DISQUS

louisgray.com: http://blog.louisgray.com/2009/06/at-has-us-considering-intersection-of.html

  • ChangeForge | Ken Stewart · 6 months ago
    OK, I'm going "Left" ;-)
  • Rob Nelson · 6 months ago
    Even though I'm a long time AT&T customer, and have generally liked their service, I'm considering jumping ship to get a competitive product after researching their iPhone deals. :( The tethering is one thing (this is the norm in the US), the MMS is laughable really. But what really gets me, is that they want twice the rate for the data service on the iPhone as any other phone. What gives there? I know they're subsidizing their share of the iPhone, but seriously? Too bad. It's looking like T-Mobile for me.
  • Antonella · 6 months ago
    Great post, I couldn't agree more.
    One clarification, though, on the following statement
    "It took a realistic alternative, like iTunes, that offered low per-track pricing and easy, trusted, downloads to push people to move away from illegal options, and for the most part, they have"
    Filesharing is still 95% of the music market in terms of volumes (see http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_resources/d... it has been proved as you say that a percentage of those users also represent the best customers of the entertainment industry (http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090604/01174...).
  • John E. Bredehoft (Empoprises) · 6 months ago
    While your points are true (well, perhaps Antonella has a point regarding illegal downloading), it should be noted that Apple openly entered into this marriage with AT&T, and truly intended to profit from it. As Pete Mortensen noted in 2007, "So by really committing to one carrier, Apple creates tremendous value for AT&T by giving them an unbelievably premium offering that only they may carry, and they also preserve value for Apple by ensuring that the iPhone never becomes a $29 device with a commitment to a two-year plan." And even with the latest announcements, it takes a lot more than $29 to get an iPhone, and Apple has profited handsomely over the last couple of years. So while Apple is rightfully disappointed in AT&T, they also need to be disappointed in themselves for locking themselves in to this situation.
  • Angus Burton · 6 months ago
    When you say "... but if the failures continue, they will start to break the rules," what do you foresee people actually doing?