Verizon's latest Android press release
I can admit when I’m wrong. About two weeks ago I posted how
excited I was about the Android platform and then promptly
retracted my statements saying that Verizon would never adopt
it.
Today I am gladly eating my words as Verizon has announced that
they are
embracing the Android platform for their open access push.
Normally I’d still be skeptical but in a rare outbreak of
positivity when it comes to the US EVDO network I have changed my
tune. Some important quotes that lead me to believe that this is
for real are:
“By contrast, Verizon Wireless has created the most profitable U.S.
cellular business by tightly restricting the devices and
applications allowed to run on its network. But over the past year,
the company's leadership came to conclude that it was time for a
radical shift. Such a move, they reckoned, might help Verizon
Wireless keep growing while holding down costs.” -- This is a no
brainer. What evidence do they have that an open platform would’ve
hurt their profit margins? Maybe they just heard of Europe...
“This allows them to add customers onto their network without
having to spend as much to get them” -- Yes, they won’t have people
like me asking why a feature that the manufacturer added was turned
off (like syncing contacts over Bluetooth, etc.)
“Small companies have a hard time affording the development” -- I
can attest to that. Try launching any Java application as an
independent developer on Verizon’s network now. Better yet, just
try getting access to a device that doesn’t have a completely
locked down Java environment for testing.
“Google is hoping the large, open scale of its Android platform
will remove that hurdle, slashing development costs. So does
McAdam, who expects a flowering of tens of thousands of
applications.” -- Yes, thousands of applications that will make
people want to use their phone and sign up for data plans... oh,
and you can flatly refuse to support it and pass them on to someone
else if something goes wrong therefore slashing your technical
support costs.
“Five years from now the industry will be open like us, I think we
could be at an inflection point.” -- I sure hope so. It’s funny to
think that phone companies could some day strive to be as open as
Verizon. :)
“Though the company will insist on testing all phones developed to
run on its network in the open-access program, Verizon plans only
to ensure the wireless connection is working for customers who buy
those devices.” -- This is the big one. If Verizon isn’t lying then
they’re really going to just make sure the CDMA/EVDO chipsets work,
that customers can make calls, and that they can send data packets
from their phones. Everything else is on them. This is really what
I needed to hear to believe it.
So, do you believe it? Either way,
let me know what you think!