Mobile Research's Mobile Device Blue Book lists current and recently discontinued mobile devices, along with features, services, and capabilities. And it'll be updated every month!
Ever been puzzled by what mobile services are available from which carriers? What phones are available on how much they cost? Seattle’s Mobile Research has announced its Mobile Device Blue Book, a new publication listing all available and recently discontinued mobile devices for all major carriers and MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) in the U.S. market. Along with listing every device offered by every carrier, the blue book tracks prices, lists features offered by devices and carriers, and contains sorted listings by manufacturer, carrier, and feature. Tracked items include
- Display characteristics
- Devices by network type
- Data bearer support
- MMS, Java, BREW, and WAP enabled devices
- Camera phones
- Bluetooth support
- Push-to-talk capability
- Music support
- Video support
Mobile Research says it will update the Blue Book once a month, and the Blue Book also comes with a CD-ROM with all monthly data in tab-delimited format for easy analysis via spreadsheet or database.
But all this knowledge don’t come cheap! A monthly edition is priced at $299, and an annual subscription will set you back $2,499. At those prices, you’ve got to wonder if maybe Mobile Research shouldn’t be aiming at the tony executive data market, and should instead consider making the data available for free via the Internet and generate revenue with advertising and affiliate programs. Cell phone makers and mobile operators would love to sign up, I’m sure!
