Pushy Scumbag Carriers
Brad Reed at BGR:
It’s something we’ve long suspected but now we finally have the proof we need: Your wireless carrier wants to push you to buy a Samsung smartphone over an iPhone. Kantar Worldpanel has just released a new study (PDF) confirming reports that we’ve long heard about carriers trying to steer their customers away from the iPhone and toward rival devices — most prominently, Samsung’s.
No shit. Mobile carriers and cable companies are run by scumbags.
Let’s continue:
Why, exactly, are carriers doing this? It’s not exactly a conspiracy so much as it’s rational self-interest. The iPhone carries a very high subsidy cost for carriers, who are concerned about Apple racking up too much market power. After all, if the iPhone becomes more popular than it already is, then it gives Apple leverage to push for even stronger carrier subsidies.This is exacerbated by the fact that iPhone customers are the most fanatically loyal smartphone users around — once they’ve been converted they don’t even think of trying other devices.
This last part is the key: “This is exacerbated by the fact that iPhone customers are the most fanatically loyal smartphone users around”.
This isn’t as correct as it should be. Apple sold 1-2 million iPhones in 2007. They sold over 35 million iPhones in Q3 2014.
It’s not only that iPhone customers are loyal: Apple continues to gain more and more loyal users each quarter of each year. There’s a good chance the person you’re pointing at and calling an “Apple fanoi” or an “Apple fanatic” wasn’t one 6 months or a year ago. This is despite the efforts of scumbag carriers trying to convince you to buy phones you don’t want.
As Steve Jobs once said, “Let the consumers vote with their wallets.”