Interesting People mailing list archives
Re: About the Dark Side
From: David Farber <dfarber () cs cmu edu>
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2007 13:16:37 -0400
Begin forwarded message: From: Ole Jacobsen <ole () cisco com> Date: September 30, 2007 1:06:20 PM EDT To: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com> Cc: Dave Farber <dave () farber net> Subject: Re: About the Dark Side Reply-To: Ole Jacobsen <ole () cisco com> OK, so that explains the CARRIERS. Apple, on the other hand, is already charging a fair amount for the iPhone, and I would expect to pay a premium for an unlocked phone that could be used on any GSM network with any SIM card. This is effectively what happens if you buy a handset directly from a dealer without contract. While this business model is not the norm in the US, it does exists in other parts of the world, AND: If Apple sold such phones without contract, they could do so in any Apple store anywhere in the world. This is of course how everything else is sold from Apple, the iPod being a prime example. So, I guess it comes down to balancing the amount of cash Apple can extract from carriers through exclusive deals versus how many shiny iPhone units they could sell in a "free market" situation. Apple will argue that they have more control of the "experience" if they work closely with a carrier, and will point to Visual Voicemail as an example of something that requires network tweaks. While this may be true, it is either something that just can't scale or some kind of hidden GSM feature that everyone could easily implement. In either case (and no, I don't know the answer) I don't think it is important enough to restrict an entire market segment: those who simply want to buy a phone for its features and who will happily get service from any carrier as they choose. I'll go on record and say that I will buy an iPhone from Apple (not a hacked one) and pay up to $200 extra if it comes unlocked and supports 3G (UMTS 2100Mhz WCDMA). We shall see... Ole Ole J. Jacobsen Editor and Publisher, The Internet Protocol Journal Cisco Systems Tel: +1 408-527-8972 Mobile: +1 415-370-4628 E-mail: ole () cisco com URL: http://www.cisco.com/ipj On Sun, 30 Sep 2007, Lauren Weinstein wrote:
Here is the part I don't understand: In many parts of the world the sale of "cool" replacement ('upgrade') handsets is Big Buiness. While having AT&T as the exclusive provide in the US might be a good way for Apple to get started in the handset business, why can't they just SELL THE PHONE at a premium to folks who are willing to pay. Surely this would sell a lot more iPhones at the end of the day?Ole, Thanks. I suspect the main issue is that the carriers got themselves into the box early on of subsidizing phones tied to contracts, and now there's no effective way out in terms of the mass market. People are used to cheap phones, and only specialized users (business users, other power users, heavy e-mail users, etc.) will pay for more expensive phones, and even they usually expect it to be partly subsidized at least -- with the iPhone being a notableexception. I don't see the iPhone model becoming the standard though --I suspect it's an aberration in the normal subsidization model that we won't see repeated on that scale very frequently. We'll see over time. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein lauren () vortex com or lauren () pfir org Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 http://www.pfir.org/lauren Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
------------------------------------------- Archives: http://v2.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now RSS Feed: http://v2.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/ Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
Current thread:
- About the Dark Side David Farber (Sep 30)
- <Possible follow-ups>
- Re: About the Dark Side David Farber (Sep 30)
- Re: About the Dark Side David Farber (Sep 30)
- Re: Re: About the Dark Side David Farber (Sep 30)
- Re: About the Dark Side David Farber (Sep 30)
- Re: About the Dark Side David Farber (Sep 30)
- Re: About the Dark Side David Farber (Sep 30)