Is it time to subscribe to a printer service from HP?

Ever since my dad brought home an...

What’s the best way of buying a phone today?

How did you buy your latest phone?...

MWC: What device highlights did you miss?

So, early last week I predicted that...

Welcome to LA, home of the crap handset

It’s 4pm London time — and that means it’s breakfast time in Los Angeles.

At whilst I’m excited to be here in the centre of the West Coast, I am REALLY having a problem with the people here: Whilst everyone is perfectly nice — and very welcoming — the vast majority of people at breakfast were sporting horrific mobile handsets.

I mean seriously horrific.

1990s.

Think small rounded Motorola handset with a black and white (“greenyshit”) screen. The kind of handset that was TOTALLY COOL when everyone else was sporting tin cans and string or brick-sized handsets.

It’s SO depressing.

Why? Well, if the folk having breakfast here at the Westin Bonaventure are any sort of rough US sample, you can forget your Trutaps, your ROKTalks and your ShopQwiks. Bury them. The handsets at breakfast can do TWO things well:

1. Store 100 phone numbers and make telephone calls
2. Send and receive text messages

Geez.

I did manage to spot two Treos and the standard ratio of Blackberries.

I took a look on the Sprint and AT&T Wireless websites a few moments ago to see what sorts of handsets they’re dribbling out to their subscribers. It makes sobering reading, it really does. Limited Sony Ericssons, ‘fully featured’ Motorolas that do nothing other than text/call.

HUGELY depressing. Of course, the market here is entirely different from the United Kingdom (where handsets are massively subsidised on 12 month contracts). I know that. I’ve known that. But seeing the reality in ‘living colour’ is quite something. No wonder the country was going nuts over the iPhone when you see the rubbish they’re being hawked by their incumbent operators.

I’m going to go find a ‘cell phone’ store and look closer at the handsets on offer.

AND EVERYONE WEARS THEIR HANDSETS ON THEIR WAISTS LIKE GUNSLINGERS. Save me.

Just in case you were wondering — the lift to my room (“elevator”) was the one that Arnold got in with a horse during the movie, True Lies. Remember that scene?

IMG_0249.JPG

8 COMMENTS

  1. Try to stay calm, Ewan. You will need to block it out somehow. You’re going to be seeing bricks clipped on to belts ALL the time you are there. Breath deeply and revel in the attention you’re going to attract when you whip out an N95 (assuming you’re packing – to keep up the gunslinger analogy) just to check your diary or film some high quality footage!

    Seriously, I nearly choked last time I was there and saw the state of the handsets. And of course you can see what everyone’s got BECAUSE THEY’RE ALL ON FREAKIN’ BELTS. Good grief!

  2. Tell me about it! Same thing here in Canada. Drives me insane. My husband is the worst for it too, he has his personal cell phone on one side, and his work one on the other. I try to tell him how stupid he looks but nooooooooooo, doesn’t listen. “I don’t hear it if it’s in my pocket”

    There must be some sort of alternative.

    Ewan just think, they States is still ahead of us in the mobile technology 😉

  3. Great news, forget all these flashy mobile apps and push email.

    SMS is still the undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion of the wooorrrllld!.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Recently Published

Is it time to subscribe to a printer service from HP?

Ever since my dad brought home an HP LaserJet printer (version 3, if memory serves), I have been printing with an HP. Over the...

What’s the best way of buying a phone today?

How did you buy your latest phone? I'm asking because I'm thinking about what I should be doing. When I was living in Oman, I...

MWC: What device highlights did you miss?

So, early last week I predicted that next to nothing from Mobile World Congress would break through into the mainstream media. I was right,...

How Wireless Will Pave the Path to Neobank Profitability

I'm delighted to bring you an opinion piece from Rafa Plantier at Gigs.com. I think it's particularly relevant given the recent eSIM news from...

An end of an era: Vodafone UK turns off 3G services

I thought it was worthwhile highlighting this one from the Vodafone UK team. For so long - for what feels like years, seeing the...

Mobile World Congress: Did the mainstream media notice?

I resolved this year to make sure I wrote something - anything - about Mobile World Congress, the huge mobile industry trade show taking...