The Latest From T-Mobile

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10221037-1.html

This article describes the newest version of the T-Mobile sidekick they just came out with. This new version has features like 3G, a flash video support, and will be twitter and facebook accessible. They are giving the option of pre-ordering the phone to their current customers then opening sales up to everyone. They are probably hoping to get their loyal customers first and then the rest will follow.

The sidekick used to be considered the coolest phone out there back in the time when The O.C. was on air. All of the characters on the show carried their t-mobile sidekicks and called each other from them. This before the i-phone was invented and when the blackberry was only seen as a work device. The O.C. has been off air for 3 years now and times have definitely changed. Popular show Gossip Girl is sponsored by Verizon and features their phones in every episode when they send in gossip to an anonymous website. To gain back their popularity T-mobile is going to have to work up some major publicity with the younger crowds.

I-Tunes tiered pricing

http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/music/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=BK3IMSCDYEQHWQSNDLRSKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=216403586&pgno=2&queryText=&isPrev=

Whenever I write my weekly blog I post I usually look for an article first that sounds interesting, then I comment on it. But this week I had a specific topic in mind. Earlier this week I logged on to my i-tunes account to buy the new Black Eyed Peas song I heard on the radio. I hit download, the site asks me to confirm, and I do. Only after I’ve listened to the song several times on repeat did I get back on my account and realize that the song I bought didn’t actually cost .99 cents like I thought all songs did. The song was in fact $1.29, as are about half of the top 100 downloaded songs on I-tunes.

So I found this article on information week to see why in the world the price of some i-tunes songs went up and why I wasn’t informed. Apparently i-tunes is using a tiered system of pricing so customers will pay more to download more popular songs. I understand the need for this with the increasing amount of songs downloaded illegally, but just because I understand it doesn’t mean I have to like it. I think the same sentiment will be felt by customers everywhere. This could give Apple a lot power within the music industry as well. If they charge a discounted price for a new artist they might have a stake in then that person might become very well-known and popular. I’m very interested to see what will happen in the future to i-tunes and their pricing, and next time I buy a song I will be careful to look at the price.

Twitter and Google merger?

http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2009/04/report_google_i.html?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis

Here's the website I forgot...

This article in Business Week addresses the rumor that Google is in talks to buy Twitter. Although they said that this probably isn’t true right now, the article talks about what would come of these two internet super companies did in fact merge. Google is a very popular search engine but they haven’t been able to tap into the social networking aspect of the internet. On the other hand, Twitter hasn’t been able to find a way to make money off of their popularity. I feel like there are always rumors about successful companies merging, but few ever turn out to be true.

The problem with big companies like Google and Twitter buying each other out is that there is less competition in the market. Ever since the Telecommunications Act of 1996, With less market competition, costs will go up and choices and options will go down. An example of this would be facebook. The site recently changed it’s layout and the homepage of the website. Many people voiced dislike about the changes, but since there aren’t any other sites with the popularity facebook, there’s nowhere for unhappy consumers to turn to. Another example of this would be cable companies in local cities. When there’s only one provider, they can charge whatever prices they want and show whatever content they choose.