12 November 2006

Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, has come up with a bright idea: get a free mobile phone if you are willing to watch advertisements. I have a better idea.

Of course 'free' cellphones are nothing new: 100 percent subsidised handsets to people willing to lock themselves into long term (two year) contracts have been around for ages, and are still popular in many markets. The trouble with Schmidt's idea is that those who are prepared to put up with the inconvenience and intrusiveness of adverts in return for a free phone are likely to be those with limited disposable income: hardly an advertiser's prime target.