Verizon Has Offered to Force Apps Onto Users’ New Android Phones ⇥ adage.com

Garett Sloane, Advertising Age (via Lessien):

The wireless carrier has offered to install big brands’ apps on its subscribers’ home screens, potentially delivering millions of downloads, according to agency executives who have considered making such deals for their clients. But that reach would come at a cost: Verizon was seeking between $1 and $2 for each device affected, executives said.

Yet another solid argument for not letting carriers have any control over a mobile phone operating system.

Another downside to Verizon’s app offering is that it doesn’t offer any targeting, yet. So, a brand, for instance, couldn’t focus on buying pre-installed apps on phones of known customers, the executive said.

The implications of that “yet” are pretty gross, aren’t they?