iPhone Forcing Open Wireless Networks?

fermion writes "Wired asserts that the iPhone blew up the wireless industry. This article argues that because Apple demanded the opportunity to control their own phone, and ATT née Cingular agreed, other companies are opening up the networks, and Google now has the opportunity to make Android a reality. There are other tidbits. Allegedly Verizon turned Jobs down without even listening to his pitch, a decision they may well regret now that they are hemorrhaging customers. Also, that Motorola and the networks were responsible for the fiasco dubbed the ROKR, something which I believe given how damaged the American version of the RAZR was compared to international version. It also estimates that the iPhone cost upward of $150 million to design, and earns Apple about $200 profit per phone."

Comments

Re:America in Europe

[sumdumass]

For many if not most Europeans, "America" means "the Americas." Most Europeans consider all of Europe to be Europe. It wouldn't occur to any European to invite a Serb, Swiss, Norwegian or Ukranian to come visit "Europe".

I must be communicating with all the Europeans that aren't in your most definition. It is only a rare few that wasn't to make the claim that America means "the Americas" instead of the last word in "The United States of America"?

I mean when you talk about an American, or something that happens in America, are you referring to the entire continental region of the North or South America and including the dozens or so countries that comprise them or are you talking about people in "The United States of America"?

I guess the Europeans I generally communicate with are smart enough to figure out the context of the statement. I wonder what is going on with Europeans lately that would be changing this to where now the majority of Europeans can get it anymore?

BTW, For the majority of people in America, the inclusion of eastern Europe in the term of Europe is a new thing. It was Europe and the eastern block during school for anyone who is older then 25 or 30. And then depending on the funding of the school district, the text books separating the two parts of Europe when talking about countries and political organization might not have been replaced for several years after the fall of the USSR. This might drop that down to 20 years old or so in some poorer parts of the country.

That is something that should be taken into consideration when attempting to determine context. IT is like using the word Gay around an 80 years old. If you asked them if they were ever Gay, they would think you mean happy and proceed to tell you of their gay times as a youth. None of which would mean or be homosexual in nature. The Gay 20s didn't mean an upswing in homosexuality. So you have to understand that while definitions might change, the context in which it is used and who is using it has to be determines to understand how it is being used. Continental Europe isn't the same Europe that was referred to during the cold war and it should be noted that geo-political entities like Europe or America aren't the same things as continental Europe or America.