Fans of Apple's
Verizon
You're already seeing AT&T take a new tack in its advertising campaign. It is actively promoting the ability to surf the Web during voice calls, a feature that isn't available on Verizon's network.
It will be interesting to see whether Verizon fights back, though it may want to make sure that the influx of data-hogging iPhone users doesn't slow down its own network first.
Having two fierce competitors will ultimately reward consumers. Verizon already threw a curveball at AT&T by offering an unlimited data plan with its iPhone. That's unlikely to last, though it very well might if it's both effective at luring customers and cost-effective. AT&T has meanwhile been beefing up its tethering offering and relaxing its mobile-to-mobile stance.
I'm already looking forward to June, when both carriers are likely to be hawking the fifth-generation iPhone. This was already a good fight when only one of them had the iconic smartphone. It's about to get even better.
Briefly in the news
And now let's take a quick look at some of the other stories that shaped our week.
-
Activision Blizzard
is axing its Guitar Hero franchise. The niche-defining music-timing game once had families everywhere clicking away on plastic guitars. Now that gamers aren't clamoring for an encore, it's time to call it a night.(Nasdaq: ATVI) -
Nokia
CEO Stephen Elop turned heads this week, when an internal memo leaked. "We poured gasoline on our own burning platform," he wrote. I love Elop's frank assessment. Nokia has a right to be blunt. However, just because you realize the problem, that doesn't mean that there's a feasible solution.(NYSE: NOK) -
Disney
posted better-than-expected quarterly results. As a bellwether for consumer spending, it's encouraging to see most of Disney's segments growing nicely.(NYSE: DIS)
Until next week, I remain,
Rick Munarriz
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