" Your mobile phone should be free ." That was Google CEO Eric Schmidt talking to Reuters in November of 2006. It was just about a year before the Android project was first unveiled. It was also just a few months before the iPhone was introduced (Schmidt was a member of Apple's Board at the time). At that point, Schmidt had to know that both Google and Apple were on the verge of changing the mobile industry. Or, at least, that's what he thought was going to happen. There's no question that the situation in the mobile industry (particularly in the U.S.) is better than it was in 2006 from a consumer perspective. And yes, that's largely thanks to Apple and Google. But free phones? We're nowhere close to that. But last year we were. And then Google's dream turned into a nightmare.