Phone Contracts

If I ran this country (and I really think I should), things would be different.

A  recent CRTC decision against Wind Mobile is a blow to competition in the mobile communications arena in Canada, which is too bad. We need all the competition we can get.

To step up the competition, I would implement the following: No cell-phone contracts with a duration exceeding 2 months.


Removing contracts would force companies to compete on a month by month basis and treat their customers better. As it is, most people in Canada are on 2 or 3 year contracts. The telcos bully their customers as they know you're locked in for a long period of time. Many people forget about the abuse, or forgive it as being "less abuse than the other guy gave me".

Companies would still be allowed to provide cell-phones on a long-term payment plan, but it would be in no way attached to the communications plan, just another long-term purchase. They would not be allowed to "lock" the phones. GSM vs. CDMA would cause a minor inconvenience, but consumers should be aware of the difference anyway.

Canada has the highest (or at least very close to it) mobile communication prices in the world. We need more competition!

Why I won't buy an iPhone

I currently have an HTC Diamond, running WM6.1, which I dislike in most ways. The hardware is actually quite nice, but Windows Mobile is really awful. I run a hacked version of Android on it occasionally, but with no access to the power saving options of the hardware, the battery life is poor. I'm looking forward to getting a new phone in the next couple of months, but it won't be an iPhone, for a number of reasons.

iTunes
Tying the hardware to iTunes for loading media is unacceptable to me, in both the iPhones and iPods. I want to be able to drop music or videos onto my device and organize them with any software I like. I want to be able to install any software I like on the phone in a similar manner. Locking people into iTunes is forcing them through your media channels for no reason other than greed.

Proprietary Connectors
I don't care how common they are, there's perfectly acceptable non-proprietary connectors around, and pulling a 'Sony' by adding a proprietary connector is a weasel-move. It was nice to see the EU standardize on micro-USB for charging, but I expect to see Apple just adding the connector to their phones for charging, and not even allowing data transfer. I would not be surprised in King Steve and his minions considered ignoring the standard. I'm at the point in my dislike of all things Apple that I will not buy an item if it only has an iPod connector, and will avoid it even if it has an iPod and USB connector.

Anticompetitive Behavior
This mainly relates to their app store policies, not allowing other software that 'duplicates' existing functionality, such as a web browser or music player. Apple does not want other people with superior products to make them look bad, and they solve this problem at the expense of their customers. If I want to install a different web browser, there should be nothing to stop me. The latest weasel-fest with eBooks  is also looking very anti-competitive.

Corporate Arrogance

"You're holding it wrong" pretty much sums it up. Some of the things said about Android that are misleading at best are also very arrogant. I'm hoping this sort of behaviour will look especially bad on them when they have a less dominant market position. As it is, I don't think I'm the only one that thinks their behaviour is arrogant.

Censorship
I realize that it's their store, but if they're not allowing people other options to install software then barring apps with nudity, etc, smells like censorship to me. Blocking the Android magazine app also has a certain odour. It smells like the same sort of censorship that dictatorships use to suppress dissent.

Development Environment

Forcing developers to use a Mac? Come on Apple, you shouldn't need to force people to use your platform. You're obviously hoping the number of iDevices out there bumps up the sales of your overpriced platform. Sadly, between that and Microsoft's loss of direction and lack of quality it probably will.

Fan-boys
This one is not Apple's fault, but it's a little annoying all the same. There are a large number of Apple 'zealots' out there that blindly defend every one of Apple's actions. These are the folks that told you you didn't need copy and paste or multi-tasking. These are the people that say it was the right thing to do to block application development using frameworks and cross-compilers. You can find these people in any discussion relating to Apple, and in many cases (Wired, I'm looking at you) writing the articles as well. There's a limit folks, try and look at things objectively. Apple can make mistakes just like any other company.

What would it take to change my mind?
At one time I would have considered getting a Mac, or at least recommending them to others, but Apple's behaviour has changed my mind. They have enough money at this point that they can loosen the death-grip a little and allow customers some control. As it is, it looks like we're moving towards more of an 'Evil Empire' than if Microsoft was at the helm. I would consider getting an iPhone if the following changes were made:

• Allow media to be managed via raw files (stop obfuscating names, etc)
• Allow side-loading of applications
• Put a proper USB connector on it

Even just these things would put an Apple phone (or iPod Touch) into the arena of consideration for me and many others. Does Apple think these things would confuse people too much, or would they just miss the profit they get from the consumer lock-in?