Comments on: The hidden subsidy http://mobileiron.com/blog/2009/05/the-hidden-subsidy/ The human, business, and technology impact of smartphones in the workplace Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:54:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Tim Cerami http://mobileiron.com/blog/2009/05/the-hidden-subsidy/comment-page-1/#comment-9 Tim Cerami Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:15:37 +0000 http://mobileiron.com/blog/?p=29#comment-9 I think the strong consumer oriented marketing by the carrier is going to continue, or even get stronger as the landscape becomes more populated with cheap Smartphones that are ending up in the hands of young people who may be nowhere near joining the corporate world. Pretty soon, a standard 12 button cell phone will be as uncommon as a home phone. I think you hit the nail on the head in that it's still the actual user who is choosing the phone, not the company they work for. Whether the company helps the employee pay for part of it or not won't impact the consumer oriented marketing efforts. I used to work really closely with Palm. They were so stuck in "consumer land" back in the early 2000's, it's no wonder they lost a nice lead to MS and RIM. Now, the line between consumer vs. corporate device is so blurred, many companies are choosing a $200 (disposable) smartphones for remote workers as their first choice. If those don't work out, then they might purchase a more rugged over-$1000 device or scrap the whole idea because the devices are either not robust enough, too expensive or a bitch to manage/support. Personally, I use a Treo 700wx. I rarely use the camera, but perhaps because it's low quality. I use Google Maps, Skyfire for browsing and tap several POP email accounts to stay in touch with customers. Perhaps if I had some newer technology, I might use it for different things... Tim Cerami Tim Cerami Design 8 years of mobile experience (2000-2008) I think the strong consumer oriented marketing by the carrier is going to continue, or even get stronger as the landscape becomes more populated with cheap Smartphones that are ending up in the hands of young people who may be nowhere near joining the corporate world.

Pretty soon, a standard 12 button cell phone will be as uncommon as a home phone. I think you hit the nail on the head in that it’s still the actual user who is choosing the phone, not the company they work for. Whether the company helps the employee pay for part of it or not won’t impact the consumer oriented marketing efforts. I used to work really closely with Palm. They were so stuck in “consumer land” back in the early 2000’s, it’s no wonder they lost a nice lead to MS and RIM. Now, the line between consumer vs. corporate device is so blurred, many companies are choosing a $200 (disposable) smartphones for remote workers as their first choice. If those don’t work out, then they might purchase a more rugged over-$1000 device or scrap the whole idea because the devices are either not robust enough, too expensive or a bitch to manage/support.

Personally, I use a Treo 700wx. I rarely use the camera, but perhaps because it’s low quality. I use Google Maps, Skyfire for browsing and tap several POP email accounts to stay in touch with customers. Perhaps if I had some newer technology, I might use it for different things…

Tim Cerami
Tim Cerami Design
8 years of mobile experience (2000-2008)

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