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Posts: 631 | Thanked: 1,123 times | Joined on Sep 2005 @ Helsinki
#38
Originally Posted by Jerome View Post
Maybe we should see this from the business point of view. When I hear about the "cell phone industry needing DRM and locked parts" I suppose that Dr Jaaski is thinking about the demands of carriers and the fact that most end users buy subsidized phones with what is basically "pay by lock-in". For this business model, the phone needs DRM and locks so that the customer can be forced to keep paying for the contracts and has no choice where to buy his software (music, games, ringtones, etc...). -- This is a good model for the industry, because it ensures a more regular cash-flow (regular payments instead of a one-time buy), and usually brings more revenues, since the total price is hidden (more than one young people ended up broke from their cell phone bill). But is this the only possible business model? Certainly not.
Dr. Jaaksi, but yes, you're right on this.

But about adding the possibility to support DRM and Simlocking for instance, I don't really see how it takes something away from the device or the platform. It doesn't mean that all the content and features would automatically become locked, it's more about the capability to provide the device with flavours that either then support these features or not. If you compare for instance to the current mobile phones from Nokia, I'd say nearly all of them have the capability to be sold locked to a certain operator, but they can also be unlocked. And if they support for instance Microsoft DRM for media, it doesn't affect all the media - it's just about the capability to also play that particular kind of media. I see it only as an added capability, I don't really see how it subtracts.

Because, exactly as you were saying, it's then about the consumers. The consumers can then make the decisions of whether they are ok with this or not. And I would perhaps say that most consumers do not have the same kind of passion against all things non-open and non-locked, they are more concerned with getting features, getting a great user experience etc. Take iPhone for instance, it has the Fairplay DRM there. It's an enabler that allows Apple in their minds - and many seem to agree - to make a more compelling offer for the consumers.