The Need for Network Compatibility

As a staunch advocate of ‘my network is more important than my phone,’ I come from the school of thought that the more Apple and Google open up their phones to all networks, the better off we as consumers will be.  Now granted, Google is doing a much better job with the Android platform in terms of working on multiple networks but it still has its faults.  Apple on the other hand still doesn’t get what it could have.  Apple execs have said the reason AT&T is still their carrier of choice for the iPhone and now iPad is because of AT&T’s cutting edge prices and freedom it has given Apple with both the iPhone and iPad.  But what Apple doesn’t understand is that not only are consumers on other networks suffering by the lack of Apple product freedom, but so are AT&T customers.  This is because AT&T was never ready for the data usage the iPhone has brought to their network.

If Apple were to release the iPhone or some model thereof to Verizon (who’s network is by far the best) and T-Mobile…  everyone wins.  Well everyone except AT&T, but haven’t they been winning since 2007?!?

Anyways, the more carriers who carry your product, the more people there are to purchase your product.  Now this also begins to not only benefit people who want an iPhone, but will also anyone who already owns one.  The more people there are developing apps for the app store the better off everyone will be.  I mean the only thing that separates the iPhone from any new HTC or Samsung phone these days is the app store.

With the strides Google, Blackberry, and Palm are making with their respective app stores, this means Apple better have the most and best developers creating apps or they will essentially be just one of the four app stores as opposed to the only app store in the future.

Now we are beginning to hear about Google and Apple cutting ties (which publicly they deny) but inevitably will happen.  With Google entering the mobile market and releasing their own full-blown OS next year, they are going to be head-to-head rivals with Apple.  But as much as they may compete against each other, Apple and Google need each other.

If Apple or Google has no competition, we as tech consumers lose on prices and innovation.  Google is beginning to head down the correct path and rightly so.  They seem to be the only company that has any chance of competing with Apple, which again only benefits everyone.  So we can only hope that Apple, Google, and all the other leading phone and OS manufacturers opt for the consumer and not for the best exclusivity contract.