Cell Phone OS
Interesting article about how Verizon is joining AT&T in disabling certain features on phones running the Android operating system. If you've never heard of Android, it's a phone operating system from Google that is free, uses open standards, and is available on many different handsets from many different manufactures and many different wireless providers.
The new version of Android OS (2.2 Froyo) supports tethering (tying your phone to your PC for use as an Internet connection) and also the ability to use your phone as a WiFi hotspot that serves several devices in the immediate area (I think up to 5). These are useful features, but they increase the amount of data usage on the wireless networks. If you buy your phone from your wireless provider, you're generally buying a handset that has a modified (provider-specific) version of the phone operating system. In short, the wireless companies add programs (often useless, but designed to sell you crap) and disable features (often useful, but ones that tax their network).
Imagine buying a Windows PC from your internet service provider. You get your Windows updates from your ISP instead of Microsoft, and in those updates the ISP disables your modem (unless you pay them an extra $20/month) and forces you to use some no-name e-mail software. You only get the Windows updates that your ISP agrees to distribute, versus getting every update that Microsoft issues. Sounds ridiculous, but I just described the exact model in use today for cell phones.
Americans want the latest thing, and they want it free (or cheap). At present, few people go into the wireless phone store and ask "what version of the operating system does it run and what features/programs have you added/removed?" They want an iPhone for free, because they look cool and their friends have one. Chances are good that the iPhone (or Droid) handset they're buying is so far advanced compared to their old phone that the improvements outweigh the drawbacks of limited features and having to sign a new contract. As more and more people get (and use) these next generation phones, I believe they will start asking those questions.
There may also be a legal consideration. Whether you extend your contract when you get it or not, under most conditions you're actually buying the phone from your provider. It's your phone. I doubt the terms of sale require you to run the operating system provided by your wireless company, but in fact that's what happens. You cannot remove certain programs, you cannot access certain hardware features. In most cases, modifying or changing the operating system voids the warranty. Upgrades to the phone OS come directly from the wireless provider, who actually pushes out a modified version of the update - one that retains the customizations that the provider wants. Remember when Microsoft pushed Internet Explorer out with every copy of Windows? They got taken to court on the grounds that it was anti-competitive, and they lost.
For me personally, it's further evidence that I made the right decision to buy a phone direct from Google. I got the full version of Android 2.2 when the phone was shipped to me. Any updates I get will come directly from Google, the guys who make the OS.
The new version of Android OS (2.2 Froyo) supports tethering (tying your phone to your PC for use as an Internet connection) and also the ability to use your phone as a WiFi hotspot that serves several devices in the immediate area (I think up to 5). These are useful features, but they increase the amount of data usage on the wireless networks. If you buy your phone from your wireless provider, you're generally buying a handset that has a modified (provider-specific) version of the phone operating system. In short, the wireless companies add programs (often useless, but designed to sell you crap) and disable features (often useful, but ones that tax their network).Imagine buying a Windows PC from your internet service provider. You get your Windows updates from your ISP instead of Microsoft, and in those updates the ISP disables your modem (unless you pay them an extra $20/month) and forces you to use some no-name e-mail software. You only get the Windows updates that your ISP agrees to distribute, versus getting every update that Microsoft issues. Sounds ridiculous, but I just described the exact model in use today for cell phones.
Americans want the latest thing, and they want it free (or cheap). At present, few people go into the wireless phone store and ask "what version of the operating system does it run and what features/programs have you added/removed?" They want an iPhone for free, because they look cool and their friends have one. Chances are good that the iPhone (or Droid) handset they're buying is so far advanced compared to their old phone that the improvements outweigh the drawbacks of limited features and having to sign a new contract. As more and more people get (and use) these next generation phones, I believe they will start asking those questions.
There may also be a legal consideration. Whether you extend your contract when you get it or not, under most conditions you're actually buying the phone from your provider. It's your phone. I doubt the terms of sale require you to run the operating system provided by your wireless company, but in fact that's what happens. You cannot remove certain programs, you cannot access certain hardware features. In most cases, modifying or changing the operating system voids the warranty. Upgrades to the phone OS come directly from the wireless provider, who actually pushes out a modified version of the update - one that retains the customizations that the provider wants. Remember when Microsoft pushed Internet Explorer out with every copy of Windows? They got taken to court on the grounds that it was anti-competitive, and they lost.
For me personally, it's further evidence that I made the right decision to buy a phone direct from Google. I got the full version of Android 2.2 when the phone was shipped to me. Any updates I get will come directly from Google, the guys who make the OS.
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