AT&T CEO says App Store is bad for consumers

Randall is unhappy about having to pay for an app twice in order to run it on different platforms. I am more unhappy since AT&T requires me to pay for my data download connection TWICE in order to connect from my two DIFFERENT devices, my iphone and my ipad.

Coming from another phone company that loves to gouge it's customers and pre-iPhone had nothing in the way of functionality or added value, this really means a lot to me.

"are 'bad for consumers,' as they require a customer to purchase an app multiple times if they want to run it on different platforms."

...what's this guy smoking? How is this any different to the way consumers have thought about buying software for their Mac/Windows/Unix/Linux/ad nauseam since the dawn of e-time?

I'd put it to him that this is EXACTLY how his customers expect to experience their platforms.

Wow! What a load of AT&T crap. In the old days, when I'd bought some stupid game for my dumbphone, lost my phone, and bought a new different model, would AT&T credit my game for the new phone? In short, NO. They were perfectly able to to that since I had to buy the exact same game from them again, but of course they did not. So now all of a sudden, AT&T is concerned about the portability of my apps. Hah!

Wow what an idiot, they all had 'stores' before apple came around and they sucked, people had started buying rimgtones, but the telcoms have the same problem they've always had. They can't see the forest for the trees. They never innovate just to be better for the consumer, they always look at innovation in the what's in it for me? That's where google, facebook, and apple etc... Really excel at breaking the status quo, it comes straight from a geek morality, that is ingrained in the companies culture, In doubt AT&T or verizon has ever encouraged it's employees to make the product better on the spare time or company time in order to improve the customer expirence , with any forseeable profit gains. Fools... A day late and a dollar short

Randall Stephenson is either a two-faced lying son-of-a-b***ch or a complete idiot. Which is it, do you think?

Translation : Stop using what you enjoy - your experience needs to suck more - like us, from us. We said stop doing that! Please? Won't you suck with us?

The App store saved me from $90 worth of billing at&t added to my bill. They tried to add items like daily horoscope notifications for $9.99 a month. It took 45 minutes to explain to the a&t representative that iPhone content bills through iTunes and not at&t, and the content they were billing me for was simply impossible.

He's got nerve.

I don't recall carriers having any compelling apps before the App Store came along.

AT&T can look in the mirror if they want to talk about abusing consumers. Funny that as soon as VZW got the iPhone AT&T was able to free up another 2 gig for people who wanted to tether. And Microcells could suddenly be free. And calls to ALL mobile phones could suddenly be free.

AT&T and VZW are making huge profits from smartphones. They cry poor but look at how much more they can provide for consumers - but only when a little competition shows up.

Adobe and Opera are Associates.

Adobe are probably going to insist that Flash Apps are now Web Apps.
Opera are probably sore that WebKit came from nowhere and made them irrelevant.

Most of the other players are Carriers. Many are Android device Manufacturers. Apple aren't involved in this, nor are Google, Nokia and Microsoft.