Pat Phelan has been trying to connect with Hop-On for over a year to, presumably, get signed up to distribute the thing. Pat Phelan claims that both phone numbers were disconnected and emails to them go unanswered. While I did get a PBX that answered the phone (sorry, Pat), I have no reason to test their email system out.

Pat Phelan called out a number of bloggers that wrote about Hop-On basically regurgitating their press release without doing any investigation. While I can’t claim I’ve never done that before, in this case, all one has to do is apply a bit of critical thinking skills.

While I currently work for the largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world, I don’t do a whole lot with phones. However, I’ve done some research on what it costs to make mobile phones–just in terms of raw materials. Based on the confidential information I’ve come cross, I would call into question the ability for Hop-On–or any company–to make a phone that sells for $10 and makes a profit without some kind of subsidy.

Most bloggers don’t have access to that kind of information. Instead, let’s just look at a comparable product, say an extra handset for your wireless phone system in your house. For all intents and purposes, they use similar materials: plastic casing, a speaker, a microphone, a battery, some kind of PC board and electronics to drive it, and some kind of radio. Some kind of LCD screen is optional. Retail price: while it varies based on a number of factors, these handsets can be had for as little as $25, though it is generally more.

The two functional differences between a handset for your home phone and a mobile phone handset are: the size–mobile phones are usually smaller–and the radio used. My horse sense tells me that the cost differential of the radio is probably negligable, but making a phone smaller does increase the cost.

And then, of course, there is the small issue of manufacturing enough of them that the cost of production is low. Nokia has cranked out 200 million of the Nokia 1100 series phones, and the price has not come anywhere near $10–except when it is subsidized by Tracfone and similar carriers.

No matter how I look at this, something just doesn’t add up. While I’m not exactly calling Hop-On a bunch of shysters trying to sell me a bridge, I am highly skeptical of their claims that they are able to make a $10 phone. All we’ve seen from this company are press releases. I don’t think any actual product has shipped.

But of course, Hop-On isn’t the point of this story. The point is: far too many bloggers don’t do their homework. They simply take statements–or press releases–at face value without thinking it through. And no matter how I approach this Hop-On thing, I just can’t help but think something doesn’t add up.

Now, if the Hop-On folks want to prove me (or Pat Phelan) wrong, by all means, do it. We’ll be the first to admit we were wrong. What about the rest of you bloggers out there?

Comments

• 27 October 2008, Hop-On Claims To Have $10 Mobile Phone at Joy of Gadgets writes: [...] The phone is available in both European (GSM 900/1800) and Americas (GSM 850/1900) dual-band configurations. As the graphic says, the price is $10. To whom, though? And is this price even realistic? I don’t think so. [...]
• 27 October 2008, Pat Phelan writes: Nice post Dameon Seriously I would absolutely love to be proved wrong, I think this is pure vaporware designed to jump the stock price and bloggers not doing their homework is plain wrong, I have learned a lesson here myself as well, I will never again post a candy press release without testing. If you look at link above me, the last word is the post is the part where the blogger calls the bluff, its just pure sloppiness. A basic candy phone has a minimum cost including packaging of somewhere around $30, I have my sources also, this would be for a minimum 100k order, this is definitely only workable at carrier level with subsidies as you point out.

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Who is to say instead of a tip, there couldn’t be an ad there? Surely, there’s at least some money in that. Or what about Google ads on the web and mobile versions of Twitter? Again, it’s not a lot, but surely it’s more than they’re doing now.

Of course, this isn’t the point of the post. I am more interested in how Twitter might be used by others for advertising.

Now let’s be clear about something. You can’t use Twitter in the same way that you can use a lot of other mediums. It’s not really a wide broadcast. It’s more of a micro broadcast to your followers. There’s no guarantee that they will read or respond to it, given the relative noise level on any given Twitter followers.

The trick, therefore, is, getting people to follow you and then engaging your audience. No small feat, but certainly possible if you are, say, a presidential candidate, or advertising a popular TV show. Or maybe a rock musician.

Some examples of this I’ve seen include:

• Actors being “in character” for their roles in a movie/TV show
• Advertising relevant events to followers (e.g. recording at X time at Y venue, free service)
• Bloggers advertise their latest posts (I’ve done this, but I also automatically send my posts to the phoneboyblog user on Twitter)

Who’s to say that you couldn’t execute some viral marketing on Twitter? Given how quickly Amber Alerts have spread all over Twitter, it certainly seems like it’s possible

Customer service of sorts happens over Twitter. I know I’ve vented about Boingo on Twitter and they’ve done a good job of monitoring for problems and fixing them. The Comcast Cares account on Twitter is another fine example.

I also wonder if Twitter itself could be a form of entertainment. Could a made-up drama of sorts play out over Twitter, complete with product placement?

What are some ways that Twitter could be used in or for advertising?

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Image via Wikipedia

If you want to hear the (non) answer to this question, check out this interview with Bill Plummer, who is a Vice President in Nokia Americas (seek to 38:40 for the interview). But if you’re not interested in doing so, here’s the summary:

• Nokia had 47 different models in the marketplace in 2007, serving a wide range of consumers.
• In 4Q 2007, Nokia was shipping 1.5 million phones a day.
• Nokia had the vision 3 years ago when releasing the Nseries devices, everyone else is now catching up.
• Nokia welcomes the competition, it’s good for consumers.
• Mobile network operators want to offer a wider range of handsets to meet consumer’s demand for more “converged” devices.
• The Nokia N95 was aimed at early adopters–people known for setting trends that change the market.

While those are all nice facts, it didn’t directly answer the question of why. The short answer: Nokia needs to get to get better at working with the carriers in North America, who (in my opinion) exercise too much control over the mobile market in both the U.S. and Canada. I’ve seen some improvements in that area in my limited exposure to these areas working for Nokia, but we can always get better.

The other thing that needs to happen? A stronger push for “unlocked” devices, as in making devices available in physical stores like Best Buy and Office Depot. Then again, I’ve been saying that for a while now.

Via Darla Mack

Comments

• 22 September 2008, spg writes: one of the things that make subsidized devices so much more popular here in NA and less so in europe is the whole 'subscription culture.' in europe and asia people really like their no-contract prepaid sims. people are willing to pay a premium on there minute charges not to have a contract with paper bills in the mail that get paid by check or credit card. they simply much prefer to pay cash for a reload voucher. it is so often these prepaid SIM user who buy the full price phones from the retail outlets.
• 27 September 2008, PhoneBoy writes: I can somewhat understand the mindset of subscription culture: people like a predictable regular cost, which the typical 2 year contract provides. However, my wife is perfectly fine with the fact that, every 6 to 9 months, I spend $100 to top off her phone. Of course, she is smart enough to understand she's saving gobs of money by doing this.
• 28 September 2008, Nokia to Introduce a Touchscreen Phone: What About the US Market? | LucaFiligheddu.com writes: [...] both Darla and Phoneboy highlight, Nokia’s brand in the US is way behind the iPhone or the Blackberry. Why? Try to [...]

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I am writing from Nokia HQ with news: we have defeated corporate censorship! The most insane video ever produced is now online. If you visit www.openatownrisk.com you can view the clip, but only if you’re worthy enough to break the code.

Thanks to continued pressure in the name of all that is right and honest, all accusations of “intent to publish content driving people insane” have been dropped by The Supreme Court. Consumer rights and freedom of choice have proved victorious; the prerogative to unhinge your mind has been restored.

This victory has been no easy win however. We have engaged the bureaucrats in battle and refused to bow to their pressure to ensure that you have the right to view this clip. Thank you for all your support, it was your hearts and desires that we took into the theatre of war.

Now that the video is available, we trust that you will treat it with the respect and caution such footage demands. Symptoms relating to insanity have been witnessed even in those who have set eyes on nothing more than the original celluloid. You have been warned.

Click here and start your journey to insanity…
http://www.openatownrisk.com

Did whoever sent out this email realize I already broke the seals and watched the video you should not see? Of course, it was a mass mailing, likely executed without weeding out those who might have solved it. Either way, if you haven’t done it yet, open at your own risk, and maybe win a T-shirt if you’re one of the first to do it.

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Theoretically, it says I won a limited edition T-shirt. Wonder if my status as a Nokia employee makes me ineligible. Certainly the shirt won’t fit me, thanks to my horizontal challenges, but maybe someone else will want it?

Comments

• 14 August 2008, I Already Opened At My Own Risk, Thanks writes: [...] whoever sent out this email realize I already broke the seals and watched the video you should not see? Of course, it was a mass mailing, likely executed without weeding out those who might have solved [...]
• 17 August 2008, Nokia N95 writes: [...] · Nokia 0 Comments Bury Add to Favorites Add to Saves 1 votes vote I Broke The Seals on openatownrisk.com! After a bit of mucking about with the content in “The Box” on Download! on my Nokia [...]
• 18 August 2008, I Broke The Seals on openatownrisk.com! writes: [...] I Broke The Seals on openatownrisk.com! After a bit of mucking about with the content in “The Box” on Download! on my Nokia N95 and interacting with the proper version of openatowrisk.com, I was able to break all four seals on the game. Surprisingly, it didn't take me long to do. The weird clip is truly weird, but it will take submitted by PhoneBoy on 9th Aug 2008 (via phoneboy.com) Add to Favorites Add to Saves Bury Tags: · Nokia · N95 · Nokia N95 · Nokia Comments [...]
• 6 September 2008, ceroberts75 writes: i cannot figure out what to do with the picture. i have tried puting each individual item in the center of the eye, grouping, numbered order, order of how they showed up on the video, etc. not sure if the pixelization from my camera is not allowing the recognition of the eye?!

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I agree largely with Jeff Pulver’s post on the subject of how to pitch to him. It’s not just about spamming bloggers and hope they cover you, it’s about getting to know them. With that in mind, here’s my “how to pitch” list:

• Read my about page
• Read my blogs, yes I write on a lot of blogs (see the list on the right sidebar)
• Join the conversation on my blog
• Follow me on Twitter, Jaiku, or one of several social networks, replying to something I say
  
• Send me an email (mentioned on my about page), introduce yourself, ask me a question

PR firms who have done this well don’t waste my time and know what to pitch me. You know what? More often than not, I write about their clients. Andy Abramson‘s firm Comunicano is the king of this so far, though smarter PR firms are starting to employ similar tactics with similar results.

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While I’m certainly not authorized to speak on behalf of Nokia in this matter, I suspect this is all part of the “virtal marketing” game that is being played. This weird takedown notice of sorts is obviously faked.

However, maybe someone can have a look in their Download! app on their Nokia phone to see if they can find anything unusual or strange? I don’t see anything, but I’m a bloody American, and we all know Download! gets the shaft here.

I present the text from the meta tags of the current page on openatownrisk.com:

Hundreds of years ago, scientists, artists and members of Royal families gathered to produce a clip of grand weirdness. A clip stranger and more amazing than anything that had ever been made before. But the clip turned out too weird! People went mad from seeing it and it was too much for the common man to handle. Thus the clip was locked away, in a mysterious box with four seals. The knowledge of how to break the seals has been passed down from one generation to another, hidden within the technological masterpieces of history. Edison’s light bulb, the Wright Brothers’ airplane and Apollo 11 all held the secret of unlocking the box. A secret that can now be found within Nokia Download service, allowing the public – you,  to find the key to break the seals. And see…the weirdest clip. Ever made…

Comments

• 1 August 2008, cris writes: if you go instead to www.openatownrisk.com/main you can actually see the video on the site.

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The theory of having all your communication come through one inbox is appealing, no doubt. GrandCentral was on the right track here before Google purchased them and they appear to have stagnated. Maybe they are doing stuff and we just can’t see yet, but when you roll out stuff like gangbusters and go radio silent after being acquired, it doesn’t sit well with users.

Even within the past 24 hours, I get a press release from a company that proclaims they have made all kinds of achievements in the Unified Communications space, bringing together the corporate PBX and the mobile phone. yawn

Anyone who understands the technology knows that unified communications is a pipe dream. Perhaps within a small subset of the possible communication methods, for example the corporate PBX and the corporate-issued mobile phone, it is possible. In the real world, where people actually communicate, it’s not. There are too many ways to communicate and too many parties unwilling to open their networks to allow some unaffiliated third party to create an environment to manage all their communication.

To date, I have not seen a single unified communications “solution”–a buzzword if I ever heard it–incorporate all of the following:

• SMS (not just sending, but receiving)
• Skype
• IM–not just corporate IM, but all public network IM
• SIP, both outgoing to random SIP URLs and incoming SIP calls
• Email from multiple locations
• Social Networking (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Jaiku)

Until it includes SMS on my mobile phone, which none of the solutions I’ve seen even attempt to deal with, it’s not truly unified. Until it includes Skype–a tool I am using more frequently–it’s not unified. Unless it includes a SIP URL that anyone with an open SIP client can reach, it’s not truly unified. Until it handles all my IM stuff, it’s not unified. Until I can get a unified view of all my email and social networking traffic, it’s not unified.

The truth is, there are so many ways to communicate, it’s downright mind boggling. That’s why, as far as I’m concerned, Unified Communications is nothing more than a meaningless marketing term. Then again, maybe I am missing some facts, or interpreting the term “Unified Communications” in a way that others are not? Feel free to set me straight in the comments.

Comments

• 8 January 2008, A.T. writes: you know what Facebook put under note, imported from this blog entry? nice link to jitterbug dot com . On one hand, to FB honor, they said it is ADVERTISEMENT, but they had called link (I quote) "Advertisement: Emergency Cell Phones". And you know legal side of naming/advertising a mobile phone as EMERGENCY PHONE... ;) And that jitterbug thing, they are like Vertu, only cheap ;) By saying "like Vertu" I mean not decor but service behind it :) It looks like Samsung is ready to go that far in order to gain more market :) I wonder what our marketing does in that dimension? and had anyone thought to make nice trick on challenging jitterbug to hold a promise? :)
• 8 January 2008, Jeff writes: My sentiments exactly. 2008 will be another year of UC hype but little reality, at least for the vast majority of us outside a walled corporate IT garden.
• 8 January 2008, PhoneBoy writes: @A.T.: That ad was in my RSS feed, can't blame Facebook for that one.
• 8 January 2008, jared writes: you want your phone calls integrated with your social networking? wow - thats not for me, but i'm not a big fan of social networking in the first place i suppose. i just thought i'd chime in regarding SMS - i'm not sure that this is what you meant, but it's the best i could figure from your post: truphone gives SMS over IP, just like voice over ip, SMSoIP is free from one truphone user to another - or it costs some $$$ to send to a normal mobile phone over GSM or CDMA. i use it - matter of fact, i'm heading to serbia for a week in februaury and i'm having my grandcentral number forward inbound SMS to my truphone # instead of my normal GSM because, well, i won't be bringing my sim card with me. i wont need it. i'm going to have 100% free calls back home to the USA while i'm gone, and i'll send and receive SMS for, i think it was $0.15 each. not the cheapest rates, but for short term use its admirable. oh, and skype? are you crazy? you demand a SIP URL for any open SIP client to connect from - which is good - but also demand a proprietary hack of SIP to also be included? how about this: stop. using. skype. switch to ANY sip-compatible service. gizmoproject, truphone, whatever. just use SIP to start with and, well, be happier. if you switch to gizmo, and get the other end to switch as well, then even your calls from gizmo to their POTS numbers will be free. yeah, check it out. skype is a bad thing for the VoIP industry. it is preventing other (superior) service from attaining the limelight they should have. just my 2 bits. -jared
• 8 January 2008, PhoneBoy writes: What I am looking for is a GrandCentral-like service that actually supports inbound (and outbound) SMS--GrandCentral doesn't last I checked. I don't want to have different numbers for different purposes, I want ONE NUMBER and ONE NUMBER ONLY. Isn't that what these Unified Communication marketers are saying we're supposed to get? I have accounts on Gizmo, FWD, and others. I am all for open standards. More importantly, I am a believer in using what works best. Skype penetrates firewalls, works over proxy servers, and flat out sounds better than anyone else. Not a single one of the other solutions out there that supports "open standards" even comes close on any of these areas. When one of these other services steps up to the plate and starts offering the same quality of service that I get from Skype--in the three areas I mentioned--I'll be one of the first to shout it over the rooftops, believe you me.
• 8 January 2008, jared writes: grandcentral does support inbound sms - to the extent that it supports inbound calls. you just tell it to which registered phone service you want the sms routed. outbound? well, the issue there is really that when you send an sms, you need to find a way to alter the reply-address, so that a reply will filter through grandcentral. in the same manner, i want to alter my outbound CallerID such that my grandcentral # appears to be the source of all my outbound calls - that way if someone saves my info from their call log, they are saving the number i want them to call in the future. sadly, this isn't in hte hands of grandcentral developers. the best they can do is offer to place the call for you - and they do this. you can goto the site and select a contact to call, grandcentral will then call you and them like so many other services. i hate this method. personally, i just send my contact info to people via SMS as a vCard - now they've got my info stored properly. by the way, i find that truphone has exceptional voice quality. i agree that gizmo fails in that regard, but it's not a problem with the spec, its a problem with their implementation. much like having a standard PC that runs horribly slow sitting next to one with the same advertised specs, running much more smoothly. the problem is that gizmoproject connects to the POTS system using a very crummy codec. i'll repeat myself for clarity, since i seem to be rambling a bit, truphone has amazing audio quality. sadly, there service is only offered to users of highend smart phones. fortunately, buying one of these phones can make your phone bill cheaper, since you can save on roaming and int'l calls. i liken buying a SIP compatible smartphone to paying a premium price for a hybrid car: pay upfront for the future savings, and do the world a favor. in the end, for many people, neither path is much more expensive than the other. if you roam internationally just ONCE with a standard AT&T contract, you would have broken even by buying, say, the Nokia N95 that i use. (sidenote: i've owned a Honda Insight since April 2001 - my hybrid car analogy came to mind months ago when i signed up for truphone and stopped using minutes on my GSM plan)
• 9 January 2008, Skype Journal writes: Unified Communications" has been tossed around as if it is some form of "holy grail" for a communications offering. PhoneBoy Dameon Welch-Abernathy finds the term somewhat overhyped in his recent post "Unified Communications Is A Pipe Dream": Anyone who understands the technology knows that unified communications is a pipe dream. Perhaps within a small subset of the possible communication methods, for example the corporate PBX and the corporate-issued mobile phone, it is possible. In
• 10 January 2008, spg writes: jared, you are completely losing me here. i am a grandcentral user for some time; and i just checked the website to be sure. grandcentral DOES NOT support inbound SMS!! phoneboy. it is not there yet but the closest thing to what you are looking for is the net2max 1cc service. you get a pbx with sip, iax, and skype all integrated. along with all the major IM's and a web based email client that you can add POP accounts too, etc. if you do not already have a free account i recommend taking a look. spg
• 13 January 2008, Skype Journal: Skype is a "Must" for A Unified Communications Platform writes: [...] PhoneBoy Dameon Welch-Abernathy finds the term somewhat overhyped in his recent post "Unified Communications Is A Pipe Dream": [...]
• 13 February 2008, Is UC Nothing But A “Pipedream?” What Consumers Want! - Unified Communications Expert Views - Unified Communications Strategies writes: [...] the web for interesting developments in UC, I was attracted to the headline on a blog that said, “Unified Communications Is A Pipe Dream!”The blogger, “PhoneBoy,” was driven to write his comments because of a recent announcement by IP [...]
• 13 February 2008, The VoIP Weblog - Main page - Your idea of Voice over IP - voip, phone, vonage writes: A while ago, I had ranted
• 17 February 2008, Pocket PCs writes: A while since, I had ranted
• 17 February 2008, Mobile Reviews: Mobile Reviews writes: A while past, I had ranted
• 17 February 2008, Personal digital assistants (PDAs) News and Reviews: Personal digital assistants (PDAs) News and Reviews writes: A in which case ago, I had rantedabout how Skype really needs to be part of any so-called Unified Communications platform. Skype Journal pointed up the rant and made a very salient point: “Skype makes no attempt to position itself as a Unified Communications platform.
• 7 March 2008, News aggregator | stutopia.com writes: A while ago, I had rantedabout how Skype really needs to be part of any so-called Unified Communications platform. Skype Journal picked up the rant and made a very salient point: "Skype makes no attempt to position itself as a Unified Communications platform."
• 18 November 2008, dreamyacht writes: I guess I'm way out of the loop because I didn't know that callwave even still existed.

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Sprint uses CDMA technology to provide service. Just about everywhere else in the world uses GSM, including in Cork, Ireland, where the pictured scene was taking place. Granted, Sprint does sell GSM phones, including some Nokia ones, surprisingly enough. The fact is, most Sprint phones you can easily buy won’t work in Ireland, or anywhere else outside of North America for that matter.

This product placement fails spectacularly due to the lack of realism, though I suppose Sprint can technically do what is being shown here. If the company doing the placement was AT&T or T-Mobile, it would have been a lot more believable. AT&T specifically advertises their International roaming capabilities. T-Mobile, while they don’t specifically make a point of advertising it, will roam internationally quite well thanks to it’s GSM-based technology.

Am I being too much of a geek by bringing this up? What do you think?

Comments

• 27 December 2007, Aaron Huslage writes: Too geeky, but CDMA is widely used outside of North America. India, China, S. Korea and Japan are very big consumers of the technology.
• 27 December 2007, PhoneBoy writes: But they don't use CDMA in Europe, which is my point. And on the whole, GSM has far bigger market share than CDMA. At least outside of North America, CDMA actually uses SIM cards (or rather U-RIM cards).
• 14 February 2008, Darren Jones writes: Nope, not too geeky. It was really obvious to me that it was product placement and then I thought "isn't Sprint non-GSM", and found out that it is. Obviously not the end of the world, but stuff like that just seems poor. OK, we're talking about a program where people can fly and regenerate, but there's no need to go TOO FAR with phone stuff that's simply unreal!
• 14 February 2008, PhoneBoy writes: There's plausible and then there's unreal. CDMA phones don't work on GSM, I don't care what kind of black magic you might have. ;)
• 15 May 2008, george writes: Just saw the episode with this shameful product placement and thought the same thing, but searching for sprint and roaming came up with this http://support.sprint.com/sprinthelp/help/help128.html Looks like they will give you a 'special' phone and sim if you ask.
• 23 September 2008, brendan writes: i'm not gonna lie, the product placement pretty much killed me. but yeah, i agree that it's kinda crap though.
• 23 September 2008, Plog writes: reception is spotty in downtown Kansas City. *according to an informal office survey* Might not have mattered anyway for a far nerdier reason. Most Sprint phones don't share the technology to provide service in Africa -- Sprint uses CDMA, and asThe PhoneBoy Blog points out, "just about everywhere else in the world uses GSM." Sprint spokeswoman Lisa Zimmerman-Mott says Sprint has about a half-dozen phones will work in Africa, but charges and coverage may vary. Meaning, to get Sprint wireless access in sub-Saharan Africa

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Based on this ad:

Via TechCrunch

Comments

• 21 November 2007, 98clouds » Clever Web Ads By Apple writes: [...] sourced here [...]
• 30 December 2007, Post Stupid writes: Clever Web Ads By Apple

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I have never been to one of these events, but I’ve heard they are a blast from the various bloggers who have been invited. While I’m still definitely a blogger, I will be there officially representing Nokia, showing off handsets and applications. One app I will show off for sure is Jaiku.

For me, this represents an opportunity to meet people in a part of the company I don’t normally deal with. I’ll get to see how the other half lives a bit more up close and personal. I hope to make some great connections, both inside and outside Nokia. And, of course, HAVE FUN! The folks at MOSH will be having a party after the Evening with S60, and you can bet I’ll be there!

It’s too late to sign up for the event now, but for those of you who previously registered, I hope to see you this evening!

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• Even The Executives Get It Wrong
• My Absense From the S60 Blogs

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Later, after my wife got home and I told her I ordered her a new phone already, she said “since this is the same phone, won’t this phone have the same problem?” I told her it probably wouldn’t: it’s a different model and will have different software on it. Cingular’s software is notoriously buggy, I told her. That and the fact it’s basically the same phone with a better keypad was good enough for her.

Then she asked me “doesn’t Nokia have a phone like the Motorola RAZR?” “Yes they do,” I told her, “they just released the Nokia N76 which is about the same form factor.” “What kind of name is the N76?” she asks. I then attempted to explain the rationale behind how Nokia names phones, at least as I understand it. “Those kind of names don’t work for real people,” she says. She does have a point–short of us geeks, real people don’t remember the model number of their phone unless it has a descriptive name like the RAZR or the Chocolate.

But as I think about this problem more, I realize that as a company that sells products globally, coming up with a descriptive name that doesn’t offend some people in some part of the world is probably not easy. Also, when you consider that Nokia produces on the order of 50 different model phones in a year, the act of coming up with 50 different unique names is probably not easy. They certainly do for the internal code names, but these are internal and generally don’t see the light of day, so there’s no need to worry about offending the public.

Of course, Nokia isn’t the only company that names their phones with “numbers.” Every major phone manufacturer does the same thing with at least some segments of their product line. But it still raises the question why Nokia hasn’t given any of their phones a cutesy name like RAZR or Chocolate.

Comments

• 28 April 2007, Jim Courtney writes: Or maybe their line could be called the Nokia 6xxx World Phone. See Shouldn't Blacberry's Pure GSM Phones be the Real "World Edition"?

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Quite honestly, I had forgotten about this service. May give it a try again now that it has SMS support, but I honestly don’t shop much in physical stores.

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Related Posts

• Taking Yourself Out Of The Story
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• The US a Third World Communications Country:  I have to agree with Rich Tehrani. We do live in a third-world country when it comes to communications. That’s what happens when you have a very powerful oligopoly controlling the entire telecommunications space.
• Verizon pwns Vonage: To the tune of $58 million, which is quite a lot for a company that spends several hundred on customer acquisition and can’t break even with most customers. So if they’re losing so much money, why is it they’re now basically giving away international long distance? And, of course, if you think you can do better than Vonage, you can now prove it for $199 a year.
• Luca can comment: Poor Luca had a problem leaving comments on my blog. They kept getting flagged as spam. Something about blogspot URLs getting weighted heavily. That’s despite whitelisting him. sigh
• Daylight Saving Time Snafu with Cingular: You’d think the phone company could get this crap right, but apparently not. Makes me happy that I’m not only not relying on network time from the mobile network, but that I am using an unlocked, unbranded phone where I am beholden to the carrier. Oh yeah, I hate Daylight Saving Time.
• SupportSpace MVP Party in Seattle: Last night, I got home way too late because I was at a party that my buddies at SupportSpace were hosting at GameWorks in Downtown Seattle. I snapped a few pictures on my Nokia N73 and impressed a few people with the ability to post pictures while at the event.

Meanwhile, off to bed. I’d like to get a little more sleep than I got last night.

Comments

• 14 March 2007, Patrick Plawner writes: Was great to host you at the Party !! And yes, I was impressed how, even before the party was over, you were able to post on your blog, using your phone... Amazing world we are in.

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