The carrier coup must be stopped

2. A newer approach, represented by Amazon.com, works like this: The gadget maker dominates the process. The mobile broadband relationship (which happens to be with Sprint) is hidden entirely from the user, who has no idea what Amazon.com is paying for the wireless connectivity and doesn't care. (For the user, it's free. But Amazon.com or other companies could easily charge a monthly fee for access.) In this scenario, the carrier is the supplier and Amazon.com is the company you're buying the combined product from.

3. The Apple iPhone uses a hybrid model between the two extremes. You can buy the iPhone from Apple or from AT&T, but either way you're on your own dealing with AT&T on wireless data pricing. However, as part of their contract with AT&T, Apple has forced the carrier to offer relatively simple data options.

The carriers are all actively their retail and online stores to sell a huge range of laptops, netbooks, eBooks, GPS devices, media players, Internet tablets, wristwatches and other gadgets that will connect to the cell phone data networks. They want to sell them in the same way they now market cell phones.

Carriers aren't doing this because they want to lose money. They're doing it because this is how they can make more money. A lot more.