The Smartphone Trap

You don't have to run to the gasoline pump every few days to be a traveler. Somebody whose brain has been independent of television for most of his life visits a strange and exotic land every time he watches a TV commercial. I only watch football on TV, so I'm shocked and amazed by what I see: every other commercial during football games is for a smartphone. Why?

Perhaps the advantage of a smartphone is that it allows the average American, who spends half his day stuck in traffic in his pickup truck, to hold the phone in one hand, with his $4 cup of Joe in the other hand, while steering with his left leg, while his eyes look over at the CD player with 64 tiny buttons on it. I don't see what body parts are left to operate the buttons on the remote control of the overhead DVD player, let alone the GPS.

It seems obvious that a netbook provides a cheaper and more complete internet experience than a smartphone. Why would a smart consumer want to download, install, and pay for "apps," when you don't even need apps on a netbook?

But it's easy to see why smartphones and their vaunted apps are good for wireless telecom companies, Apple computer, and media companies. There's an excellent article on this subject by Reggie Middleton on Zero Hedge. The more apps you've paid for, and sunk your personal identity into, the easier it is for the gadgetmaker or media provider to lock you in.

There is no great mystery why Old Media has always had such low quality content: it could get away with it. Their business wasn't really about content; it was about controlling an expensive distribution channel that kept out new competition. 

Smartphones are better for wireless telecom companies than netbooks: smartphones can handle enough video, music, and razzle dazzle that the consumer will be sucked into more expensive (monthly) plans, compared to plain vanilla voice plans on a commodity cellphone; but smartphones have smaller screens than laptops and other limitations, which prevents the wireless data networks from running out of bandwidth too soon, compared to the same number of customers using netbooks or laptops.

Let us hope that the problems of gadget-makers and media companies leads to a creative response, such as better media content and true investigative journalism. I agree with the people in the blogosphere that Old Media has become a lapdog of the government.

Apps also meet an emotional need of some customers: they want to feel special. Psychologically apps are like spending an extra $1200 on an otherwise plain vanilla car, by sticking on a red decal stripe, making the tail lights look a little spiffier, and adding a few more buttons to the music player inside.