Skype on Android and BlackBerry is exclusive to Verizon.
I totally agree with this statement from John Gruber
It is a good example of how Android is open, though. In many ways, its openness is from the perspective of the carriers. The carriers can (and do) take Android and modify the default UI appearance. They add new un-deletable system apps. And they can make exclusive deals like this one with Skype.
Like my father would say: “Power to the user”
Technologies should serve the population, not big corporation.
I would say the same about Apple and AT&T exclusivity deal. These deals should be prohibited by the FCC because users can’t use newer and better technologies if they don’t switch carriers. Sometimes it is impossible to switch (because of service area) and imagine this, as a customer, if I’m not happy with the service, I would expect that I can choose my provider. Because as a customer my only weapon againts these big corporation is my “monthly vote” but when there are no options, companies tend to let customer service get behind and get lazy.
When I installed the iOS 4 on my iPhone 3G it was actually faster than previous versions. After a while though, it became unresponsive just like in this video. The title mention that it is a parody but I don’t think it is really funny when you experience it. I would have preferred Apple to just tell me that I can’t upgrade to iOS 4 because now I know all the features that I would be missing and I don’t want to downgrade either. That’s not cool. Fortunately, the iPhone 4 is coming July 30. I wanted to get a new one before experiencing that but nevertheless now I can’t pass this to my wife.
As a Mac fan, I am a bit disappointed, it looks gorgeous but there are some caveats here. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to buy this thing but I don’t need it now. I also just watched the video and it looks amazing and some of the apps are astonishing on the iPad. Here is my list of pros and cons.
Je ne sais pas si c’est une bonne nouvelle ou une nouvelle façon pour les compagnies de Télécom de faire des millions sur le dos de leur clients, mais les trois plus gros fournisseurs du Canada se donnent la main cette semaine afin d’annoncer un partenariat appellé Zoompass. Ce nouveau service qui permettra de faire des échanges monétaires entre usagers directement de leur cellulaire.
La société créé par ces trois géants se nomment EnStream LP. Apparemment, l’abonnement sera gratuit, mais des frais de 0.50$ seront chargés à chaque utilisation. Bien que nouveau sur le continent nord-américain, cette technologie est déjà utilisée à grande échelle dans le monde entier et le concept est loin d’être nouveau.
Selon le magazine IT World Canada :
Zoompass users will be able to send, request and receive money via their smart phones or using a branded MasterCard chip-and-PIN credit card. The service, which also allows users to send and receive money from their personal bank accounts, is available as an application on iPhone, BlackBerry and Java-based devices, with other mobile users able to access their accounts online via mobile browsing.
Voilà encore d’autres frais à l’horizon de notre compagnie de télécom et de nos banques… Ce sera comme les ATM du coin. Quoi de plus réjouissant dans ces moments de récession? Nos compagnies “préférés” qui s’en mettront encore plus dans les poches.