Maybe it was too much caffeine, but it seems the wireless industry did a lot last week to get our editorial staff talking/critiquing, cheering and the like-in other words, hedgehogging. Here are a few of our favorite rants from last week.
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Citing a wave of complaints from educators, newly social conscious Phat Tonez said it stopped selling the adult-proof “Mosquito” ringtone. The company said the downloadable ringtone hijacks a medical condition called the Presbycusis Effect that makes the noise inaudible to people over the age of 20. Phat Tonez director James Winsoar noted, “Originally we thought the stealth ringtone was an amazing use of mobile-phone technology, but we have to square up to our social responsibilities too and therefore have taken the unprecedented action of removing the ringtone from sale all together.”
Hopefully Phat Tonez can make up for any lost revenues through the availability of the new “Snitch” ringtone from Obie Trice that includes the lyrics: “Got glocks for sale, red tops for sale/Anything you need, believe me, I’m gon lace you/Just don’t whatever you do, Snitch/Cause you will get hit, pray I don’t lace you, yeah.”
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AT&T Inc. is upping the ante in trying to win government approval for its purchase of BellSouth Corp. In addition to promising to test wireless broadband technology on its spectrum (wouldn’t they do that anyway?) the company has pledged $1 million to help advance public safety. $1 million in cash, small unmarked bills? Used equipment? Free use of its network? This isn’t a bribe, is it? Because bribery is illegal. Also, isn’t $1 million a little insulting? After all, Cingular just recorded $847 million in profit this quarter.
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L.A.-based Hoi Polloi unveiled its Freecall service that claims to provide free telephone calls to China, Hong Kong, Singapore and several European countries from any phone. So let me get this straight, I can make free crank calls to China, but to call my neighbor during the day will cost me? Technology is awesome!
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Agilent. Teligent. And now a chipmaker, Telegent. (Notice the startup is using an “e” to distinguish itself from former Tel-i-gent, which once planned to be a great wireless broadband service provider. Modeo, Moviso, Molodeo. Brightpoint, CellStar, Brightstar. Obviously this is part of a grand scheme to driver journalists crazy. And yes, it’s working.
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Are ruggedized phones the future? During a recent visit to a carrier-owned retail store several customers were overheard asking salespeople for a phone that could stand up to the occasional spill, both from the user’s hands as well as from beverages. Beyond a handful of Sprint Nextel devices, few carriers are targeting the error-prone market. Perhaps once the thin craze has run its course, handset manufacturers and carriers might want to tackle the ruggedized market.
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Cingular and Sprint Nextel show no sign of letting up in their attacks on each other. Just as Sprint Nextel announced plans to launch QChat push-to-talk service in 2008, Cingular began an ad campaign touting its PTT service.
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Have you made your hotel reservations for the CES show in January? We booked an ordinary room at the MGM-Grand. Price: $480. Ridiculous.
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The government is all excited about using RFID technology for passports and the State Department said the Department of Homeland Security will put protections in place to keep the government database of biographical data and a photograph secure. Like they kept the VA database secure?
