Earlier this year HBO unveiled HBO and Cinemax Go, their new walled-garden broadband video platforms that offer HBO and Cinemax content to users online — if you already pay for HBO and Cinemax on traditional cable and if your ISP has struck a partnership to carry the services. That latter catch, pioneered by ESPN for their ESPN3 service, has been taking flak for disrupting the traditional consumer choice content access model, and shaping your view of the Internet depending on which ISP you have. HBO’s been slower than ESPN in striking deals with ISPs, so far only offering the service to Verizon, AT&T and Comcast customers. Today HBO announced they’ve expanded this service to Cox customers who subscribe to HBO.
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Tags: API, Broadband, Internet, Telecommunications India, walled garden

It dominates the low end market. It dominates the developing countries. It’s made efforts to work towards opening up Symbian. It’s making forays in Linux and assorted phones. Yet, the largest phone maker in the world is still not able to make a serious dent in the smart phone category.

Opinion is like an asshole. Everyone has got one. In same vein, your choice of a mobile phone may be distilled by either looks or form factor or even aesthetics. You may choose practicality or some chutzpah to flaunt your handset.

What Apple did everything right, Nokia screwed it up big time. I am impressed by Apple’s hardware; yes at some point of time, I have written extensively about it too. Yet, I believe that the “promise of future” has somehow not materialized. You can side with Apple and say that everything about it “rocks”; but on the other hand, it’s wayward policy of introducing the bottom of pyramid handsets and “improving” it all the way up with new releases doesn’t cut ice with me. Apple has sold it’s hardware in the same manner in order to keep itself relevant.

Nokia, surprisingly, despite it’s huge portfolio of products has not been able to get that ‘killer phone’. For example, Apple releases only one or maybe two versions of it’s popular product. It does not try to address EVERY segment of the market. It knows it can command a premium. It has a brilliant marketing strategist behind it. It manages to stay in news even when there is NO imminent product launch. Everything about it is hotly anticipated so much so that there are legions of website devoted to “rumors”. And it has zealous fanboys dotting all around the net and mainstream publications which keeps the chattering classes busy to have this “must have” product.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, one could argue that you don’t want a walled garden approach to apps. You pay for the product and the ecosystem should come “free” for you. In effect, the software ought to be “free”. No company has the right to “lock you” down with absurd patents or “standards”.

Nokia has been bereft of this. I own a Nokia E63 but that’s about it. It’s the “low end” of the smart phone because the screen sucks. Ovi store sucks. There are no apps to speak of. It has a weird “signed” and “unsigned” policy which doesn’t allow me to load in any kind of an application I need. Yet, the Wifi is a great addition even though it has a restricted range. My mail is configured; is a boon when I am not around my laptop. In general, it works the work but then there is nothing that I exude my enthusiasm about owning this.

Ultimately, there are no easy answers to this. I feel that it would definitely take a worthwhile investment and understanding of marketing dynamics to get Nokia to sell or crack the smart phone market. I am fussy about Open Source and Linux in particular. I feel that Windows mobile is outdated junk. Web Os or Android is something that I never tried but needs a lot of spunk to give it some credibility. Nokia’s Maemo platform has to become “cheaper” because those assholes are trying to milk it for all that is worth it.

I am linking to Rashmi Bansal (author of two books now!) who writes about owning Nokia AND an Apple Phone. The difference is obvious. From a woman’s perspective, she chooses an iPhone.

Truth be told. Even I need an iPhone!

Tags: android, Assholes, author, DoT, handsets, iPhone, laptop, Linux, Mobile, Open Source, Spectrum, Telecommunications India, walled garden, Wifi, Windows

The following is the text of the email sent and an edited version appeared in Business Standard on 06/11/2009.

Dear Sir,

This refers to Shyam Ponnapa’s write up on BS dated 05/110/2009 (Managing Spectrum Efficiently).

The big question. Why do we need 3G? Why not focus on the land line business alone for broadband access? Or better still. Community Wifi?

The arguments for doing away with this are many. Community Wifi is deemed to be a security risk but then countries like Singapore have implemented this on a large scale nationwide. The mobile phones required to access 3G invariably have Wifi access too. Unless, the telecom companies are expecting surefire hits like Apple iPhones or flood of other smart phones to access the Internet, it is not happening.

We don’t have accurate numbers about the likes of Reliance and Tata who are offering their 3G access. If initial reports are to be believed, they are plagued by “line of sight” hassles, ‘network congestion’ and lackluster customer support. To top it all, it has the access limitations which means that broadband access, even on the 3G spectrum would be capped for very obvious reasons.

We have enough bandwidth in the country but as anyone would testify, we have problems in implementing the “last mile access”; having a contentious set of issues like 3G is not going to solve the persistent problem of “last mile access” because no one is interested in sinking money for a long term.

We can have a fair idea from the existing companies like Airtel or Vodafone who charge exorbitant rates under the present implementation of “mobile internet”. What is the guarantee that they would lower down the prices once they pay fancy sticker prices in 3G auction?

3G, would most likely be used for carrying more voice traffic because none of the players harbours any disillusionment about the “mobile broadband” across the length and breadth of the country.
The market for value added services is locked up within the “walled garden” of the existing players; it is unlikely that 3G access would “revolutionize” the content.

This pretty much sums up what I have always alluded here and my opposition to 3G remains.

Tags: 3G, Access Deficit Charge, Airtel, Broadband, Broadband access, Business Standard, Customer Support, Department of Telecom, DoT, DTH, EDGE, India, Internet, iPhone, Mobile, mobile phones, Mobiles, Reliance, Spectrum, Tata, Telecommunications India, Telecommunications India, TRAI, Value Added Services, Vodafone, walled garden, Wifi, Wireless