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Google to mobile industry: 'F*** you very much'

theregister.co.uk

21–30 of 99 posts

Re: Google to mobile industry: 'F*** you very much'

#21
post #15

Awww. Do the poor wittle cellphone manufacturers have their poor wittle feelings hurt? Here, have a blankie. Really, I’m having trouble seeing what the complaint is behind all the bombast. The author doesn’t claim that Google is selling the phones at a loss or doing anything else that would raise an antitrust issue. Carriers can offer the Nexus alongside other manufacturers’ Android phones and, for that matter, the t…

My first thoughts as well. It's about time someone with actual clout gave the mobile phone cartel the shaft. Yes, it's a cartel, when you pay $.50 a text message off your plan with all carriers there's gotta be some price fixing behind the scenes.

Not sure having one mobile provider will result in a reduction of price. It's free now but you will pay later.

Re: Google to mobile industry: 'F*** you very much'

#22
How much the consumers have gotten screwed on the phones is peanuts compared to how much the consumers have gotten screwed on voice charges. Really, there is no such thing as circuit switched networks anymore, so there is no technical reason to charge people by the minute. Google, get Skype/Google Talk/whatever on there, let us buy flat fee data plans, and put the bastards out of business already.

Re: Google to mobile industry: 'F*** you very much'

#25
post #5
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, not at all. Worse, Google is a public company, toiling under the requirement (by law no less) to ever increase share holder value. If Google found itself as the main (or sole) player in the cell market there would be a very obvious way to dramatically increase share holder value. And if they play the game properly they will also use this time of dominance to set up so many blocks to market entry that no one will…

I don't think that's true. Google's multi-class stock system makes them less subject to the immediate whims of the shareholders. Google's main strategy now is to make the internet better. Anything that improves the internet makes them more money. Cell phones are the internet. So if Google improves the cell phone marketplace, they make more money. Google taking advantage of a cell phone monopoly is unlikely if it take…

> Cell phones are the internet.

What?

Re: Google to mobile industry: 'F*** you very much'

#27
post #10

So, I'm kind of torn here. We're watching Google ascend to a position where they can bend numerous markets to their whim, but they aren't really cheating the consumers at all. If anything, they've been great to us. Beyond that, as a college kid with an interest in distributed systems/networks, I should probably be angling to try to work there someday. But still, I'm scared, because it's hard to trust a company that b…

they aren't really cheating the consumers at all. If anything, they've been great to us The thing is this: the relationship that exists between me and T-mobile is, I pay them money and they provide me with voice and data and BlackBerry services. Now I'm obviously just one individual, but I am fairly representative of a high-value subset of T-mobile's customer base and as a collective, T-mobile's interests are well al…

Not exactly. The relationship you have with T-mobile is that they have signed you to a contract that locks you in to their service. At every turn T-mobile's goal is to lock you in, and once you're locked in they don't care about you.

By contrast Google sets things up so that you can switch at any time, and they constantly have to keep you happy.

Re: Google to mobile industry: 'F*** you very much'

#28
post #9

Since we've all been screwed by the mobile industry for the entirety of its existence, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel indignant towards Google for pissing off said industry. There are very few industries more arrogant and abusive than the telcos (at least in the US; I dunno about the UK), and if Google wants to take their place, I'm all for it. Instead of playing the consumer-screwing game better (like Apple d…

So your argument, in a nutshell, is "two wrongs do indeed make a right"?

Re: Google to mobile industry: 'F*** you very much'

#29
post #25
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that's true. Google's multi-class stock system makes them less subject to the immediate whims of the shareholders. Google's main strategy now is to make the internet better. Anything that improves the internet makes them more money. Cell phones are the internet. So if Google improves the cell phone marketplace, they make more money. Google taking advantage of a cell phone monopoly is unlikely if it take…

> Cell phones are the internet. What?

In large parts of the world most people access the internet over their phone, not a computer. For example India.

Even here in the USA people are moving towards using their phone as a primary way to connect with services delivered over the internet.

Re: Google to mobile industry: 'F*** you very much'

#30
post #9

Since we've all been screwed by the mobile industry for the entirety of its existence, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel indignant towards Google for pissing off said industry. There are very few industries more arrogant and abusive than the telcos (at least in the US; I dunno about the UK), and if Google wants to take their place, I'm all for it. Instead of playing the consumer-screwing game better (like Apple d…

So your argument, in a nutshell, is "two wrongs do indeed make a right"?

I fail to see the second wrong.

What did Google do? They built their own unlocked phone following the open reference platform that they helped create. And now they are trying to sell that phone on the open market.

How is this wrong?

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