Born to be Wireless

Labels: googlephone, gphone

Google seems to have taken a leaf from Apple's book: Say nothing officially, but ensure steady leaks to maintain interest. The latest rumor is that Google is deep in talks with Verizon over "how they would put together a partnership and ways to make money off the developments" according to Bloomberg, although they are not yet close to an agreement. Verizon confirmed the companies had talked but wouldn't comment further… Reuters and the WSJ said much the same thing and quoted their own sources, which could of course be the same person since they're all anonymous. Meanwhile, France Telecom has come out and formally denied being in talks with Google about a handset, reports Reuters.

Cnet reported on a survey by Evans Data Corporation showing that Google was the most popular choice for mobile developers working on location based services, followed by Microsoft and Nokia. Of course, Nokia's Navteq buy is still fresh.

Source: MoCoNews

Labels: googlephone

1. Google Phone is based on a mobile variant of Linux, and is able to run Java virtual machines.
2. All applications that are supposed to run on the Google Phone are java apps. The OS has ability to run multimedia files, including video clips.
3. The user interface is similar to a UI typical of mobile phones, and the image (with red background) floating around isn’t representative of the Google Phone UI. The entire UI is said to be done in Java and is very responsive. The UI, of course has a “search box.”
4. There is a special browser which has pan-and-browse features that are common to modern browsers such as browsers for iPhone and Symbian phones. The entire browser is apparently written in Java.
5. Initially there was one prototype, but over past few months Google has the mobile OS running on 3-to-5 devices, most of them likely made by HTC, a mobile phone maker, and all have Qwerty apps. The model that folks have seen is very similar to the T-Mobile Dash. Around 3GSM, there were rumors that Google, Orange and HTC were working together on mobile devices.

Labels: googlephone

The Federal Communications Commission is going to set rules for the upcoming 700 MHz auctions tomorrow, a decision that could potentially alter the wireless landscape. The auction has resulted in a war of the words, with the Google Camp trading barbs with Verizon and AT&T. Cisco has weighed in with its two cents. Each side is making good arguments, though none of them impressive enough, at least from an average person’s perspective.

Google wanted the winner of auctions to build a network that not only allowed any device to connect to the network, but also it wanted the network to be open to other third parties including companies like Google. These requirements would make the new broadband wireless network more favorable to companies like Google.

Google even offered to bid at least $4.6 billion for the wireless spectrum if the FCC favored the rules put forward by the search engine giant. Not surprisingly, that drew a lot of criticism from the phone companies and their extended lobbying arms. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin came up with a plan that requires the winner to use frequencies to build networks that allow any device to connect to that network. Phone companies didn’t like that either. Anyway Martin’s proposal was like being “almost married.”

The Washington Post is now reporting that Google may end up bidding for the spectrum regardless of the rules. Google’s bid to get more clout in Washington D.C. is not going so well, and like many tech companies before, it is stepping on too many toes. Whether it ends up getting its way or not, there are many questions Google need to address before they can basically convince me that they are St. Peter.

For instance, does Google become the clearinghouse for the network and who is allowed to connect to the network, and where? Where are the rules that ensure that the network isn’t tilted in Google’s favor? If the company is going to spend shareholder money - $4.6 billion or more - and Wall Street as we know would want to know where is the return on investment? What makes us more skeptical: Google has teamed up with Clearwire, a company not a shining example of open access.

source: GigaOM

Labels: googlephone