With the possible exception of the iPhone (which is highly controlled by Apple), the mobile phone carriers are the biggest threat to innovation, controlling which phones get released and who gets software upgrades (if any).
I say the possible exception of the iPhone since even though Apple controls the software upgrade process it still has to negotiate with the carriers to make it available to their customers. Releasing WiFi-only devices, as Microsoft and Google have done, is one way to bypass them but it also limits where and when the devices can be used. It’s an odd situation, the carriers’ actions are similar to what occurs in a monopoly but there is still technically competition (in most markets). Until something major changes, which is unlikely at present, consumers lose. And lose. And lose.
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