Verizon's "Any Apps, Any Device" press
release
How can any of this be true? Is the world coming to an end? Verizon
publicly
stated in a press release that they will soon allow any device
running any software to run on their network. Sprint was already
sued for
locking their phones so maybe Verizon is playing this as
something they’re doing voluntarily just because they know that
eventually it’ll go to court.
Hey, if the DMCA says that I can unlock my phone I think that the
carriers should be forced to take any phone I manage to unlock.
Otherwise the unlocking provisions of the DMCA are somewhat
useless.
GSM operators don’t really have a choice because the important
identification information is held on your SIM card and not tied to
your phone. Once you have a registered SIM card with a plan you can
just pop it into any GSM phone and you’re up and running. CDMA
operators don’t utilize technology like this yet so you are forced
to register your handset.
Thankfully there is a SIM card like system for CDMA called
R-UIM or CSIM. I would
much prefer this kind of technology instead of having Verizon
getting the chance to register and certify every handset I own.
That may come in the future but in the meantime if this actually
happens in 2008 it’s definitely a step in the right
direction.
What can go wrong (still)? Well, certification could be
prohibitively expensive or may require disabling certain hardware
features while still allowing any software to be run. Verizon could
also charge outrageous rates for these new handsets since they’re
just “adding an additional retail option for customers”. However, I
think that even if they start to play that game the ball is rolling
in the right direction. Pressure from other companies that follow
suit may eventually open up the US CDMA networks and spur some
innovation so we’re no longer the mobile phone eyesore of the
world.