Smartphone Thoughts: Free My Phone

"Suppose you own a Dell computer, and you decide to replace it with a Sony. You don’t have to get the permission of your Internet service provider to do so, or even tell the provider about it. You can just pack up the old machine and set up the new one. Now, suppose your new computer came with a particular Web browser or online music service, but you’d prefer a different one. You can just download and install the new software, and uninstall the old one. You can sign up for a new music service and cancel the old one. And, once again, you don’t need to even notify your Internet provider, let alone seek its permission. ... A shortsighted and often just plain stupid federal government has allowed itself to be bullied and fooled by a handful of big wireless phone operators for decades now. And the result has been a mobile phone system that is the direct opposite of the PC model."

Our readers are familiar with this painful topic. From crippled phones with costly carrier run services to the un-willingness to launch models with certain important features like Wi-Fi, we have seen it all. Other tactics involve not allowing the cell phone manufacturer to release upgrades independently, and holding up product launches so that carrier's darling can be launched. We have seen plenty of rants on this topic but they stay limited to the forums. We need the policy makers to take note of this problem. Google recently tried it with its terms for the 700MHz auction. Now Mossberg has written an article about the need to unshackle our phones.