"...let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast & it is Google..."
Paraphrased just a little.
Today's topic is the cellular phone. Many of us have them, if we are of the teenage or yuppie variant, we probably base much of our social existence on them. Why speak to someone six feet away when one can stare resolutely at a 1.5 x 2 inch LCD monitor and give our thumbs something resembling carpal tunnel syndrome and send them a digital message that says the same thing? In doing it the newfangled way, if one or both parties happen to be drivers, they may be able to share the love with an innocent, (or at least uninvolved) third party as well.
But that is not why I bring this all up.
This industry is a study in marketing. Truth is, at least in my estimation, there really is not a need for the number of cellular phones that exist in the country today, but, a lot of people think that they need one, or two, or three. (I personally know at least three persons who carry, all the time, three separate cellular phones). Many people I know outfit their kids with them, for valid reasons, (I am one of them). Finally, the phones are fun, they are cool. Beam me up Scotty! (Let's not even mention the latest entry into the marketplace---the one from the company named after a piece of fruit....).
In the past few years, the giants of the wireless industry have been able to flex their influence with the powers that be to clear some of the prime frequency spectrum, formerly reserved for licensed citizen use, to be used for new and improved cellular services. OK, that was done, pretty much as they wanted it to be, and the frequencies formerly allotted to that industry were left behind, for the most part, unused.
Enter Google, who knows a wasting asset when it see's one. Google has pledged to bid something on the order of 4.6 billion dollars for the rights to use this portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that has been shunned by the big boys in the wireless game, and it really has them all fired up. Googles business model is to offer something akin to, excuse me while I clear my throat, free and open, cellular service. By free, I mean that one should expect to pay a nominal fee for an account and expect what is called, (in technical terms), shitty coverage, but, aside from that FREE service. Open means that one is not locked in to paying through the nose or other orifice for a phone from the carrier. Google says they will publish a specification and the consumer can go as elaborate or as cheap as they want to go with a handset.
Can you see how this business model can cause a few headaches for the AT&T's and Verizon's of the world?
Can you hear me now?
Good!
Free is a word that covers a multitude of sins in the consumer product world. Let's not be naive. With free service, one can expect annoying calls, data mining, all sorts of invasions of privacy that Google is (in)famous for already, (and, truth be known---the others are doing, except allowing the annoying calls....). Couple of decent commentaries this past weekend on this subject, read them here, here and here.
Call all your friends and tell them about this. Better yet, have them call their wireless provider and ask when their contract is up, say thank you and hang up. That will cause a few headaches....
Today's topic is the cellular phone. Many of us have them, if we are of the teenage or yuppie variant, we probably base much of our social existence on them. Why speak to someone six feet away when one can stare resolutely at a 1.5 x 2 inch LCD monitor and give our thumbs something resembling carpal tunnel syndrome and send them a digital message that says the same thing? In doing it the newfangled way, if one or both parties happen to be drivers, they may be able to share the love with an innocent, (or at least uninvolved) third party as well.
But that is not why I bring this all up.
This industry is a study in marketing. Truth is, at least in my estimation, there really is not a need for the number of cellular phones that exist in the country today, but, a lot of people think that they need one, or two, or three. (I personally know at least three persons who carry, all the time, three separate cellular phones). Many people I know outfit their kids with them, for valid reasons, (I am one of them). Finally, the phones are fun, they are cool. Beam me up Scotty! (Let's not even mention the latest entry into the marketplace---the one from the company named after a piece of fruit....).
In the past few years, the giants of the wireless industry have been able to flex their influence with the powers that be to clear some of the prime frequency spectrum, formerly reserved for licensed citizen use, to be used for new and improved cellular services. OK, that was done, pretty much as they wanted it to be, and the frequencies formerly allotted to that industry were left behind, for the most part, unused.
Enter Google, who knows a wasting asset when it see's one. Google has pledged to bid something on the order of 4.6 billion dollars for the rights to use this portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that has been shunned by the big boys in the wireless game, and it really has them all fired up. Googles business model is to offer something akin to, excuse me while I clear my throat, free and open, cellular service. By free, I mean that one should expect to pay a nominal fee for an account and expect what is called, (in technical terms), shitty coverage, but, aside from that FREE service. Open means that one is not locked in to paying through the nose or other orifice for a phone from the carrier. Google says they will publish a specification and the consumer can go as elaborate or as cheap as they want to go with a handset.
Can you see how this business model can cause a few headaches for the AT&T's and Verizon's of the world?
Can you hear me now?
Good!
Free is a word that covers a multitude of sins in the consumer product world. Let's not be naive. With free service, one can expect annoying calls, data mining, all sorts of invasions of privacy that Google is (in)famous for already, (and, truth be known---the others are doing, except allowing the annoying calls....). Couple of decent commentaries this past weekend on this subject, read them here, here and here.
Call all your friends and tell them about this. Better yet, have them call their wireless provider and ask when their contract is up, say thank you and hang up. That will cause a few headaches....
posted by eccentric recluse at 5:18 PM
6 Comments:
I couldn't agree more. Most of the cell phone market consists of artificial devices designed solely to make money. Nothing wrong with that, but...c'mon. The telephone set itself being one of the biggest rip-offs of the century. I'm curious to see just how cheap they could become with an open spec and an open market.
Can't be worse than Sprint. You know they cancel contracts if you call customer service too much?
I think that the ramifications of this are going to be monumental, both to the good and the bad. Google is already out to control the world and is unrestrained by the ethical considerations of its users being "customers". Everything it does for the computing public is free of monetary charge, but don't think for a minute that they don't index your drive and track your habits, just to profile you and sell your data to the highest bidder (first), then all the rest second....
E_R
The sad thing is that a generation of young people is being trained to not be able to be alone with their thoughts (or not to even HAVE thoughts). Compulsive chit-chatting and messaging, lest one be confronted with the human experience.
lest one be confronted with the human experience.
I think you hit upon something there. A lot of people you see out there are not "out there," but in a bubble--like an ipod bubble or an mp3 bubble, cellphone bubble, even a bicycle bubble, jogger bubble--these are the people who never interact.
Or.. maybe they interact too much 'cause of the cell phones. To the point of literal addiction. We've all seen the poor fool who climbs into his/her car, and in one, complex motion, starts the car and puts the phone up to the ear. Like a smoker who can't help but light-up at certain times.
Two people have been burned into my memory this year. One was a young man in a Radio Shack. He was quite obviously in severe cell-withdrawl. It was like, if nothing else, just TALKING about cell phones with a sales rep could keep him semi-coherent. Like the kid dreaming of getting something and until he gets it, he'll frequent the store, and bug the salesperson. This guy was so out of it, he was actually telling the sales-rep about how he'd defaulted on numerous cell-contracts, maxing each one out until the service was terminated, and that he was too broke now, even for pre-pay.
Then, while waiting for a flight, I watched a young girl sit down and ready herself for the wait, too. I was doing a crossword puzzle... she carefully positioned two phones on her lap, and dialed a number on the third... and then proceded to maintain as many calls at once, as she could. If she wasn't dialing, one was ringing and she would show physical delight to the songs of ring-tone.
It was pathetic.
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