What Would Happen if MS cut the Middle Man -Carriers-?

[apinkel]

I like having carrier sanctioned phones. One that I know has been tested on the carrier's network and verified to work with the current and upcoming network configurations they have.

I really like what MS has done with the preview for developers program... it's a way for a technically inclined person like myself to try out the latest and greatest features but with the understanding that I can't go to the carrier expecting support for a release that they haven't been able to verify.

 

[a5cent]

What gives you the idea that they are all willing to work together to take down carriers right now?

This! Apple is completely reliant on carrier phone subsidies. Apple will do everything they can to prevent a direct and off-contract sales model becoming popular in the U.S. as that would instantly wipe out the huge profit margins and sales volumes they currently enjoy.
Apple would prefer that U.S. customers continue to believe an iPhone costs only $200. The irony is that U.S. citizens actually end up paying far more for their phones than people in other developed nations, because their monthly carrier bills are so much more expensive (which is how customers pay back the carrier subsidy over time + interest).

 

[trekgraham]

Plus you got people like Leo Laporte telling people that Windows Phone is dead, promoting Android and iPhone. Why would I want something owned by Google?

 

[Chris_Kez]

Programs like AT&T Next make it just as easy and "cheap" to buy an iPhone. The price displayed in large-font is now the monthly payment for the Next program. Americans want what they want, and paying $30/month is all the rationalization they need to buy a $750 phone. I mean, it's "only" $30. That's like a 1/10 of a car payment. The underlying issue is that Americans as a group have no problem buying things on credit even if it's not in their long term financial interest.

 

[Kevin Rush]

Plus you got people like Leo Laporte telling people that Windows Phone is dead, promoting Android and iPhone. Why would I want something owned by Google?

Yes, Leo Laporte seems to always have the negative slant when Windows Phone is mentioned. He has no real knowledge about it, just an underlying consistent bias. Windows Weekly is better when he is on vacation.

 

[RumoredNow]

I like having carrier sanctioned phones. One that I know has been tested on the carrier's network and verified to work with the current and upcoming network configurations they have...

...a way for a technically inclined person like myself to try out the latest and greatest features...

I'm gonna go ahead and mash your 2 points together.

Have you ever tried a Factory Unlocked phone? That's a way to try out the latest and greatest features, rather than being tied into the slim offerings at the carrier store.

T-Mo never offered the 1520. AT&T hamstrung the beast to strip out half of the internal memory (?how the heck does that make sense? - "Great phone, but people don't want storage space on a flagship") and went out of their way to cripple its wireless charging and increase the cost by making customers who want to charge wirelessly pay more to buy a special charging jacket.

Look at how T-Mo suddenly dropped the 810. What is Verizon currently doing to Icon? "Carrier Exclusives" that keep some of the best hardware restricted in ownership. Sprint comes back to WP with the 635 as their only model...

These kinds of shenanigans go on all the time.

Respectfully, you are completely missing the point and it sounds like you have not really looked into unlocked phones at all. Your opening paragraph sounds like it could have been written by a carrier and put into one of their point-of-sale pamphlets.

 

[tgp]

I'm gonna go ahead and mash your 2 points together.

Have you ever tried a Factory Unlocked phone? That's a way to try out the latest and greatest features, rather than being tied into the slim offerings at the carrier store.

T-Mo never offered the 1520. AT&T hamstrung the beast to strip out half of the internal memory (?how the heck does that make sense? - "Great phone, but people don't want storage space on a flagship") and went out of their way to cripple its wireless charging and increase the cost by making customers who want to charge wirelessly pay more to buy a special charging jacket.

Look at how T-Mo suddenly dropped the 810. What is Verizon currently doing to Icon? "Carrier Exclusives" that keep some of the best hardware restricted in ownership. Sprint comes back to WP with the 635 as their only model...

These kinds of shenanigans go on all the time.

Respectfully, you are completely missing the point and it sounds like you have not really looked into unlocked phones at all. Your opening paragraph sounds like it could have been written by a carrier and put into one of their point-of-sale pamphlets.

I tend to agree with you, but he does have a very valid point. Take an unlocked and unbranded phone in to AT&T and see how much support you'll get. Try to use T-Mobile's WiFi calling feature on an unlocked phone. Most customers don't care about faster updates or latest and greatest features. In fact, take the average random customer's phone and look at it. Often you will see updates waiting to be installed, whether app updates or an OS update. Users want to walk in to a carrier store, get a phone off the shelf, and later get instant support when needed.

Those of us here on the forums are a different breed of customer.

 

[TechJunkie81]

MS shouldn't cut the middle man. They should become the middle man. They should buy T-Mobile.

 

[RumoredNow]

I tend to agree with you, but he does have a very valid point. Take an unlocked and unbranded phone in to AT&T and see how much support you'll get. Try to use T-Mobile's WiFi calling feature on an unlocked phone. Most customers don't care about faster updates or latest and greatest features. In fact, take the average random customer's phone and look at it. Often you will see updates waiting to be installed, whether app updates or an OS update. Users want to walk in to a carrier store, get a phone off the shelf, and later get instant support when needed.

Those of us here on the forums are a different breed of customer.

True enough... You do give up Carrier Ware. A conscious choice I made every time I've used an unlocked phone. As for support, I've found that doing my own research is way more effective with any tech whether the device is officially supported or not by carrier, system, OEM, whomever. I'll wager the intelligence/knowledge/skill of on-line communities against carrier reps any day of the week.

If you do your research (and this goes back to educating the American consumer) you do in fact pay less for a device, have more options on hardware/software/features and suffer no mismatch in network capability. If you do your research. You are not bound to a carrier. You have more flexibility in being able to switch coverage if you move, travel, just plain want to. Most often it leads to saving money on the monthly bill as well.

 

[tgp]

If you do your research.

That's the kicker right there. I agree with you 100%, but remember, we are in the minority. Most users do not want to do what we do, nor do they care about the benefits or even the cost savings.

 

[RumoredNow]

That's the kicker right there. I agree with you 100%, but remember, we are in the minority. Most users do not want to do what we do, nor do they care about the benefits or even the cost savings.

Their laziness and inattention should not keep the rest of us here in the US enslaved ti the carrier's model.

 

[tgp]

Their laziness and inattention should not keep the rest of us here in the US enslaved ti the carrier's model.

It is not laziness and inattention at all. (First we call developers lazy, and now users too???) There should be no need for a cell phone user to do it at all. The carrier branded models work well enough. If it works out of the box, it will for the most part work just as well a year or two later, even if updates have been pushed. Does WP8 not work now that WP8.1 is released, or does iOS7 not work now that iSO8 is out, or KitKat is suddenly broken since Lollipop is rolling out? It is only we enthusiasts that care about it.

Do you constantly have the hood open on your car and are tweaking it? Did you know that there's a lot you can do to improve performance? I don't mess with mine, even though I have the knowledge to do so. Yes, I am a mechanic and I have repaired, overhauled, and switched engines. But I don't mess with mine unless it's necessary. I get in, turn the key, and go. It's the same with virtually all mobile phone users. They don't want to mess with it. They want to use it.

 

[RumoredNow]

Do you constantly have the hood open on your car and are tweaking it?

We are not talking about modding... We are talking about the equivalant of a road commissioner telling the public only certain Chevrolet models can drive this route, or that one specific car from Volkswagon. All others are prohibited.

 

[tgp]

We are not talking about modding... We are talking about the equivalant of a road commissioner telling the public only certain Chevrolet models can drive this route, or that one specific car from Volkswagon. All others are prohibited.

I see what you're saying, but I still don't quite agree. In this analogy, if you must drive on this specific route, then buy a vehicle that is allowed. If you don't like any of the approved vehicles, then drive a different route. The choice is yours.

Verizon has plenty of phones that work just fine. It's just that the certain kinds you like cannot be used on Verizon, or you don't like how Verizon handles them. If you don't like any of Verizon's phone or how they handle them, then use a different carrier. The choice is yours.

 

[RumoredNow]

Which brings us back to the point of this thread...

Factory Unlocked makes it so easy to find the road that is right for you. And easier to switch without any ETF.

US carriers really don't want consumers to have that freedom you just described. They love to hear, "I want to quite Verizon, but I would owe $357.28 on my phone!!! Guess I'll stay where I am. Whoa is me."

 

[RumoredNow]

BTW... Me having a Factory Unlocked 1520.3 has prevented Zero people from signing a Carrier Contract and getting a phone "subsidy."

​No consumer should argue against choice and competition. That's counter intuitive.

 

[tgp]

BTW... Me having a Factory Unlocked 1520.3 has prevented Zero people from signing a Carrier Contract and getting a phone "subsidy."

​No consumer should argue against choice and competition. That's counter intuitive.

You're correct. And I agree with you 110%. It's just that most users don't even care about what we're discussing here. They walk into a Verizon store, buy an iPhone or whichever Samsung is recommended to them, and 2 years later they walk back into the store and do it all over again. Did their phone get an update in that time? Who knows, and who cares?

And to play devil's advocate, everyone has a choice. We can choose whether or not to sign a 2 year contract.

 

[trekgraham]

MS shouldn't cut the middle man. They should become the middle man. They should buy T-Mobile.

I like this idea

 

[Jorge Holguin]

Another thing I will say is that although the T-Mb Wi-Fi free calling is really good but it's not really necessary because most of the deals from every carrier has unlimited call and text. Even I mistakenly though that I had that Wi-Fi app but one reader pointed out I was wrong. Making me to realized that we don't need the Wi-Fi calling. I love my unlocked1520 and the day other carrier offer a better deal that the one I have I can move anytime I want and with not fear of a cancellation fee.

 

[Laura Knotek]

True enough... You do give up Carrier Ware. A conscious choice I made every time I've used an unlocked phone. As for support, I've found that doing my own research is way more effective with any tech whether the device is officially supported or not by carrier, system, OEM, whomever. I'll wager the intelligence/knowledge/skill of on-line communities against carrier reps any day of the week.

If you do your research (and this goes back to educating the American consumer) you do in fact pay less for a device, have more options on hardware/software/features and suffer no mismatch in network capability. If you do your research. You are not bound to a carrier. You have more flexibility in being able to switch coverage if you move, travel, just plain want to. Most often it leads to saving money on the monthly bill as well.

The disadvantage is you also might give up LTE by purchasing an unlocked international device, since many international devices don't support US LTE bands.