“Fitting older versions of Google’s Inc popular Android software to cheaper cellphones could send the repair costs of global telecoms operators up as much as $2 billion, a study by wireless services firm WDS showed,” Reuters reports.
“Costly hardware failures are more common on Android devices than on Apple Inc iPhones and Research In Motion Inc BlackBerry phones, which have strict control over the components used in their devices, WDS data showed,” Reuters reports. “The study covered 600,000 technical support calls taken by WDS across Europe, North America, South Africa and Australia.”
“Cheaper Android models, costing as little as $100 to make, have helped Android emerge as the dominant platform in smartphones, attracting dozens of manufacturers ranging from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd to no-brand Asian vendors,” Reuters reports. “‘While this price point sounds very attractive, when you look at a total cost of ownership its a different story,’ said Tim Deluca-Smith, Vice President of Marketing at WDS, which offers device management and call centre services to operators.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
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