By now you've no doubt heard about Apple's refusal to let Google distribute its Google Voice Application on the iTunes store. In addition, Apple's pulled 3rd party Google Voice apps that had already been accepted to the store at partner AT&T's request.
The ire is through the roof. Earlier today Duke Arrington of TechCrunch fame, a prominent fan of Apple's iPhone, loudly and openly pulled the plug on his support of the product. At first, it seemed like a run of the mill Technorati squabble. But now the FCC's involved.
Why? Why would the top governing power of the United States get involved with what Apple and AT&T allow or don't allow on their hardware and services? Because at least on the surface, it doesn't seem fair. Not to sound like an indignant fourth grader or anything, but Steven F and Arrington are right.
Apple's laid out a series of guidelines about exactly what is and what is not passable where its iTunes applications were concerned. Skype has made it through with a VoIP calling system that allows users to text and make phone calls without using Plan Text messages or Plan minutes.
As for AT&T, they allow Google Voice applications to run on RIM's Blackberry-- why not the iPhone?
I'll tell you why. Because with normal smartphone users, the demand for such applications is minimal. While the average Blackberry can do much of what the iPhone does, the users who own Blackberries don't, for the most part, want to install myriad applications to add functionality to their phone. They want some email, some text messaging, a GPS featured map and maybe some web browsing and a game to pass the time in the subway or airport. But iPhone users are different. They not only want any and every bit of functionality they can get, but they plan to use that functionality-- over and over and over again. And that's why the phenomenal potential of the iPhone has been limited time and time again by both AT&T and Apple.
The details of the FCC inquiry into this issue can be seen here, while a short list of the limitations AT&T and Apple have implemented on the iPhone can be seen listed on one of my recent Tumblr posts. It's highly likely we'll be talking about these issues and how they affect the geeks and those beyond that spectrum during the next Symbiotek Podcast.
What's most clear is that collusion on the part of the AA Syndicate is harming relevant innovation in the software and telecom industries. Apple needs to remember what happened the last time an Operating System manufacturer got in the way of progress via anti-competitive practices, and AT&T needs to remember what happened to it last time it got too big for its britches. One would think that companies with products the likes of Time Machine and that companies which have defended themselves before Congress about illegally recording data and conversations should have much, much more profound understandings of their own recent history.
Showing posts with label iPhone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iPhone. Show all posts
01 July 2008
iPhone 3G Pricing Plans!
In my earlier post about the paradigm shift concerning smart-phones designed for consumer, rather than business use, I highlighted the industry's pathfinder, the iPhone (and it's carrier AT&T) as the device (and service) which set the standard that all the other handset makers and phone companies are going to refer to when pricing their products and services. I got an email today from a friend working in the tech department of a bank releasing the pricing information for AT&T's iPhone and service. The implications are pretty savoury
AT&T plans to deliver the 8gb model for $199.00 and the 16gb model for $299.00-- with contract. They're also delivering the same models, without contract, for $399.00 and $499.00 respectively. This is obviously a sharp departure from their earlier strategy of not selling the phone at all outside of contract. The phone, which runs on GSM networks only will work on National carriers such as AT&T (of course) and T-Mobile as well as smaller regional carriers like MyCricket.
AT&T's dropped the price of the contract phone in order to attract more customers. They plan on making up for the pricing revenue lost with the *discounted* iPhone 3G by upping the monthly service plan which includes 450 anytime roll-over minutes and unlimited mobile Internet and email from $60.00 to ~75.00. This price doesn't include text messaging and with taxes, that monthly bill's going to hit something close to $90.00.
Some people are outraged at this information. I have to say though, that as much as I'm excited about everyone getting their hands on these phones which can best exploit services like http://www.mshopper.net/, I'm not that upset with the pricing plan.
That said, the pricing sounds pretty reasonable(not too expensive). The upping of the network costs makes a lot of sense given that the new iPhone's running on bandwidth-heavy 3g instead of EDGE and it actually brings the pricing in line with the rest of their smartphones. Compare their blackberry plan for $90 w/ unlimited text messages a month(phone plan + data plan + text messages). The new iPhone charges listed above should come out to $90.00/month which is ~1080 a year in revenue for AT&T. That's how they can drop the prohibitively expensive price of the old iPhone.
AT&T is setting themselves up so that people living in areas covered by the newer phone service companies like MyCricket are going to be discouraged from these alternatives as the serious savings they'd see by using the phone on that network would be nullified by the no-contract pricing. Compare AT&T's monthly service charges with MyCricket's $45/mo for unlimited everything (txt and mms msgs, mobile web, email, talk time (area only). Regardless of whether the consumer buys the 8gb iPhone unit with contract or goes to MyCricket without it, they'll end up paying the same price annually, which would leave most with wanting to stick to AT&T since it's both more well known and has a larger coverage area. These facts will leave many wondering why AT&T would even offer the iPhone outside of contract if they had successfully priced-out regional rival low-cost service competition. What's there to gain? I think the answer lies in the falling dollar.The ability to buy the phone off-contract in the US is going to allow tourists who come to the US this summer looking to spend money yet don't have the option to buy the iPhone in their home country to pick the device up while here on holiday: taking advantage of the falling dollar.
European tourists have a reason to pick the device up on this side of the pond as well. An admittedly not so recent interview with Jonathan Ive, the chief industrial designer of Apple's award winning wares, has revealed that in the UK, the pricing for the iPod isn't simply the US dollar converted to British pounds but rather, the US dollar value simply up-rated to British pounds. While a top of the line iPod in the States will cost someone $400, its seems that in Britain the consumer's paying £400! That means that while Apple will likely move units off the shelves in England by those over there that are willing to pay the price, they're bound to move unit after unit by tourist consumers that see a great deal for a great device over here.
Finally, I'm interested in seeing how other phone companies respond to this iPhone 3G pricing plan. With their pricing on plans for HTC touches and Samsung Instincts...let the consumer smartphone wars begin! Sprint already has a completely unlimited plan cleverly named "Simply Everything" which includes unlimited minutes, messaging, web and email for $9 more than AT&T's w/ tax price. For some, not having to wonder about the status of your roll-over minutes (or having to worry about minutes overages at all when compared to Verizon) for $9.00 more per month on a smartphone like the Samsung Instinct might just be worth it.
AT&T plans to deliver the 8gb model for $199.00 and the 16gb model for $299.00-- with contract. They're also delivering the same models, without contract, for $399.00 and $499.00 respectively. This is obviously a sharp departure from their earlier strategy of not selling the phone at all outside of contract. The phone, which runs on GSM networks only will work on National carriers such as AT&T (of course) and T-Mobile as well as smaller regional carriers like MyCricket.
AT&T's dropped the price of the contract phone in order to attract more customers. They plan on making up for the pricing revenue lost with the *discounted* iPhone 3G by upping the monthly service plan which includes 450 anytime roll-over minutes and unlimited mobile Internet and email from $60.00 to ~75.00. This price doesn't include text messaging and with taxes, that monthly bill's going to hit something close to $90.00.
Some people are outraged at this information. I have to say though, that as much as I'm excited about everyone getting their hands on these phones which can best exploit services like http://www.mshopper.net/, I'm not that upset with the pricing plan.
That said, the pricing sounds pretty reasonable(not too expensive). The upping of the network costs makes a lot of sense given that the new iPhone's running on bandwidth-heavy 3g instead of EDGE and it actually brings the pricing in line with the rest of their smartphones. Compare their blackberry plan for $90 w/ unlimited text messages a month(phone plan + data plan + text messages). The new iPhone charges listed above should come out to $90.00/month which is ~1080 a year in revenue for AT&T. That's how they can drop the prohibitively expensive price of the old iPhone.
AT&T is setting themselves up so that people living in areas covered by the newer phone service companies like MyCricket are going to be discouraged from these alternatives as the serious savings they'd see by using the phone on that network would be nullified by the no-contract pricing. Compare AT&T's monthly service charges with MyCricket's $45/mo for unlimited everything (txt and mms msgs, mobile web, email, talk time (area only). Regardless of whether the consumer buys the 8gb iPhone unit with contract or goes to MyCricket without it, they'll end up paying the same price annually, which would leave most with wanting to stick to AT&T since it's both more well known and has a larger coverage area. These facts will leave many wondering why AT&T would even offer the iPhone outside of contract if they had successfully priced-out regional rival low-cost service competition. What's there to gain? I think the answer lies in the falling dollar.The ability to buy the phone off-contract in the US is going to allow tourists who come to the US this summer looking to spend money yet don't have the option to buy the iPhone in their home country to pick the device up while here on holiday: taking advantage of the falling dollar.
European tourists have a reason to pick the device up on this side of the pond as well. An admittedly not so recent interview with Jonathan Ive, the chief industrial designer of Apple's award winning wares, has revealed that in the UK, the pricing for the iPod isn't simply the US dollar converted to British pounds but rather, the US dollar value simply up-rated to British pounds. While a top of the line iPod in the States will cost someone $400, its seems that in Britain the consumer's paying £400! That means that while Apple will likely move units off the shelves in England by those over there that are willing to pay the price, they're bound to move unit after unit by tourist consumers that see a great deal for a great device over here.
Finally, I'm interested in seeing how other phone companies respond to this iPhone 3G pricing plan. With their pricing on plans for HTC touches and Samsung Instincts...let the consumer smartphone wars begin! Sprint already has a completely unlimited plan cleverly named "Simply Everything" which includes unlimited minutes, messaging, web and email for $9 more than AT&T's w/ tax price. For some, not having to wonder about the status of your roll-over minutes (or having to worry about minutes overages at all when compared to Verizon) for $9.00 more per month on a smartphone like the Samsung Instinct might just be worth it.
13 June 2008
Coming Soon, the Entire Information SuperHighway (Affordably and Easily) At Your Fingertips
"The world is changing: I feel it in the water, I feel it in the earth, and I smell it in the air."
Any geek worth his salt can feel the haunting words of Toklien's Treebeard release a shudder through their bodies the way it must've to the bodies of little Merry and Pippin as they traversed the landscape of the forest, and were enlightened about the oncoming paradigm shift in their world.
Such enlightenment flitters through the many consciousnesses of all involved much as the light of day through an eerie image mounted onto stain glass. Just like that light, the shift contains a dual nature; it's an unknown that creepy as it is educational; an anxiety that's accompanied by a certain dread. It's been dramatic and subtle but ten years ago, the internet matured as a superhighway of information. Five years ago the laptop redefined where we could connect to that superhighway. And in 2008, the new army of consumer-oriented mobile devices is fueling a third shift. Unlimited Data. Anytime. Anywhere.
When Apple, Inc.'s iPhone first came to the market last year it pleased a whole lot of people and yet it spawned resentment in just as many. For some the iPhone was the be-all and end-all of phones. It had wi-fi, a full web browser, multi-touch controls, great application support and operating system updates and the list went on and on. Those opposed sighted that in such an information transmitting device it was close to sinful that the simple function of cut-and-pasting wasn't an option. And that for the price the lack of GPS or 3G support, along with Apple's as-per-usual inability to deliver a device with a user-replaceable battery was disturbing. And so we had the consensus of those who said "wait." There were more than just these two camps though. There was something else there.
Unlike so many handsets this phone wasn't made by Nokia or LG, companies that base most of their revenue via phone sales. Nor was it manufactured by Samsung or Sony, branding giants who's products run the consumer electronics gamut, but by Apple-- a company that is is known for high-end computer devices and the volks-wagen of all media devices, the iPod. The idea that the cell phone market was open to any company with an army of designers and an exclusive contract with a service provider was another one of Treebeard's paradigm shifts.
Love it or hate it though, the device also represented something else to another segment of tech lovers-- the solid feeling that, well, it was about time. Time for a consumer driven (there have been business-aimed smart-phones for ages) device to come along and take a crack at the coveted position of the full fledged Personal Communications Device ("PCD"). PCDs aren't just made for calling someone but really, they're your online presence and informational go-to thingamabob in an emerging world where information recall is as reflexive as clipping yourself into a seatbelt or taking in a huge gulp of air before you perform a cannonball off of a springboard.
With the imminent release of th second generation iPhone, we next-level PCD techies are about to see a wallop of a paradigm shift as consumers have more than just the new, cheaper, Apple toy to play with in the smart-phone market. With Sprint & Samsung's Instinct, the HTC Touch, the cheapening of the Blackberry Curves along with the release of their 9000 model and a growing stock of newly released and up-and-coming devices from all sorts of tech companies (like ones supporting Google's Android), it's obvious that one day literally everybody(and their momma!)'s going to have, at their fingertips, a host of online functionality tools, created for the consumption, transmission, and overall integration of vast quantities of data in our daily lives. What's this mean for our society/everyday life?
Ever since picking up my Blackberry Curve (8310) in 2007 I must say that the first change I noticed in my everyday parlance was the lost of the ubiquitous "THEY." You know the "THEY." O no? Then let me re-introduce you.
THEY have a new ice-cream out now made of plastic!
You see my point? The THEY-- that strange force of unknown people that gets things done to make our lives that much more luxurious or whatever-- their mystery vanished. How? Well, via the fact that any answer to nearly any question I had was now not only answerable in seconds, as would be were I hanging out in any wifi hot-spot with my laptop, but completely on the go and out of my pocket. THEY, were all given names as constant questions arose in conversation about what was possible concerning this or that, and specifically, how such random things were accomplished. The THEY went away. Suddenly it became: "Sony's found a way to make a screen/monitor as thin or thinner than a credit card" or "you can totally
Other things that the Shift will affect?
1) As the GPS software on these things gets more and more advanced, you'll be able to pass your GPS information to your friends and family as you see fit. Are you looking for the bar where you're supposed to meet your buddies? Move the blue blip that represents you on your handheld's map to the red blip that represents your party. No more wonky half-drunk directions a la "So do you see that fire hydrant painted like a dalmatian? Yah, it's just to the left of that!
2) You walk by a convenience store on your way to meet someone and your phone beeps. You look at your handheld and it says A) that it's gonna rain in a few hours, and b) that if you don't have an umbrella already, the convenience store you just passed probably does.
3) You're in the supermarket and you pass by the pineapple display. You want one, but you don't know how to choose a ripe one. So you ask your handheld how to choose a pineapple properly pick one out and in a minute or two, you're squeezing, smelling and testing the top leaves on the lot of them until you've got the best in the barrel.
Some of us are already there. But with the widespread proliferation of consumer-based smart-phone devices, and the very reasonable data and voice plans available in some areas, it's just a matter of time before They're about to have us way more connected than most could have ever imagined.
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