Mobile devices might soon become carrier agnostic
By Emilio Castellanos
Up to now carriers have dominated and controlled most every aspect of the device, network, content distribution, payments, and many more consumer facing services in the market; but, times are changing. The symbiosis between devices and consumers might be pushing carriers towards new standards that could open the market to greater innovation.
First went the so called "walled gardens" with the introduction of the iPhone and Blackberry. Consumers, being able to access URL's directly from their phone browser, quickly abandoned the value-less proposition that the carriers forced upon them and flocked in numbers to the growing pool of mobile sites sprouting-up around the spectrum.
Carriers may now be tempted to relinquish the dominance they have enjoyed on the devices themselves: they are realizing that higher-priced unlimited data and text messaging plans might be bringing more value to their customers and more money into their arcs --do they really need more money?
As subscribers discover and grow dependent on services such as SMS, breaking news streams, mobile sites, email on-the-go, weather, applications, radio, video, location based, and more, they will find themselves unwilling to cancel/unsubscribe due to their utility and perceived value.
Now the long awaited Palm Pre, coming in from Sprint with a $99.99 unlimited plan, will open up the market even more for people to experiment with higher data plans and uses. It is not yet clear how soon the Palm Pre will make its way to other carriers but it is rumored that 2 different versions of the iPhone might soon be available through other networks next year.
The introduction of other products by companies like T-Mobile and RIM will further accelerate the higher data usage trend and market appeal for more powerful devices. These will sure be exciting news for the mobile world as applications and connectivity become widely available.
What will carriers relinquish next?
[Here is a video of the new Palm Pre:]
