Why is the "cost to fill your iPod" more relevant than the "cost to fill your apartment with CDs?" More capacity is good. And you can buy used CDs and rip them if you want.

The relevant question is really "subscription vs purchase." Do you want an unlimited, temporary, restricted supply of music? Or do you want a limited, permanent, portable supply of music?

Given that I don't constantly crave new music, I prefer to buy things I want and always have them. But I'm happy to see competitive models. It just means more choices for consumers.

Oh great! A photo frame that my loved ones can beam photos to. Yeah, it should be on my Wi-Fi network (high-bandwidth, free) and accept photos via email (free).

Wait, you want me to BUY A PHONE LINE FOR IT??

That's a stupid, stupid, STUPID idea.

Oh great! A photo frame that my loved ones can beam photos to. Yeah, it should be on my Wi-Fi network (high-bandwidth, free) and accept photos via email (free).

Wait, you want me to BUY A PHONE LINE FOR IT??

That's a stupid, stupid, STUPID idea.

Yes, brilliant planning. Next they should make a solar umbrella, for charging your phone during rainstorms.

It's a huge market, and it's getting bigger. If they don't launch an iPhone competitor, it's because they're hurting so much from the failure of the Zune to compete with the iPod.

Frankly, Windows Mobile is such a headache to use that, unless Microsoft gets some really fresh minds in the company, I don't see them being ABLE to compete with the iPhone. They just don't GET it.

At any rate, I'm expecting Android to shake everybody up - and I'm really looking forward to it. Windows Mobile will shrivel and die if you can get a much better alternative for free.

It's a huge market, and it's getting bigger. If they don't launch an iPhone competitor, it's because they're hurting so much from the failure of the Zune to compete with the iPod.

Frankly, Windows Mobile is such a headache to use that, unless Microsoft gets some really fresh minds in the company, I don't see them being ABLE to compete with the iPhone. They just don't GET it.

At any rate, I'm expecting Android to shake everybody up - and I'm really looking forward to it. Windows Mobile will shrivel and die if you can get a much better alternative for free.

It's a huge market, and it's getting bigger. If they don't launch an iPhone competitor, it's because they're hurting so much from the failure of the Zune to compete with the iPod.

Frankly, Windows Mobile is such a headache to use that, unless Microsoft gets some really fresh minds in the company, I don't see them being ABLE to compete with the iPhone. They just don't GET it.

At any rate, I'm expecting Android to shake everybody up - and I'm really looking forward to it. Windows Mobile will shrivel and die if you can get a much better alternative for free.

Probably not. But then, your bank doesn't enough money for everyone to withdraw their accounts at once either. Both of them operate on average usage estimates, and (except in rare cases) it works fine.

What would be truly revolutionary is if they (and other carriers) stop trying to control every aspect of the user's experience and really just be the data pipe. For example, stop trying to sell ringtones, operate second-rate music services, and such nonsense, and start making devices that users can control. Verizon is pretty bad about this now - my dad's phone had links for maybe five places to buy ringtones from, but I bet it won't let him make his own.
Eight or so years ago I had my PC set up to be the answering machine on my land line, and its greeting was a WAV file that I recorded with all kinds of neat recording tricks. Why can't I do that now and upload it to my voicemail? Why can't I walk into my house and let my phone sync its contacts with my computer over my wireless network? Why should I pay my carrier a monthly fee to backup less than one megabyte of contacts data when I can put 2 gigs on a thumb drive?
With an internet connection at home, I can do whatever I please with my computer - use whatever online services I want, install what I want, customize what I want. My cell phone should be the same way.
I hope this is a step in that direction.

"Subsidized" phones are a myth. Basic economics tells you that if the phone company's goal is to make money, they are not going to lose money on the phone. If they "subsidize" it, they charge the difference to you in your monthly rate.
A better system would be that you can buy your phone from anyone you like and take it to any carrier you like. Then you could shop for a device solely based on features, and the carriers couldn't disable features to force their own services on you (i.e. disable a simple USB port and make you pay a monthly fee to backup your contacts!?!).
If paying the cost of a phone up front is too tough for you, buy a cheaper phone, pay on credit, or whatever. At least this way you'd be buying from a competitive market instead of a monopoly.