Man's Decision To
Buy WAP Phone Condemned As 'Too Little, Too Late' By Industry
A man's decision to purchase a WAP
phone has been roundly condemned as 'too
little too late' by the mobile phone
industry.
John Dickson, 45, purchased the phone,
a Siemens SL45, from a high street retailer in
Norwich because he wanted to 'keep
in touch with the kids and see what this
WAP business is all about.' But
the purchase was condemned as 'derisory' and
'pathetically inadequate' by industry
figures looking for an end to the current
slump.
"What good is that going to do,"
said one insider. "There are thousands of jobs
on the line here. And he buys one
piddling phone? What f***ing use is that?"
As UK manufacturer Marconi announced
massive jobs cuts this week,
prompting its share price to plummet,
it had been hoped that the 'Norwich
Acquisition', as it had become known
on the trading floor, would herald a change
in fortunes for the much-troubled
tech and telecommunications sectors, but
news that the acquisition consisted
of just one phone was greeted with
despondency, not just in the UK
but throughout the industry.
"A lot of people were hoping for
good news from Norwich," said David
Blumenthal, financial analyst at
the New York Times. "This is a major
disappointment."
The NASDAQ was down 73 points on news of Mr. Dickson's purchase.
The industry's hopes now turn to
an IT student called Peter Chan who has
expressed an interest in acquiring
Nokia's new 9210 but is waiting for his grant
cheque to come though.
(c) urbanreflex.com 2001