31 October 2007
Wake Up USA ! Get With the Mobile Phone Program.
I think it was Will Harris on Leo La Porte’s TWIT program that commented about how the USA is out of sync with the likes of the UK, when it comes to mobile phones.
Here in Australia (the place god made when he wanted paradise), due to the evolution of mobile phone plans (1st UK, then Australia, now USA), my fellow USA countrymen and women seem at odds with being able to fork out a few dollars for a phone.
Hearing the whinging about the I-phone cost at $USD600 when it came out (now $400), we folks here down yonder laughed (and cried), wanting to get our hands on one.
You see Australians had mobile phones before they really had mobile phone plans, think about that. If everyone buys a phone then sorts out a phone plan, the system just works.
Now that there are more mobile phone plans (and confusion) then you can shake a stick at, we Aussies (been one for 2 months now), can choose our destiny, buy a phone cheap (unlocked on eBay or the corner shop) then pick any plan we want.
You can do this in the UK and the USA but not as common as they are here.
This means the idea of forking out AUD $1200 for a new HTC TYTN 2 (my phone of choice) or a Palm Treo 750 (also made by HTC) and my wife’s choice just under $1000 is often cheaper then the plans where you may have to pay over $2000 for the phone with service over 2 years ($89 per month).
The problem for phone companies is they know Aussies being a resilent bunch will order from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong or Japan, if they feel they are being ripped off.
This makes Australia a country the size of the USA but with the population of a few more than Holland (The Netherlands) and less folks per square mile than almost anyone, a tough egg to crack.
When (and if) the I-Phone comes to Australia, if it is on a phone plan and folks get too upset here, they will just buy one from one of our nearby neighbors, and screw Apple.
Until then we will import them from wherever or whomever we choose, unless someone comes along and offers us a good reason to do something else. But we got it right. A mature well educated market close to countries that now how to sell cheap.
As long as the USA market is what it is, the likes of AT&T and Apple can force folks how to buy, when to buy and now how to pay.
USA, get with the program.
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