アメリカの携帯ユーザーはキャリア・インセンティブの虜だ

Why So Many Are So Wrong on the ‘Google Phone’ | PC Magazine
〈なぜ多くのひとが Google Phone について間違っているか〉

If Google releases an unlocked GSM phone in the U.S., it’s unlikely to sell many units, because it will be seen as prohibitively expensive. Americans rely on carrier subsidies to make device prices look palatable. The iPhone actually costs $599, but what most people see is the $199 price after its carrier subsidy. Google could release a truly $199 phone, but they’d lose a huge amount of money on every sale.

I hate America’s addiction to phone subsidies, but it’s a very uphill battle to try to fight it.

Back in 2007, there was a lot of speculation behind how Apple would sell the iPhone. One exciting idea was that Apple would start its own wireless carrier, which would show the other carriers how to do customer service. Some other pundits hoped they’d release an unlocked phone instead. When Apple did neither of these, the anti-AT&T rage began.

It’s clear that American consumers want some sort of messiah to save them from the structure of our wireless industry. But it’s not going to be Apple, and it’s probably not going to be Google, either. If you feel that strongly that you need to be freed from the carrier-controlled system, write to your Congressional representative – that’s the only way things will change any time soon.

Technorati Tags: Carrier, Google Phone, Smartphone, Subsidy