This Article from Wired about a guy who just wanted his cell phone for talking on – not internet access and listening to music with, started out promising enough, but then fell down. It seems that the telco's want you to use all those non-phone related activities with your cell phone and they could care less if all you really want to do is talk.
Pity. I've been saying this for years now, "Give me a phone please, JUST a phone." I also want the hardware for free and the service for $5.00 a month. If all I want is a cell PHONE, I should'nt have to pay for all that techno crap that I NEVER use. What made the iPod so successful? Part of it was that you could not send text messaging, talk to your girly and listen to Rap music on it. It just played music – DRM music, but hey, nothing's perfect.
iPod did get the user interface right, a feat that has so far illuded the cell phone makers. Why do they use tiny keyboards when it has a perfectly good voice input device built in? I'm reminded of the middle tier business managers stranded on Earth in Hitchhiker's Guide. They invented wheel or was it fire, but they argued over what color it should be.
Imagine how many more customers you would have if you sold a stripped down cell phone and service plan for people over forty who just want to talk. Senior citizens (ie Baby Boomers) are the fasted growing consumer market and I can gaurantee that Grandma does not want to text message on her cell phone. She just wants to talk to her grandkids.