US Mobile Industry

I’ve been completly ignoring the T-Mobile Sidekick forever.  It’s a qwerty dumbphone, with a few nice features on T-Mob, which is not as good as at&t in San Francisco, so my personal interest has been very low.

What does it take to get me interested?  The next Sidekick, the LX will include Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter right out of the box.  I’m really excited that T-Mobile is embracing webservices, services outside of their own company.

One of the things that annoys me the most about branded phones is how badly the carriers ruin the firmware.  They often remove the built-in software form the manufacturer, and install branded services so they can charge you a monthly rate.  The branded firmwares also often make it difficult for 3rd party apps to access the internet or stay running in the background.  This causes apps like IM or Social apps to be a giant FAIL because they just can’t stay connected.

I think inclusion of Social Networks, specifically the four big-boys included on the Sidekick LX, will be a HUGE tipping point for device consummers.  The carriers are viewing SMS and MMS as the big drivers for the next five years, in terms of network usage.  I think we’re going to see consummers, starting with younger folks, DEMANDING these four services on devices. As the networks all migrate towards 3G and beyond, and smartphone features are pushed down into “dumber” devices, it’s the ease of use and the services that will determine the winners.

Oh yeah!  Besides these Social Networks, the LX looks like a nice device!  It’s got 3G, 3.2MP autofocus camera, video recording with uploading to Social Services, A2DP, 3.2″ screen at 854 x 480, MicroSDHC storage, IM support for the popular networks, and Exchange support in the near future.

Teens are so lucky now-a-days! Here’s a link to the press release.

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