Worst of the Week: I am a robot

Hello! And welcome to our Friday 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 RCRWireless.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way. We hope you enjoy it!
And without further ado:
If the recent Consumer Electronics Show taught me anything it’s that 2010 is shaping up to be the year of the Android. No, not the awesome replicant Pris from “Blade Runner,” but the highly touted operating system developed by Google that is infesting a growing number of phones and other devices. (Speaking of infesting and CES, another thing I learned at CES was that there is no hand sanitizer strong enough to kill whatever germs that are living on the chips at a craps table. Just sayin.)
Android-based smartphones were being shown by nearly every handset manufacturer and talked about by a lotof carriers. It’s sort of amazing to think that an operating system, which is really the heart and soul of a mobile device, that has been out for only a couple of years is now the de-facto set up for so many players in the industry.
Now, I am all in when it comes to handset manufacturers and carriers getting behind an “open” operating system, but this reliance on a single OS that is backed by such an uber-entity as Google has me worried. (But, be warned. I am usually all in when it comes to playing craps, and that has never turned out for the best.) Worried not just for my own personal safety, but for the long-term viability of those companies tying their future to Android.
Why the fear for my own safety? Well, the whole Android name is a bit too Skynet for my tastes as I fear once enough Android-powered devices are out in the wild, Google will throw some sort of master switch and turn each of those devices into a flesh-hungry killing machine. Laugh now (or don’t), but when we are all running for the nearest shopping mall looking to escape the Android-led slaughter, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
More pressing and perhaps slightly (and I mean ever-so-slightly) more realistic is the concern I have for companies banking their future on Android. Sure the OS is pretty snappy and has a growing base of application developers getting on board placing Android as the only real competitor to the mighty Apple. But, for companies to hitch their wagon (and future existence) to the OS and to Google is disconcerting.
I am sure the smart people running these companies are well aware of the risks involved, and the recent push by Google with its Nexus One to position itself as a competitor itself in the space was not something that caught them off guard. And many even tried to put a positive face on the situation as when Motorola’s co-CEO Sanjay Jha was on stage for the unveiling of the Nexus One.
However, Google’s true intentions in the mobile space, beyond procuring a new source to distribute advertising, are still murky. From “participating” in the 700 MHz auctions in order to guarantee open access to a slice of that spectrum, to being a constant voice in the battle over white spaces to its development of an open platform operating system, Google has had its gold-encrusted hands all up inside the mobile space.
I’m not saying that Google’s intentions in the wireless space are nothing more than what they have announced. But, if history has taught us anything it’s that there is nothing scarier than a crazy person with lots of money and idle time. And to base your future on those whims could be riskier than gambling in Las Vegas or heading to a mall during Zombie season.
OK, enough of that. Thanks for checking out this week’s Worst of the Week column. And now for some extras:
— I think the best part of the whole Android phenomenon is the angst it appears to be placing on those Apple fan-boys who cannot wait to show anyone around them the awesome new application(s) they downloaded to their phone any chance they get. If the word Android is mentioned to them it usually elicits a defense mechanism where they start spouting off the number of applications they can access in Apple’s App Store or about how awesome Steve Jobs is and that he really cares about people. Good stuff.
–It was great to see the increased embedding of wide area wireless technology in electronic devices at this year’s CES event. However, the thought of all of these devices trying to connect to a cellular network must be giving the wireless network engineers nightmares. If current networks are having a hard enough time handling traffic from a few million data-happy iPhone users, imagine the impact having tens of millions of devices looking to access networks will have. I know the carriers are aggressively trying to figure out ways to charge accordingly for usage on their networks and thus meter the amount of usage, but from the looks of things they are quickly running out of time.
I don’t fault carriers for putting off the inevitability of rolling out metered pricing. Consumers want their mobile usage in unlimited, buffet form, or not at all. But, the rollout of such pricing will require a massive education process that carriers seem averse to undertaking and no one else wants to take charge of.
–I am constantly blown away whenever I hear about a new company offering mobile services using an established carrier’s network for less than what the brand-name carrier charges. Companies like Tracfone’s Straight Talk, DataJack and to a lesser extent Sprint Nextel-owned Boost Mobile take the best of the coverage provided by the nationwide operators, but provide rate plans that are less expensive, offer more and don’t require a contract. I know they lack the marketing might of their parent networks, but these companies are like hidden gems in the mobile world. Little hidden gems.
—Just give it a second! It’s going to space!
I welcome your comments. Please send me an e-mail at dmeyer@ardenmediaco.com.