AT&T To Move To A Single Mobile Platform?

[Ed Hansberry]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://tech.yahoo.com/news/pcworld/20081205/tc_pcworld/atampthopesforsinglesmartphoneos' target='_blank'>http://tech.yahoo.com/news/pcworld/...glesmartphoneos</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"AT&amp;T hopes to standardize on a single operating system for AT&amp;T-branded smartphones as part of a "dramatic consolidation" of its mobile platforms over the next few years, a company executive said Thursday."</em><br /><br />This comment was made at the Symbian Partner Event in San Francisco this week, which has led many to speculate that AT&amp;T will shun all mobile platforms save one, Symbian. It really makes no sense. First of all, they have the hottest phone going in the iPhone, and many businesses won't consider doing business with anyone that doesn't support the Blackberry. Personally, I wish the carriers would quit spending so much time on their own software for phones. I've yet to own any phone with carrier software that didn't have problems. I don't need to have their logo thrust in my face every time I go to use my phone. Do you think it makes any sense for them to move to a single platform, given the platforms right now seem to fit the needs of different markets? Is there a single platform that can do everything for all consumers?<br /></p>

[Macguy59]

Well I could see it help to simplify support but why cut yourself out of a portion of the pie? An especially large one (iPhone/Blackberry) at that.

[ucfgrad93]

Yeah, I don't see this happening. I could see them cutting some out, for example, Palm OS. But WM, RIM and Apple each have too large of a following to cut them out. It just doesn't make good business sense.

[Fritzly]

I guess AT&T has some agreement that is going to expire so they are opening the "renewal game" with some, supposedly, strong statements.

[Ed@Brighthand]

The Yahoo Tech article is confusing at best, totally wrong at worst.

I think Tom Krazit from CNET, who was at this meeting, makes this situation clearer:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10113583-94.html

According to him, Roger Smith said that "AT&T will continue to offer third-party phones like Apple's iPhone and Research in Motion's BlackBerry".

Smith said AT&T is thinking only about moving all its feature-phones to Symbian, and away from devices based on Java and BREW.

Still, he also said there will be "dramatic consolidation", so it sounds like AT&T might considering dropping one or more of its smartphone platforms. I can see the Palm OS being at the top of the "Deleted" list, but cutting any of the rest would be a tough.
.

[Chris Spera]

This isn't about consumers, its about AT&T and their desire to cut support costs. Life sure is a lot easier when you only have to train techs on 1 platform, 1 set of software, etc. I think this is either a misguided comment, or an error.

If AT&T follows through with this, they are going to lose a lot of customers... Not everyone likes Symbian... I for one, don't.

[Stinger]

Ed has hit the nail on the head. AT&T will continue to sell the iPhone, Blackberries and Windows Mobile devices. However, AT&T-branded devices will consolidate onto a single platform.

Chris makes a good point about support as well. The IT department of the company I work for supports just one desktop OS. That means they don't have to worry about buying cross-platform compatible software and it also means that the support staff only need to be trained on the workings of one OS. Would some people like to use Linux, MacOS or something even more exotic? Sure, but that's not economically feasible.

Think how hard it is for AT&T at the moment. They're probably supporting 20+ OS/UIs and that's got to be a nightmare. I'm sure they'd be very happy if they only had to write their music store application once.

I think people need to remember that when AT&T talk about operating systems, they're not just talking about smartphone operating systems. Every phone has an operating system and user interface of sorts.

Was anyone else totally surprised that AT&T were one of the founding members of the Symbian Foundation?

[Pony99CA]

Ed has hit the nail on the head. AT&T will continue to sell the iPhone, Blackberries and Windows Mobile devices. However, AT&T-branded devices will consolidate onto a single platform.
Yes, Brighthand Ed's comment makes more sense. I also saw a story today that AT&T was backpedaling (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2336361,00.asp) on this.

However, even that didn't make much sense. Consider this:

"Obviously we want to continue to give customers maximum choice whether it's in innovative handsets, applications and, of course, a choice in operating systems," an AT&T spokesman said in a statement. "But we also recognize that there is fragmentation in the mobile OS environment right now, and that's caused by the fact that app developers have to write their apps for multiple OSes and sometimes for multiple versions of the same OS."
Fragmentation in mobile is caused by developers having to write applications for multiple environments? Ummm, no, that's a result of the fragmentation, not the cause.

Think how hard it is for AT&T at the moment. They're probably supporting 20+ OS/UIs and that's got to be a nightmare. I'm sure they'd be very happy if they only had to write their music store application once.
Boo hoo. Don't Verizon (despite their "single OS" for feature phones), Sprint and T-Mobile have to deal with this, too?

Consider how hard it is for Ford, GM or any automotive service department that has to service 12 or more models of cars, most with different options. Do we hear the auto companies say they're going back to the Model T days and only make one model of car.

If Android takes off, do you think AT&T won't release an Android phone?

Steve

[Stinger]

Boo hoo. Don't Verizon (despite their "single OS" for feature phones), Sprint and T-Mobile have to deal with this, too?

As you say, Verizon already use this concept to a certain extent. So do other carriers such as Vodafone, Orange and NTT DoCoMo. AT&T aren't alone in their thinking. Nor will they be the first.

The whole industry has been moving in this direction for a while. With the emergence of credible free operating systems, this process will only speed up.

Consider how hard it is for Ford, GM or any automotive service department that has to service 12 or more models of cars, most with different options. Do we hear the auto companies say they're going back to the Model T days and only make one model of car.

The analogy doesn't quite work as AT&T aren't saying that there will be fewer models - they'll just be all based on the same operating system.

But to use your car analogy, do you think that Ford goes back to the drawing board every time it wants a new engine? Of course not - a lot of the Ford parts are shared between models. Hell, even the Aston Martin DB9 shares some parts with a standard Ford car!

[Torque]

I guess AT&T has some agreement that is going to expire so they are opening the "renewal game" with some, supposedly, strong statements.

This I think, is the most likely explanation for a comment that simply doesn't make sense. Name one Smartphone AT&T sells in the USA that isn't a refurb and has Symbian OS? As stated, the iPhone is their hottest seller, followed by Blackberry, then WM. They would lose a ton of business customers if they discontinued support for Blackberries and would lose a huge chunk of consumer business if they discontinued Apple and WM. If we assume that in the next 5 years, AT&T would no longer have an exclusive contract with Apple, then that only leaves Blackberry and WM. Palm is pretty insignificant right now.

[SassKwatch]

Consider how hard it is for Ford, GM or any automotive service department that has to service 12 or more models of cars, most with different options. Do we hear the auto companies say they're going back to the Model T days and only make one model of car.

Given the 'Big 3' has been busy begging Congress for a bailout recently, I'm not sure that's the best analogy you could have drawn.:)

And I've heard an argument or 2 suggesting their diversity is actually part of their problem. How many models does Ford produce compared to Acura, Honda, or Toyota. Maybe if the Big 3 did consolidate their 'platforms' (even if it's still more than one), *maybe* they wouldn't be in the financial shape their in.(??)

The argument for a single platform certainly does make sense from a support standpoint. And though I'm partial to WM based devices *today*, will that be the case in 3-5 yr? Depends on which platform(s) deliver 'the goods'.

[Pony99CA]

The argument for a single platform certainly does make sense from a support standpoint.
Of course it does. And maybe in a fit of reductio ad absurdum, they could drop to zero platforms. That would eliminate all technical support. ;)

Steve