And Now Copy Protection Comes To Mobile Phones

from the does-anyone-really-care? dept

In what may be a tremendous waste of time and money, a bunch of tech companies are going to make a big announcement that the press will eat up next week about a new copy protection scheme for mobile phones. They're doing this under the mistaken belief that broadcast content is going to drive adoption of the next generation of phones and entertainment companies won't offer content on mobile phones unless there's copy protection. There are many problems with this theory. First, and most importantly, people use mobile phones for communication between multiple people not consumption of media from big companies. That's always been the driving force behind mobile phones, and it's not likely to change any time soon. The focus should be on improving the experience for consumers - and this doesn't come close. It has nothing to do with what what people want to use their phones for. Second, as with any copy protection scheme all it does is hinder people from using the device as they see fit. They're giving mobile phone owners less features, not more. That's generally a bad strategy no matter what business you're in. Finally, as wireless connections get better and more people move towards more open smartphone platforms this isn't going to matter as much. The phones will be able to access the internet and any available content on the internet as a whole, and won't be limited to the walled garden of content these companies want to build. Still, there will be any number of misleading news stories talking about what an important move this is.

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