Google Phone Round-Up: Many Partners; Increasing Speed; New Apps; Winners & Losers
By James Quintana Pearce - Sun 04 Nov 2007 09:06 PM PST
The Google (NSDQ: GOOG) phone stories come thick and fast… Google has signed up Sprint, Motorola, Samsung and DoCoMo (NYSE: DCM) as partners reports USA Today citing the ubiquitous “people familiar with Google’s plans”, none of which is new but is confirmation. The article reports the G-system will be Linux overlaid with Java, and that Sprint (NYSE: S) is supporting the coalition but hasn’t formally agreed to make the Google Phone available to its subscribers. It also suggests that AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) are concerned that the Google phone will send too many advertisements to their customers. Development tools are to be given away free to get people developing for the OS as soon as possible.
There is one interesting paragraph: “The Google Phone, powered by the new G-system, could blow open this model by providing easy access to the Internet at PC-type speeds. One caveat: You’ll have to use Google for navigation. Still, Gillis says the Google Phone could push cellphone carriers to improve their game considerably. “This is likely to accelerate the demise of the walled garden, and consumers everywhere will be the big winners.” Obviously, Google doesn’t have a lot of control over the speed of the connection, and suggesting the software will somehow increase the speed to “PC-type” is misleading.
WSJ: The Google phone is expected to pave the way for applications and services that are available overseas but not in the US—suggestions include multiplayer game, hi-def TV, customizable phone screens and location-based services (pushing news etc to someone based on where they are). It’s not clear why companies that can develop these services for the top five manufacturers will suddenly have all their problems in the US swept away by another operating system. WSJ talks to a lot of developers, who on the whole say good things about open operating systems and therefore the G-phone. They’re not all expecting a miracle, though: “Many mobile companies who are already finding ways to build services by working with carriers, or in some cases, around them, say that the introduction of new open platforms is good for fostering developer interest but won’t dramatically change the industry right
ZDNet: The winners and losers of Google’s mobile move...Winners are listed as Google, Sprint, open source, developers and handset manufacturers; losers as Palm (NSDQ: PALM) and the other other carriers. They’re sitting on the fence with Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and Microsoft, and, surprisingly, consumers—arguing that the ads may be a turn-off for some consumers irrespective of the other services offered.
Posted in: Companies, Google, Motorola, Operators, SprintNextel, Samsung
