Ask HN: A free smartphone supported by ads?

1 pointnemesis16372 comments

Why hasn't anyone built a smartphone (with free data and free voice) that is supported via popup ads on the device? Yeah, it'd be annoying but I have to assume that millions (billions?) of people would use it?

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You assume that because...? If rumour is to believed, Google and Facebook have both looked into this and couldn't make the model work.

The existing carriers and retailers are not interested because it threatens their existing revenue streams, creating huge barriers to entry. And perhaps demand is not as high as you think.

Also: People will find a way to work around this, cutting of your revenue stream.

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