almost all of the mobile carriers are thinking the same way, but it was the VP at Verizon Wireless who made a series of bizarre, short-sighted and flat-out wrong comments to the Associated Press that should have him looking for a new line of work. The AP piece starts out as a rehash of last week’s story saying that the carriers have forced Motorola to shelve the iTunes phone for the time being. Then it shifts the story over to Verizon Wireless’ decision to cripple Bluetooth on its phones to stop people from transferring content directly from their phones to PCs (or other phones) and require them to use their cellular connection (which, oh yeah, costs money). Verizon Wireless tries to defend the practice by claiming the entertainment industry made them do it. The quote comes from Jim Straight, vice president for wireless data and Internet services at Verizon Wireless, saying: “When it comes to the cell phone I have to abide by the rules of the content houses.” No, actually, he doesn’t. The content houses don’t own the carriers. There’s simply no reason why the makers of a communications platform should be crippling their devices to protect an obsolete broadcast business model. People are not buying mobile phones to get the latest Disney movie or hit song. They’re buying them to communicate. If the big content companies don’t want to play, it’s their loss. People will continue to buy up mobile phones and communicate with them. No one’s dying to have access to broadcast content on their phones. The content industry shouldn’t be setting the rules here, and there’s no reason why the carriers should be deferring to them.
Comments on “Since When Did Hollywood Get To Control Our Mobile Phones?”
Phone Co. biz model
Other thoughts
1. I dispise the phone companys for many of there semi-monopolistic practics. So when / if a company comes out with a phone that give users the feeling they actually own the thing insted of pay throw the nose rent it they will get my money.
2 I would stand inline to get a phone with the ipod interface. ( skip all the buttons ) wheel your way threw #s and lists.
3. Do i really want to pay to down load songs over flacky reception with mini interface and then not be able to use them on other phones ? or play them at home etc ?
just another mini-monopoly trying to stick us
Re: Phone Co. biz model
I have AT&T Wireless (now cingular) and my bluetooth phone has no such restrictions. In my opinion, this gives them a competitive advantage. Perhaps they should advertise this to steal some business from Verizon!
Living abroad
I have been living in China for the past couple of years, and I never realised what quality service was until I got here. I go out, buy a phone anywhere I like (there are are numerous stores here devoted to every brand, shape, colour, function…), walk down the street and buy a phone number (handy little SIM card vendors all over, you even get to choose your phone number) then all I have to do is run into whichever mobile provider I chose and put some money in my phone when it is running low. No contract. I don’t even hand over my name! I think I pay a big US$2 a month on average.
Now don’t get me started on my mobile experiences in the states…