Taking The Camera Out Of The Camera Phone
from the backwards-thinking... dept
We've had a lot of stories in the last six months or so about shortsighted companies deciding to simply ban camera phones outright. In the past, I wondered if such rules would have an impact on mobile phone sales, but I didn't expect the carriers to jump on this topic so quickly. Put me in the same surprised boat as Alan Reiter to hear that carriers are convincing mobile phone handset makers to offer multiple versions of their phones: one with a camera and the other without. I really thought that with only a few companies overreacting and missing the point about camera phones, it would blow over, and a decade from now we'd be laughing at silly companies banning camera phones. At this rate, that might not be true. This is going to be a huge waste of money. Designing a new phone will take some money, and will create a phone that offers less value to the customer (and less opportunity for revenue for the carrier). However as camera phones begin to find more acceptance in the marketplace, people are going to get angry when their boss tells them the expensive phone they just bought can't be brought into the office. They're not going to want to buy the version without the camera if part of the reason they're upgrading is for the camera in the first place. This is a (costly) over reaction to a technology that will do nothing to stop the real problem (theft of corporate secrets or invasion of privacy), but will cost lots of money and anger many people.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
the other reason non cam versions are good
anyway i really enjoy the site, just wanted to put in my 2 cents
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
No Subject Given
That should keep everyone happy,,, for the most part.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Options Have Been Done
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Same Old, Same Old...
So now let's ban cell phones AND PDA's with cameras, and a year from now we'll add in tablet PCs that embed them for videoconferencing, etc., etc. - even as I walk in the door with a slim profile digital camera and snap away, and even as I Xerox confidential reports and walk out the door with paper.
If you don't approach this through trying to orient peoples values around a code of behavior, it's ultimately a pointless exercise.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
interesting
[ link to this | view in chronology ]