Worst of the Week: The aftermath

Hello!
And welcome to our column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCRWirelessNews.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way. We hope you enjoy it!
And without further ado:
So, I’m not sure if I am suffering from a post-CTIA Wireless 2008 hangover – though looking through the receipts I am turning in for my expense report the term hangover does seem appropriate – but I just could not get excited about the wireless industry this week.
I could blame what was an almost total lack of any real news being released this week, which is understandable since most of the big items were released during a 12-minute block of time on the first day of the show, but I am a professional journalist – despite what this column or the picture attached would lead you to believe – and it’s my job to find what’s new and interesting in the wireless space.
(And for those looking for a coherent CTIA Wireless 2008 wrap-up may I suggest checking out Current Analysis’ Peter Jarich’s contribution to our Analyst Angle feature from earlier this week. The man has a way with words.)
But, alas, I seem to have failed this week as virtually nothing piqued my interest. Sure, there were the usual announcements from handset vendors not named Apple that they were set to release new devices that copy the very features that have made the iPhone quite the success, but are not to be considered “iPhone-killers.” All of these announcements come just as Apple is expected to announce updates to its rapidly aging device including a possible upgrade to 3G capabilities.
Yawn.
From this point on may I suggest to all handset vendors that unless they actually include some functionality that allows a new device to kill an iPhone that they not even bother announcing, let alone releasing, said device.
And then there was this little nugget about some rouge organization dubbed the “European Commission” loosening regulations on the use of cellphones during flights over Europe. I think this is a wonderful idea as I don’t live in Europe and will not have to deal with some yahoo yapping on his phone during a flight. In addition I think the EC should use its supreme power to also allow people to smoke on these flights as well as make all flights “pants-optional.” And if the EC wants to really show its control over the populace, it should force passengers to engage in all three activities at the same time. Now, that’s a flight I want to be a part of.
And finally I noticed that our pals in Japan at NTT – which at one point in time were considered on the cutting edge of any new mobile service including mobile cutting edges – are planning on testing a service that would allow customers to select and share scents coupled with mobile entertainment content. What the what!?! Is this where the future of mobile content is headed? Scents? Whatever happened to 3D holograms that sprouted from handset displays or the ability to control robots that would sing and dance for our amusement? Scents?
So, as you can see I really can’t be blamed for not getting too excited about the wireless space this week and should in fact be congratulated for coming up with the few words needed to fill this space. Perhaps a free trip to Europe or a dancing robot is in order.
OK! Enough of that.
Thanks for checking out this Worst of the Week column. And now, some extras:
–Just in case you have not been bludgeoned enough over the head with data showing how awesome the iPhone is and how much of a loser you are for not carrying one, A report earlier this week from Irish research firm – that’s right, I said Irish research firm – StatCounter claims Apple’s wonder device is the most used mobile browser for Internet access in the U.S., just edging out Nokia’s Symbian OS. So for those of you not using the iPhone to surf the Web, you might want to think about ditching that Flock of Seagulls haircut and get with the program.
–We are sure you saw the news that Motorola named former AT&T exec David Dorman to replace the venerable Ed Zander as chairman of the fabled and more recently feeble telecom giant. Now, I’m not downplaying Mr. Dorman’s credentials or his ability to turn around that ailing ship, but we are curious how we can get in on this executive merry-go-round that seems to be at play in the telecom space. It seems that every time one high-paid exec is shown the door, an old name that was put out to pasture not long ago is brought in to fix the problem. It’s like a constant rotation of batters that these companies dig into every time they need someone to bail out the water their previous savior let deluge their operations. We are sure it’s only a matter of time before Zander is introduced by a weakened player in the space as the savior that will right all that is wrong.