5 ms·
It's not unique in the economy; it's not even unique in the software economy: video game consoles have the business model that they sell the hardware and make m
by paulgb 6y ago
It's not unique in the economy; it's not even unique in the software economy: video game consoles have the business model that they sell the hardware and make money by having a monopoly on the software that runs on them.
The questions are, do we want phones to be like video game consoles with a walled-garden marketplace, or like general purpose computers where the manufacturer does not exert control over the entire software economy. There are arguments for both, but I think the former stifles innovation.
- hamandcheese 6y agoEven with video game consoles and their walled gardens, consumers don’t totally lose out because consoles are sold nearly at cost (at least when first launched), sometimes even below cost. Meanwhile Apple wants you to buy their $1000 phones AND wants you to pay an extra 30% for all software and digital services.