Comments on: Are Apple & O2 changing the subscription model?

By: Weekend Wash Up - 24 November 2007 « Jonathan Mulholland

Weekend Wash Up - 24 November 2007 « Jonathan Mulholland — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 13:06:23 +0000

[...] iPhones and foresees the end of the traditional cellphone contract.� Funnily enough I also realised this week that Apple may have changed the long-standing mobile phone upgrade model, and was invited to write a guest post on this at SMS Text [...]

By: giorgio

giorgio — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 14:37:42 +0000

@secret squirrel …You’re wrong. It’s all to do with what is inferred in the question but absent from the sentence.
When you say ‘Are Apple and O2…?’ you are effectively saying ‘Are they(Apple & O2) …?’ since Apple and O2 = 1 + 1 = plural(they, collectively).
However if you were to say ‘Is Apple and O2’s policy right?’ say, you would be correct in that the relevant noun(policy) is singular

By: Ewan

Ewan — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 13:08:48 +0000

Secret Squirrel, that just doesn’t sound right to me! “Is Mum and Dad coming back soon?” Strange!

By: jonmul

jonmul — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 10:12:15 +0000

@psionandy: That’s a good point, perhaps you’ve just outlined a couple of ideas for O2 to think about. The reduced contract idea could be a good one.

Maybe Apple will offer a firmware version that removes the ‘phone’ and turns your old iPhone into an iPod Touch…

By: secret squirrel

secret squirrel — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 20:16:09 +0000

Just for the record, saying “Are Apple & O2 . . . ” is improper english. It should be “Is Apple and O2 changing the subscription model?” That’s because the term Apple is “singular”, referring to a single company, nor plural. The same with O2, which is also a single company. For example, to say “Is Mom and Dad coming back soon? That’s correct english. You wouldn’t say “Are Mom and Dad coming back soon?”. On the other hand, if you’re referring to more than one Mom, such as, “Are Moms better than Dads?, then that would be correct english. It would also be correct if you said, “Are apples sweeter than oranges? That’s because then the subject is plural.

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 15:58:28 +0000

The old model of selling phones and network subscription , locked and unlocked phones outside of USa and locked phones in USA have been around so long that no one thought it could be any different, until now. Isn’t that what innovation is all about? Apple has only one phone in the market place, and even then for only 4 months and not even in a “mass market” segment. yet it disrupts the existing business models so much that handset manufacturers, software companies, network providers and governments are all frantic. This is truly strange. Vodafone suing T Mobile? And yet they had also competed and tried to get the iPhone deal with Apple? Maybe this is a new business model to be tried. Let the consumer decide. There is enough competition out there…many network providers, many phones, many consumers, much content. Why should the authorities intervene? By doing so , they are actually trying to preserve the old business model and not permitting any new ones to evolve. Think about it.

By: psionandy

psionandy — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 08:35:24 +0000

Makes a lot of sense, and ties up most of the loose ends. Except one.

What happens to your old iPhone when you upgrade to iPhone2.0? Is it ‘officially’ bricked as per the O2 conditions of service? do they unlock it but block phone services? do you have to hand it back to get your new phone? Do they offer a reduced contract so you can pass it on to a junior member of the family?

By: Jon Mulholland

Jon Mulholland — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 23:39:45 +0000

I think Apple has changed the mobile phone subscription model without anybody in the telco industry realising - http://tinyurl.com/2pcmhn

[Original tweet, Topsy page]

By: Jon Mulholland

Jon Mulholland — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 18:39:45 +0000

I think Apple has changed the mobile phone subscription model without anybody in the telco industry realising – http://tinyurl.com/2pcmhn

By: Greg

Greg — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:28:38 +0000

I think he is right and I would be very surprised if event’s do not unfold exactly as he predicts.

By: Steve Curtis

Steve Curtis — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 15:28:40 +0000

I totally concur with Jon’s comments. All the fuss about a 3G iPhone coming out and upsetting the early adopters, well who cares if you can upgrade mid-contract? As Jon says it makes perfect sense for O2 and Apple to keep these customers locked in. It helps prevent churn, it keeps customers happy, it keeps people away from promotional tarrifs.

Apple is the master at getting people to buy twice, people buy 1st gen, skip 2nd gen, then get the 3rd gen of hardware.

Is it a good thing? Not sure – I prefer SIM free kit generally – but I understand why Apple like to own the whole experience.

By: James 'Thumbs' Whatley

James 'Thumbs' Whatley — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 11:57:18 +0000

Nice pick up – I like Jon’s stuff.

By: jonmul

jonmul — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 11:12:45 +0000

My pleasure Ewan, very interested to hear everyone’s views.

Just noticed that my Twitter is not hyper linked correctly, should be: http://www.twitter.com/jonmul

By: Jon Mulholland

Jon Mulholland — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 10:07:22 +0000

Busy blogging week, after Techmeme yesterday today I have an article on SMS Text News - http://tinyurl.com/2pcmhn

[Original tweet, Topsy page]

By: Jon Mulholland

Jon Mulholland — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 05:07:22 +0000

Busy blogging week, after Techmeme yesterday today I have an article on SMS Text News – http://tinyurl.com/2pcmhn