Sometimes it isn't what you say or how you say it, but what you don't say that speaks volumes. Now this may not ring true, but on the surface it does seem to insiders to be either clear as a bell or simply a matter of not reaching out and touching the right people.
In black and white, plus blue and orange, AT&T issued a call for Applications in an event called Open Call. Funny thing though. One big platform in the mobile device eco-system that makes up AT&T that's missing is Apple's iPhone platform. Another is Symbian from Nokia. Now the latter I can understand as Nokia's Series 60 Smartphones never really have caught on within AT&T other than some neutered E61 turned E62s and the E71x that is not Mobile VoIP enabled out of the box. So much for OPEN Calling.
Anyway, the lack Apple, which has the most advanced app store and app developer market in this promotional mailing is a sign. That sign is that AT&T has likely come to the conclusion that Apple customers are really Apple's at the end of the day are not friends any more. By consciously excluding the most active and forward thinking developer community speaks volumes and says "we don't want them" vs. "we need them."
The exclusion of Symbian developers, perhaps the largest in the world, is a slap in the face at Nokia. But that's nothing new for them when it comes to AT&T. For years AT&T has carried only a few of the best designed, most ergonomic and perhaps most powerful GSM products around. While other leading carriers have embraced the N and E series, AT&T has basically said, "we'll take this or that." The lack of Symbian inclusion here only furthers that position.
So much for the world of Open.
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