Might Google’s interest in the 700MHz spectrum be as a means to establish a data cloud for the new generation of internet appliances?  Nicholas Carr’s prediction piece - on the potential of a partnership between Google and Apple producing OS X-based relatively closed-system computers that rely on the search company’s background mainframes to store and backup data - puts a fresh potential spin on the upcoming auction.

Analysts and industry experts alike have been busy thrashing out the possible motivations Google has for acquiring the newly-freed spectrum; most come down to a basic cause of bypassing traditional carriers and bringing unfiltered Google ad-loveliness to an audience that carries their cellphone everywhere.  Yet the possibility of the network being used as it does best - as a data connection - is an intriguing one: Carr suggests a low-power, low-maintenance PC that is as simple to install as plugging in a power supply and comes with - you guessed it - no monthly fees as it’s all advert supported.  How much simpler if, rather than needing to also plug in a network connection (wired or wireless, both are never as straightforward as anyone would like), it automatically logged onto a Google cellular system and instantly was linked to the company’s remote storage.

Undoubtedly it would be an ambitious project, but Google could offset the cost by licencing out the service to other manufacturers.  There’ll be plenty of takers for a zero-setup business-grade network with automatic synchronization and backup, I’ll bet.  What do you think, is there a future for a drastically simple Google-Apple partnership taking the simplicity of the iPhone and meshing it with the ubiquity of Google’s apps and storage?  Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

[via MYiTablet]