Can Google Upset The Mobile Apple Cart?
by Ewan Spence
More talk on the proposed phone from Google over the hliday weekend I see. What I find interesting is the huge wave of interesting in the “proposed/rumoured/it is almost here but we can’t say” gPhone from Google. And I’ve got one question – wasn’t the all encompassing Apple iPhone not a life changing experience for you all?
And I think the answer here is people were expecting a bigger change in how people (especially in the US) purchase their phones to go alongside the paradigm shift that Apple applied to their user interface. But the other side of the coin, a regular call plan, 18 months with AT&T, a period of exclusivity for the network, all seemed so… so… regular. There was no “thinking different.â€
Om Malik has a lovely ‘things I have found out’ article today on the Google Phone, and it’s mostly related to the hardware and software in the assumed phone - mobile version of Linux, Java layers, familiar feel to the UI, and a mobile optimised browser (not surprising given that Google purchased Requireless almost two years ago and they have a wicked server/client low bandwidth web solution) – but what I’m more interested in is what Google could do to the mobile market
With the upcoming spectrum auction from the FCC in America, there’s a strong chance that Google could be building the hardware, organising the connection to the network, running the network, and providing all the software. That’s a massive quad-play that any other Company CEO in the mobile sphere would happily jump off a boat in the Canary Islands for.
And while the spectrum auction is going to be pricey, controlling everything in the chain could mean something radical – how about you pay the regular price for the phone, but you are connected for life. No monthly tariffs; no complicated billing for G to G calls (at which point I’ll point to the VoIP in GTalk), and probably VoIP based calls for long distance a la Truphone. A full service of calendar, navigation, email, IM and office apps in the Google Suites, all of which run either as Java clients or over the air in a web browser. Who needs a Google OS on the desktop – just jump straight to the mobile.
Google makes a shedload of money in advertising – I suppose the question is if having the calling and mobile browsing patterns of how many gPhone users would be worth sacrificing the monthly retainer that most people pay their network for connectivity. That would really shake up the market - why pay monthly when you can not pay at all?
Apple promised – will Google deliver?
