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Thursday, October 4, 2012

Carrier Exclusives: Hurting Everyone Involved


One of the most disappointing things in the world of mobile tech, is to find out that the device you've waited so long for is not coming to your carrier. A repeat offender in the area is would be  HTC. While companies like Samsung, and even Apple(even though the iPhone is still not available on T-mobile) have managed to rectify this grievous error, HTC is still quite guilty. In the days of the Galaxy S2, it was available on every carrier, just some had a ridiculous name for it. I'm looking at you Epic 4G Touch. But Samsung learned from their mistakes and made the GS3  available on Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, T-mobile, and US Cellular, with the exact same hardware and name for each one. The iPhone 4 and all subsequent additions are available on Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, and even smaller, regional carriers like Cricket. 

HTC? No matter what carrier you go with, you will get a different phone. On AT&T you've the One X, on Sprint you've got the Evo 4G LTE, on T-mobile you've got the One S, and on Verizon you've got the Incredible 4G LTE(if that can even be considered a part of the One series). 

When I saw the One X for the first time, I was so excited for it because it had everything that I wanted in a super phone; the big screen, Ice Cream Sandwich, NFC, etc... But my excitement quickly turned to despair when I found out that it was only available on AT&T. I have T-mobile. So where did that leave me? With the One S. While it is still a fabulous device, it wasn't my first choice. Not to mentioned, the One S does NOT have NFC. 

With the recent announcement of the One X+, it seems that HTC is back to their same old marketing tactics. You can only get the One X+ on AT&T. This is one of the reasons why Samsung and Apple are dominating the smartphone world, while HTC just isn't. 

Not only is this disappointing from the perspective of a consumer on another carrier, but it is also very frustrating for those who purchased the One X earlier this year. The One X+ is a nice upgrade, don't get me wrong, but this is what HTC should've launched in the beginning. Further more, HTC made claims of changing their marketing strategy from releasing too many phones in one year so as not to dilute the market. Well, that's exactly what they are doing yet again.Things like this are what make a company very overlook-able. I for one, highly doubt anyone is going to jump ship and switch to AT&T for one phone. 

I'm sure by now you're wondering Why is the picture above of a Nokia phone? well here's why:

HTC is not the only company taking this approach, though. AT&T has also stated that they will be the exclusive carrier of the Nokia Lumia 920. This to me, is the flagship Windows Phone 8 device of 2012. But why Nokia chose to let AT&T be the exclusive carrier, I'll never understand. If I were a company like Nokia, I would want my flagship device to be available on as many carriers as possible. The more readily available it is, the more people will buy it. Thus, Nokia and Windows Phone's market share grow. But that's just me.

How do you guys feel? Do these carrier exclusives bother you as well? Or do you have no problem carrier hopping for the device you want?

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