AT&T Looking at Gadgets To Grow

Business week has an interesting story about how AT&T is looking at connected devices for future growth now that the phone adoption rate is quite high. Among the gadgets that AT&T is looking at, we can find connected GPS or eBooks. The newly formed Emerging Devices group believes that it can pull an extra billion dollars “over the next few years”, and considerably more in the longer term.

The company is right to think that it can pull in more money, but to be successful, it also needs to make its services consumer-friendly. Right now, wireless carriers are among the most hated services after lawyers and car dealers because the billing is obscure and the roaming charges are outrageous (especially internationally). Also, AT&T needs to consolidate the billing and have friendlier prices. Paying $40 per month, per device, is just not an option for a mass market. Expect to see more deals like what Verizon did with the Kindle.