Apple

Congressional Economics

by Ryan Young on May 10, 2011

in Economy, Employment

Some people think that the only reason poverty still exists is because Congress hasn’t passed laws guaranteeing the right to decent housing, health, and education.

Some of these people are in Congress. Over at The American Spectator, my colleague Jacqueline Otto and I explain why their hearts are in the right place, but their heads aren’t:

Suppose that poverty really can be abolished by passing a few laws. Jackson isn’t going nearly far enough, then. The Constitution should guarantee everyone not just a decent home, but a mansion filled with servants to take care of every need.

Everyone should have the right to not just a doctor’s visit every 6 months, but a cadre of specialists with access to the latest technologies and tests. This would be a boon for life expectancy.

And why only an iPod and a laptop for children? They deserve supercomputers! And the right to a Harvard Ph.D. Such a law would give America the most educated population in the world; though it would probably know the least.

Congress might as well pass a law guaranteeing an above-average lifestyle for all Americans.

Senators Seek to Censor Mobile App Stores, Disregarding Public Safety and the Constitution

by Ryan Radia on March 25, 2011

in Features, Mobility, Nanny State, Personal Liberty, Precaution & Risk, Regulation, Tech & Telecom

Post image for Senators Seek to Censor Mobile App Stores, Disregarding Public Safety and the Constitution

In the latest example of big government run amok, several politicians think they ought to be in charge of which applications you should be able to install on your smartphone.

On March 22, four U.S. Senators sent a letter to Apple, Google, and Research in Motion urging the companies to disable access to mobile device applications that enable users to locate DUI checkpoints in real time. Unsurprisingly, in their zeal to score political points, the Senators — Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, Frank Lautenberg, and Tom Udall — got it dead wrong.

Had the Senators done some basic fact-checking before firing off their missive, they would have realized that these apps actually enhance the effectiveness of DUI checkpoints while reducing their intrusiveness. And had the Senators glanced at the Constitution — you know, that document they swore an oath to support and defend — they would have seen that sobriety checkpoint apps are almost certainly protected by the First Amendment.

While Apple has stayed mum on the issue so far, Research in Motion quickly yanked the apps in question. This is understandable; perhaps RIM doesn’t wish to incur the wrath of powerful politicians who are notorious for making a public spectacle of going after companies that have the temerity to stand up for what is right.

Google has refused to pull the DUI checkpoint finder apps from the Android app store, reports Digital Trends. Google’s steadfastness on this matter reflects well on its stated commitment to free expression and openness. Not that Google’s track record is perfect on this front — like all firms, it’s made mistakes from time to time — but it’s certainly a cut above several of its competitors in the defending Internet freedom.

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iPhone 4 is All About Verizon, Not Apple

by Kathryn Ciano on February 8, 2011 · 1 comment

in Tech & Telecom

Design loyalists know it all begins and ends with Apple, the little tech company whose mission statement is “to change the world.” When it comes to phone users, design goes out the window: iPhone 4 converts are excited about Verizon, not Apple.

Verizon and Apple both launched Web sales of the iPhone 4 last week for existing Verizon customers, and are preparing for a Thursday store launch open to the general public. Sales during last week’s launch exceeded any previous Verizon launch, beating sales at the Droid launch by five times, according to JPMorgan Chase analyst Phil Cusick.

I wrote on launch day:

In this case it looks like folks switching phones are doing it for the service provider, not for the manufacturer. Despite its reputation for inflexible contract terms, Verizon enjoys the view from the top of the dependable-service-provider heap

Verizon seems preoccupied with their launch today. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs tweeted today that “WH unclassified email went down shortly before 8 AM. Verizon is working to solve the problem.

It’s not just web service and White House service that’s become spotty; Verizon is so concerned about the crush of demand anticipated for iPhone 4 that the company asked employees to hold off buying the phone for themselves or their families, citing “tight supplies” and the need to “put customers first.”

The launch crashed both the Verizon website and Verizon’s service to the White House. Let’s hope this doesn’t herald a new era of dropped calls and spotty connections for Verizon customers.

Verizon sold out of the iPhone within two hours on its Web launch day. Better line up now to get your Verizon-powered iPhone Thursday morning!

LibertyWeek 82: Lessons from Chile

by Richard Morrison on March 1, 2010

in CEI Projects, Podcast

Richard Morrison, Jeremy Lott and Brooke Oberwetter unite to bring you Episode 82 of the LibertyWeek podcast. We cover lessons from Chile, heathcare legislation on life support, a perfect storm for the IPCC, underage iPod assemblers and Charlie Rangel’s fairy godmother.

LibertyWeek 79: Where Are the Jobs?

by Richard Morrison on February 1, 2010

in CEI Projects, Podcast

Richard Morrison, Marc Scribner and Josh Barro join forces to being you Episode 79 of the LibertyWeek podcast. We take on barriers to job creation, anti-capitalist murmurs in Davos, the iPad’s unapproved technology, laws against motorized texting and why it’s all or nothing in the healthcare debate.

Competition in Wireless Communication: Android Edition

by Elizabeth Jacobson on October 26, 2009

in Tech & Telecom

The New York Times reports that several cell phone manufacturers are turning to Google’s free operating system, Android, to run on their upcoming smartphone models. The switch to Android is likely to hit Microsoft and its clunky Windows Mobile platform the hardest, as companies that previously used Windows for their high-end PDA-phones seek to cut costs and offer consumers a more customizable product.

With Google joining the ranks of Nokia, Research-in-Motion, Apple, and Microsoft developing in mobile phone operating systems, the big four wireless carriers signing on to offer Android phones within the coming year, the deployment of 4G networks slated to take place in 2010, mounting consumer anticipation for Motorola’s soon-to-be-released Droid, and reported rumors that Apple is about to end its exclusive distribution deal with AT&T, it’s difficult to take seriously critics’ claims that a lack of competition and carrier-device exclusivity contracts are restricting consumer choice and keeping prices prohibitively high.

Taking the heat and defending free enterprise

by Fran Smith on October 14, 2009

in Economy, Environment, Global Warming, Sanctimony

It’s about time that business groups started defending free enterprise, and the U. S. Chamber of Commerce is off to a good start – a bit belatedly – with its “American Free Enterprise. Dream Big” campaign. Launched on October 14, the campaign features national TV and print ad campaigns, a video contest, small business awards, and other outreach.

Here’s the underlying message, as shown on their website:

At the U.S. Chamber, we believe that the values of individual initiative, hard work, freedom of choice, and the free exchange of trade, capital, and ideas can lead America back to prosperity. Only free enterprise will create the innovation, the opportunities, and the jobs our nation needs. That is why we are launching this campaign.

The Chamber has been under a lot of pressure recently to cave in to the rent-seekers on global warming policy.  Some members of the Climate Action Partnership seeking to profit from cap-and-trade legislation  –  the utilities Pacific Gas & Electric, PNM Resources and Exelon — bowed out of their Chamber membership. Then, Nike and Apple sanctimoniously dropped their membership.  But as the Wall Street Journal noted today, both of those companies would escape onerous energy taxes from global warming legislation because most of their manufacturing is done in countries that don’t yet suppress energy use.

The WSJ points out how short-sighted these companies are:

If companies are going to dump the Chamber over a single dispute, then the overall influence of business in Washington is likely to decline. The Chamber’s job isn’t to favor one company’s agenda over another but to stand broadly for free trade, low taxes and limited regulation-principles that help U.S. business as a whole.

Having abandoned their business allies on climate change, Apple and Nike might wake up one day to discover they need those friends on one of their crucial issues. It will serve them right if they find themselves alone in the Beltway square.

The Chamber deserves kudos for standing firm on principle and coming out loud and clear in its support of free enterprise.

LibertyWeek 55: The Health Care Mob Is Coming!

by Richard Morrison on August 11, 2009

in CEI Projects, Podcast, Zeitgeist

Your host Richard Morrison welcomes back returning guest co-host Jeremy Lott and distinguished special guest David Mark of the Politico for Episode 55 of the LibertyWeek podcast. We start with reports of unrest over health care in the provinces, the U.S. Postal Service’s death spiral and the globe trotting ways of members of Congress. We continue with some sadly familiar antitrust murmurs regarding Apple and Google, a classic union corruption scandal out of New York City and some inspiring and heroic Paralympic News.

Newsflash to FCC: The iPhone is a Closed Platform, and Consumers Love It

by Ryan Radia on August 2, 2009 · 1 comment

in Regulation, Tech & Telecom

Just when you thought the FCC’s investigation of the wireless industry couldn’t get any stranger, TechCrunch reports that the Commission has sent letters to AT&T, Apple, and Google inquiring about Apple’s recent decision to reject the Google Voice app from the iPhone App Store.

It’s been over two years since the original iPhone was launched, but it seems the FCC still doesn’t get it: the iPhone is very clearly a closed platform — a prototypical walled garden — and Apple has the final say on what applications users can install. When you buy an iPhone, you’re not simply buying a piece of hardware, but actually a package deal that includes software, hardware, and a wireless contract. Is this anti-consumer? 26 million consumers don’t think so. The iPhone 3GS, the latest version of the phone, is selling so fast that Apple’s CFO says they can’t make enough to meet demand!

Of course, the iPhone model isn’t for everyone. I, for one, don’t own one because I’m an obsessive tinkerer and prefer a phone that’s as open as possible. But not everyone shares my preferences. As mentioned above, over 26 million iPhones have been sold since June 2007, so openness clearly isn’t make-or-break for a lot of consumers. Who knows, maybe some people actually trust Apple and like the comfort of knowing that every app they can get comes with a seal of approval from Cupertino.

The FCC’s letter to Apple demands an explanation for why Google Voice was rejected. If Apple’s explanation doesn’t satisfy the FCC’s criteria — which, by the way, are entirely unclear — then what? Will the FCC force Apple to accept Google Voice? Say what you will about Apple’s app store track record, but the prospect of federal regulators having the final word on which applications smartphone owners can install hardly seems pro-innovation. The FCC can’t even figure out how to run its own website!

In some ways, the iPhone has perhaps been too successful for its own good. It’s so popular that many consumers seem to no longer view it as just another product but instead as an item to which they are entitled. Thus, bureaucrats and Congresscritters in search of political points are making a big fuss over the fact that the iPhone isn’t everything to everyone. Why can’t it be wide open? Why isn’t in available on every carrier nationwide? Why is it so expensive to purchase without a service contract?

The answers to these questions lie in the rational self-interested decisions made by Apple and AT&T. The iPhone exists not just to make consumers happy (which it’s been exceedingly successful at doing), but also to make money for Apple and AT&T. And what’s wrong with that? Both firms arguably took a big risk on the iPhone, with Apple putting big bucks on the line to develop it and AT&T accepting an unprecedented arrangement with Apple to hand over a sizable chunk of wireless revenues.

Rewarding penalizing Apple and AT&T’s iPhone gamble with stricter regulations may make some iPhone owners happy in the short run, but it will also make phone developers wary about taking iPhone-esque gambles in the future. Why invest hundreds of millions to hopefully concoct the next big device if the price of success is political predation? (See Barbara Esbin and Berin Szoka’s paper, Should the FCC Kill The Goose That Laid The Golden iPhone, for more on this).

As we often say, if you don’t care for the iPhone’s App Store, get another phone! There are dozens of smartphones out there that compete with the iPhone. The Palm Pre, LG Versa, Samsung Omnia, and HTC G1 are just a few notable examples.

Want a phone that’s wide-open? Try the G1 — its Android OS is open source and even comes in an unlocked flavor that’s designed for developers. If you love Google Voice, then try a Blackberry — unlike the iPhone, Google Voice works great on Blackberries.

The FCC should stop wasting its time on futile attempts to make already-competitive markets even more so. Instead, the Commission should be focusing on how to free up the airwaves, most of which remain out of reach of innovators because of outdated rules.