AT&T

The most interesting bit of this piece over at The International Herald Tribune is not the it's-not-that-special, it's-just-an-announcement, we-could-have-done-it-too-if-we-wanted-to-but-we-don't rhetoric coming from Nokia. Rather, it's this sentence:

...Google did not invite Nokia to join its Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 34 companies that includes Motorola, Samsung, and other phone makers.

Now that got my attention. They weren't invited? I, honestly, cannot think of a good reason why not. Let's face it, Nokia is an industry leader because it, for the most part, makes pretty good phones. Maybe it has something to do with Nokia's unrepentant Symbian love?

Maybe it's 'cause Sergey is Russian, and the Russians and the Fins have a tempestuous history? (This is a joke, people, calm down.)

It makes one wonder--was Verizon 'invited'? AT&T (who is, apparently, "in negotiations" with Google)? Was there a method to Google's selection of OHA players? Were they purposefully looking for the second- and third-place carriers and makers (at least in America), who may be more likely to support an industry-changing movement?

USAToday has the quote in this article, straight from AT&T Wireless's CEO Ralph de la Vega: "You can use any handset on our network you want...We don't prohibit it, or even police it."

Apparently this isn't really new, its just that AT&T is finally admitting it:

AT&T for years kept quiet the fact that wireless customers had the option of using devices and applications other than those offered by AT&T. But now salespeople in AT&T phone stores will make sure that consumers "know all their options" before making a final purchase.

The AT&T wireless chief won't say whether AT&T plans to launch a marketing campaign to push "open" platforms, but allows that might be a possibility.

Well damn. It's been a busy few weeks in the American wireless world -- Android, Verizon, and now AT&T. I need a drink.

Engadget has an interview up with AT&T Mobile CEO Ralph de la Vega, in which, of course, Android comes up.

De la Vega expresses some concern that Android will be truly open - he seems concerned that Android users would be able to search using Yahoo, for example, as though anyone would actually want to - which is ironic given mobile carriers' deserved reputation as being lovers of closed, monopolistic systems. He does indicate that AT&T is still open to joining the OHA and offering Android, however:

We are very open to giving customers choice. If you look at the way we operate, I think you will find that we give every choice possible to customers. We talked about the music, but if you want to get your e-mail from Xpressmail, from Yahoo, from Google, from AOL, from MSN, we say fine. We're in the business of helping customers being connected to their world -- whatever their world: music, business, entertainment. I think we need to give them choices. If this platform gives customers more choice, I don't think we'd be opposed to giving customers that choice.

Really, what we have here is more "analyzing the situation" kinda speak, which is pretty much what should be expected.

Incidentally, de la Vega's forehead vs. Sergey's hair is a matchup I'd pay to see.

Wired has gone after AT&T for some clarification on exactly what it meant by "analyzing the [Android] situation".

Epicenter, the Wired business blog, got AT&T to talk, and here are the questions the mobile carrier brought up:

# What will customers get on an Android-powered phone that they can't get on their current devices? New content? New applications?
# Will the system be secure enough to prevent viruses, hacking and other potential problems?
# What safeguards will be in place to protect customer's privacy?
# If Gmail is the default e-mail, how easy will it be for customers to access other email platforms?

AT&T may have legitimate concerns here, but by raising them it fulfills a propagandist role as well: spread around a little FUD and undermine the potential competition.

I say screw 'em. AT&T is the old fuddy-duddy of the mobile carrier game; nobody's gonna be surprised or disappointed if they don't join up.

The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that AT&T may be in talks to join the Open Handset Alliance.

The blurb quotes Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T's wireless unit, as saying that the company is "analyzing the situation", which is exactly the kind of noncommittal, ambiguous statements that CEOs always make and that still, somehow, end up being the source of pieces by major news agencies.