[Hold My Own]

Google's been working on this for quite a while....if Verizon gets this too I'm going to flip out....I dont think it's the answer to the Iphone...but I know good and well Google will not put their name on anything that isnt grade A and I'd give it a shot....I hate Verizon

[El Scorcho]

Google's strategy is shake things up by promoting the "open source" way of doing things whenever possible. The focus of their phone will undoubtedly be on creating standards for the sake of interoperability. They want to shake up the cell phone industry to make it as open here as it is in Europe. Read up on their fight with Verizon (via the FCC) over the 700MHz spectrum. It'll give you a glimpse into what they're doing, though no one is quite sure of how they'll package it all yet.

I do not think Google's phone will exist on just one carrier. It doesn't fit with their strategy. I'd be completely shocked if they have an exclusive deal lined up.

[Hold My Own]

agreed...at this point its not about the money for them...really I dont think it ever has been, they've just been so good at what they do


I dont think they'll sell out and have a exclusive deal...hope not at least

[El Scorcho]

I dont think they'll sell out and have a exclusive deal...hope not at least

I don't think so either, however, there's kind of a problem with that in the U.S. In order to not be exclusive to one carrier, they'll have to make multiple models of the phone so they can support the different radios for each carrier. In the U.S. different providers all have different radio frequencies and protocols. That's why some carriers can have one phone while others can't. For example, the iPhone is a GSM phone so it can only be used on AT&T and T-Mobile's networks in the U.S. When the Motorola Razr first came out, it was a CDMA phone only, which meant it could only be used on Verizon/Alltel's networks.

Eventually the Razr became popular enough for Motorola to introduce a version with every type of radio in it. I wouldn't put it past Google to go that route from day one, though it will cost them.

[jmdickens]

google is about to be in court with verison because of the free service they are putting out with the phone


Verizon are a bunch of crooks

[Sly Fox]

You guys have no idea what is about to occur in terms of phones. The next generation that will start hitting the market Late Spring '08 will blow your minds and have iPhones looking like yesterday's flip phones.

[Fumblerooskies]

You guys have no idea what is about to occur in terms of phones. The next generation that will start hitting the market Late Spring '08 will blow your minds and have iPhones looking like yesterday's flip phones.

Thanks for the tip. My 2 year contract with my RAZR V3c is up and I shall wait until spring to get a new phone. I really like the Moto Q...but have no need for the data plan.

[El Scorcho]

You guys have no idea what is about to occur in terms of phones. The next generation that will start hitting the market Late Spring '08 will blow your minds and have iPhones looking like yesterday's flip phones.

I'm pretty sure I do have an idea. I read Engadget and Gizmodo daily, sometimes twice daily.

[El Scorcho]

I really like the Moto Q...but have no need for the data plan.

My wife has the Q. It's a decent smartphone if your organization offers Windows Mobile services via Exchange (which LU does), but the battery is terrible. As slim as it is, they had to make a sacrifice somewhere, though. They kept it pretty speedy, so the battery gets drained rather quickly.

[kentuckywildcats]

until someone comes out with a phone that has a minimum of 60gb storage on it and allows me to use it with a prepaid calling option, no cell phone will replace my current cell phone and mp3 player.

[El Scorcho]

...and mp3 player.

The Archos 605?

[Hold My Own]

I had the Q but I just couldnt take it any more and I switched back to Treo and got the 755


I just read about the law suit...wow, verizon is really holding on for dear life trying to save what little leverage on the market they have

[Sly Fox]

Scorcho - I can assure you even the trade publications don't know everything that is coming down the pike. Stay tuned ... literally.

[SuperJon]

I think Scorcho knows more about this stuff than everyone on here combined.

[El Scorcho]

I think Scorcho knows more about this stuff than everyone on here combined.

Nah. I just know what I read. If someone has insider knowledge, they certainly have me beat. I just haven't seen anything even rumored to be that spectacular, call me a doubter.

[Sly Fox]

Call me an insider in this case. I admit normally this is not my area expertise. But I can assure you that the next wave of apps is going to blow people away. And I'm not even talking about where things are going with WIMAX.

[PAmedic]

someone please summarize the above ^^^^^^ posts into American-English

thanks

[Fumblerooskies]

someone please summarize the above ^^^^^^ posts into American-English

The new stuff coming out late next spring will make you

[Rocketfan]

someone please summarize the above ^^^^^^ posts into American-English

The new stuff coming out late next spring will make you

and sly knows something again and isn't telling.....

[Sly Fox]

I am contractually bound to keep my mouth shut. But big things are brewing.

[PAmedic]

I have Nextel.

we get crap

but I like me the "beep -beep" thing

[Cider Jim]

I just bought my first cordless phone at Sam's this week. It's so cool talking without a cord now. I can even walk out on my front porch and talk on this new-fangled phone in my rocking chair.

[El Scorcho]

So, Google spun the mobile world around yesterday and announced a new mobile platform alliance, rather than a phone.

The platform is called "Android" and the alliance is comprised of 38 companies including (but not limited to) NVIDIA, Intel, Texas Instruments, Synaptics (haptics), Marvell, Qualcomm (chips), Motorola, Samsung, T-Mobile, Sprint, LG, HTC, KDDI and DOCOMO from Japan and China Mobile Comm. Corporation.

Google's thought process is something like this: All of our products and applications for computers can be used on any platform, via the web. We're an open company using open-source products and we like them being available to anyone. When it comes to mobile products, we can't do that because there are so many platforms from so many manufacturers. While there are some common platforms like Windows Mobile, Palm and Symbian, most manufacturers are writing custom platforms for their own phones. Instead, we'd like to propose a free and open platform for everyone to use based on Linux.

And that's what they've done. The first software development kit is available to developers on November 12th and the phone companies that are part of the alliance are moving their resources to phones based on Android. Expect phones to start being released in the second half of 2008. HTC is currently the only one with a prototype ready, which is what many people have called the "Google Phone" for so long now. It is actually called the "HTC Dream" and a preview will be released not too long from now.

While Google's alliance is a total knockout, there are some notable exceptions. Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Blackberry/RIM, Apple, Verizon, AT&T and Microsoft are all on the outside looking in.

[Sly Fox]

And that's just the beginning.

[Hold My Own]

Outlandish Google Rumor Of The Day: Google To Buy Sprint

Posted by Eric Zeman, Nov 12, 2007 09:32 AM

What good are Monday mornings without serving up some fantastical new rumor? Today's tasty dish? Google is looking to buy Sprint. Why would Google do such a thing? To get its hands on Sprint's WiMax spectrum and avoid the FCC 700 MHz auction altogether.

That Google has its eye on the mobile market is obvious. If last week's Android mobile platform announcement didn't convince you, perhaps re-reading some of Google's actions regarding the upcoming FCC 700 MHz auction will refresh your memory. Bottom line? Google wants in. Badly. After all, there are gobs of untapped advertising dollars to be made on today's Internet-connected mobile phones, right?

How would buying a telecommunications company help Google do that? Well, having a carrier all to itself would certainly give it a leg up, but that would likely create other, bigger headaches for Google.

Rich Tehrani, who seems to be the one behind this rumor, outlines why such a move would cause turbulence for Google. He writes:

* Google gets into the messy business of telecommunications. I don't mean to say Google's day job is easy, but the telecom market gets it involved with government agencies like the FCC on a more regular basis. Like many other large telcos, the company will have to spend more and more money lobbying and technology differentiation may be less important than government regulations in ensuring future success.

* Getting seriously into the telco business and having a corporate motto "Don't be Evil," may be tough to pull off.

* Retail stores. Google's investors love the fact that Google has a massively scalable business model which can grow with the addition of servers. Imagine if Google had a slew of retail stores to deal with around the country (or world?). Google's valuation would likely take a major hit.

* Open Handset Alliance: One would imagine if Google owns its own network, other network operators would not be too happy to be part of the OHA. This could slow progress for Google getting on the handsets of other wireless service providers.

* A purchase of Sprint Nextel would make Verizon and AT&T go crazy and they would make life even more difficult for the search leader. Could they make life any more difficult than they do today? Maybe.

Tehrani makes some good points. In Tehrani's full post, he briefly explores the WiMax spectrum idea. I think the spectrum licenses and network would be the real reason for Google to make any sort of telco purchase. Not that buying Sprint in its entirety would be cheaper than shelling out $4.6 billion or more in next year's 700 MHz auction, but it would give Google the network infrastructure already in place, rather than leave it with the unenviable task of having to build its own.

Though Google appears to be making bolder and bolder moves in its quest for power, I'd file this rumor in the way-too-early-to-tell category.

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/mai ... _goog.html