Orange exec says developing markets can't sustain 'gas guzzlers' iOS, Android, Windows Phone
Vice President of Devices Yves Maitre of European mobile operator Orange likened the iPhone, Android handsets and Windows Phones to fuel-inefficient cars, saying that the "gas guzzlers" aren't good choices for developing markets the carrier plans to enter.
In an interview with All Things D on Thursday, Maitre said that current mobile operating systems are not lightweight enough in both cost and bandwidth usage to be a feasible option for developing markets.
The Orange executive concedes that Apple's iOS and Google's Android has created a rich mobile ecosystem for mid to high-end phones which has allowed Orange to build a strong lineup of devices in its major European markets. That expensive ecosystem doesn't translate to the "6 billion" possible smartphone users in emerging markets like China and India, which may not be able to support data-heavy plans or expensive feature-rich devices.
Maitre used the automobile business as an analogue for the current state of smartphone technology, saying that when he was growing up in France, the big-block eight cylinder cars from Detroit were idolized. As the world realized that gas was a limited resource, the gas guzzlers from America ceded their position to more economical six or four cylinder options like those made famous by Japanese auto makers. The same is true of the mobile OS environment, the resource in this case being bandwidth.
Even Google's open Android OS, which enabled OEMs to produce relatively cheap devices, is said to be too resource-intensive as it continues to add new features in its fierce competition with Apple's iOS.
?I cannot run an eight-cylinder car because it is too expensive,? said Maitre. This is especially true in emerging markets where smartphone may have the draw, but consumers lack the funds to hold pre-paid data plans.
Customers in developing areas may be willing to pay a $30 premium on the average $54 Orange handset to upgrade to a smartphone, but it is doubtful that they will be able to spend another $100.
?If we are not in a position to give them a smartphone at $80, we will miss the six billion,? Maitre said in reference to the number of possible customers, adding that Orange will use other operating systems if needed to reach that price point. ?If I cannot have Microsoft on it, if I cannot have Android, if I cannot have iOS, then I will look somewhere else, mostly likely in China.?
The carrier is looking at a variety of operating systems to fit their low-cost needs including Mozilla?s Boot-to-Gecko, the Linux-based Tizen and Chinese Android variants.
Maitre also notes that bandwidth is becoming an increasingly limited commodity, saying that about one billion people active users consume less than one gigabyte of data per month.
?Tomorrow, seven billion people will use bandwidth and all use (in the range of) five or six gigabits [0.625 or 0.75GB],? he said. ?The bandwidth will start to become a very valuable resource.?
In an interview with All Things D on Thursday, Maitre said that current mobile operating systems are not lightweight enough in both cost and bandwidth usage to be a feasible option for developing markets.
The Orange executive concedes that Apple's iOS and Google's Android has created a rich mobile ecosystem for mid to high-end phones which has allowed Orange to build a strong lineup of devices in its major European markets. That expensive ecosystem doesn't translate to the "6 billion" possible smartphone users in emerging markets like China and India, which may not be able to support data-heavy plans or expensive feature-rich devices.
Maitre used the automobile business as an analogue for the current state of smartphone technology, saying that when he was growing up in France, the big-block eight cylinder cars from Detroit were idolized. As the world realized that gas was a limited resource, the gas guzzlers from America ceded their position to more economical six or four cylinder options like those made famous by Japanese auto makers. The same is true of the mobile OS environment, the resource in this case being bandwidth.
Even Google's open Android OS, which enabled OEMs to produce relatively cheap devices, is said to be too resource-intensive as it continues to add new features in its fierce competition with Apple's iOS.
?I cannot run an eight-cylinder car because it is too expensive,? said Maitre. This is especially true in emerging markets where smartphone may have the draw, but consumers lack the funds to hold pre-paid data plans.
Customers in developing areas may be willing to pay a $30 premium on the average $54 Orange handset to upgrade to a smartphone, but it is doubtful that they will be able to spend another $100.
?If we are not in a position to give them a smartphone at $80, we will miss the six billion,? Maitre said in reference to the number of possible customers, adding that Orange will use other operating systems if needed to reach that price point. ?If I cannot have Microsoft on it, if I cannot have Android, if I cannot have iOS, then I will look somewhere else, mostly likely in China.?
The carrier is looking at a variety of operating systems to fit their low-cost needs including Mozilla?s Boot-to-Gecko, the Linux-based Tizen and Chinese Android variants.
Maitre also notes that bandwidth is becoming an increasingly limited commodity, saying that about one billion people active users consume less than one gigabyte of data per month.
?Tomorrow, seven billion people will use bandwidth and all use (in the range of) five or six gigabits [0.625 or 0.75GB],? he said. ?The bandwidth will start to become a very valuable resource.?
Comments
What condescending cr4p. The carriers that don't/can't rise to the challenge will simply disappear.
boohoo. Maybe we should take up a donation for the poor carriers.
You just knew someone would come along and point out that you were using TOO much of something with an iPhone...............
Translation: "we can't fleece the poor bastards as much as we've been able to in industrialized countries."
What a douche. Good thing Free is destroying their business model in France. Unlimited calling (including international calls!), texting and 3G (may throttle after 3GB) for 30 euro/month... Niel sent all the traditional operators scrambling when he dropped the bomb mid-January 2012, and he's already revolutionized the mobile market just as he did for broadband and land lines.
Putting aside the "they're too poor to pay any attention to" mentality...
What poorer consumers lack in money, they tend to make up more in volume.
Seriously, if the iPhone was sold in America at it's retail price of $499-$899... would you guys REALLY want to own one?
It's only because of the $199-$399 price that we have bought the phone using our own perception of value/utility versus cost.
It's for the reason of price that the iPhone/Smart phones have done so well.
I think there's still room for a simplified version of Android in the Sub $50 range for developing countries.
A story/recent trip by our CEO to Vietnam tells of a lady who was his guide using an Android Smart phone. She didn't make a lot of money, but here connection to the world outside of her village (think grass huts) was Facebook, twitter, and browser.
That type of group, mobile internet users, are the next wave of internet users - using the internet where it normally is not accessible.
What a ridiculous, inapt statement. That's like someone from Philco complaining in 1960 that those new-fangled color TVs with both UHF and VHF dials were too complicated and expensive; they'll never catch on, and the future lies with simpler TVs with just 3 channels!
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleInsider
...Even Google's open Android OS, which enabled OEMs to produce relatively cheap devices, is said to be too resource-intensive as it continues to add new features in its fierce competition with Apple's iOS...
Oh, more stupid car analogies...
A smartphone can operate just fine without a data plan.
Instead of griping about gas guzzler's of data intensive smart phones, why don't you "drill baby, drill" and secure a better handling of being able to provide the customers what they want! You think people are going to be forced into a Volt?! Only idiot leaders follow that philosophy. You think you're going to put that smart phone genie back into the bottle? Think again!
I don't know. They might not have much money, but still proud and aspirational.
If they can't afford this year's iPhone maybe they could buy last year's, instead of whatever crap this dude is peddling.
You mean iPhones aren't meant for poor people? I'm shocked.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleInsider
Vice President of Devices Yves Maitre of European mobile operator Orange likened the iPhone, Android handsets and Windows Phones to fuel-inefficient cars, saying that the "gas guzzlers" aren't good choices for developing markets the carrier plans to enter....
This is a ridiculous analogy.
Gas is a shrinking commodity that stated out cheap and is going up in price as it gets scarcer and scarcer. Data is a commodity that started out vastly overpriced and could easily drop in price by multiple orders of magnitude as usage goes up.
The carriers would like you to believe that their costs are fixed and the price of data is based on those costs, but it isn't even remotely true. They'd also like you to believe that as usage doubles, triples and quadruples, the cost will remain the same because they have to build out the infrastructure for the new users but this is also demonstrably false.
The day they finally break up the monopolies, data will drop to it's *real* cost, which is by most estimates about a quarter of what it costs today.
I think you all may be missing the point. Everything we use today needs to be plugged in to and electrical outlet full time or for charging. When the 3rd world comes looking for all the junk we just can't live without they demand for bandwidth which the last time I checked is powered by electricity with explode. I really hate car analogies so I won't go there. The truth is the west has always consumed much more resources than the rest of the world developing technologies, products and services that are not resources hogs is something to think about and act upon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
...
The day they finally break up the monopolies, data will drop to it's *real* cost, which is by most estimates about a quarter of what it costs today.
Agreed... but that will also be the end of today's lavish subsidies for devices...
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrDoppio
Agreed... but that will also be the end of today's lavish subsidies for devices...
I'd rather spend $600 up front instead of waste $2,000 over two years.
Kill the telecoms. Fix data prices. Do it without hesitation.
Data plans are, what, $30 a month on average? That's $720 over 24 months...
"The carrier is looking at a variety of operating systems to fit their low-cost needs..."
I have a suggestion: one word - "abacus"...
(okay, they are hard to dial)
One advantage "developing markets" may have, is that they can build their developing infrastructure toward the needs of the future, unencumbered by the existence of an infrastructure built for the past. Carriers are fighting this war now in the US and elsewhere, and it seems to help determine who shakes out.
And I don't really get the impression that anyone needs to worry about the potential of consumerism in the economies of India or especially China...
except perhaps competitors who fail to position themselves for it.
I second that. I already paid $650 (sudsidized) just because my wife wanted to switch to an iPhone after her buyer's remorse with a crap ericsson phone.
If someone mentions subsidized is cheaper, well it ain't since you can't switch carriers just as easily without paying the ridiculous early termination fee.
If carriers can't hack it in an all-data world, then a new breed of providers should definitely start stealing their lunches. We welcome more of this "gaz guzzling" comments since it means these bozos are hurting.