Google Phone

Although there’s nobody claiming that Google has build a platform and an alliance of companies with the expectation that they’ll fail, more people are switching on to the fact that the search giant needn’t necessarily sweep the handset board with Android in order to come out near the top.  As they’ve done in the 700MHz spectrum auction - pushing the FCC to include contract clauses for open-access that will benefit Google no matter whether they win (or even bid) or not - the sheer threat of Android is likely to force rival manufacturers and OS designers to step up their game and, Frank Hayes of TechNewsWorld believes, mimic some of the third-party applications and polished web experience their new competitor is promising.

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Despite many suggestions that Google’s FCC bid talk was more of a ploy to secure open-access clauses in the 700MHz spectrum contract, the Wall Street Journal is convinced that the search company will push ahead and declare an intention-to-bid by the December 3rd deadline.  Quoting “several people familiar with the matter” the paper suggests Google fears a loss of goodwill in Washington should it pull out of the running, and this - together with the confirmation that building the financial backing would be eminently possible thanks to Wall Street support - has led them to plan to bid on their own, without the expected partners.

“The complexity of the possible bidding scenarios and auction outcomes has led Google executives to believe they would benefit from the flexibility of bidding alone. They were also concerned about alienating allies by selecting some and not others as bid partners” WSJ

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Could Google be saving their 700MHz money and have Sprint’s WiMAX in their sights instead?  That’s a possibility according to mobile investor Paul Grim, who sees the fledgling next-gen wireless broadband technology as perhaps one of the best options for fast-tracking Android into the mainstream.  The idea of such a partnership isn’t new - we wrote about it back in August - but with the launch of the OHA platform and the nearing 700MHz auction, some commentators are beginning to back away from predictions that Google will flex its credit card and pick up sole ownership of the spectrum, instead suggesting that either a co-buy or MVNO route would be more feasible.

“The only way to shortcut the slow option is to ensure WiMAX becomes viable. Sprint’s only route to glory is a completely open network — through WiMAX … [Google] would be smart to maybe partner on the spectrum auction to freeze out Verizon, invest in a joint venture to run Xohm [the Sprint WiMAX project], or maybe even become an anchor tenant as a mobile virtual network operator [MVNO] on the network” Paul Grim, SunBridge Partners

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Lest we forget, Google and the OHA is not the first player to step into the mobile Linux arena.  The LiMo Foundation - whose membership includes some overlap with the OHA - has been developing the open-source OS for mobile use, and Technology News spoke to Executive Director Morgan Gillis about the potential for change now that Google has set its sights on cellphones.  Predictably upbeat, Gillis reckons LiMo and Android have more to gain from cooperation than competition, and that even if dominance was on the agenda they’re targeting different areas:

“[W]hile Google’s focus is on consumers and the user experience, LiMo’s focus is on the middleware — the layer of technology that sits beneath the user experience layer. LiMo is really catalyzing next-generation user experiences on mobile Linux from whomever they may originate.  So there is a very elegant dovetailing between Google and LiMo in terms of our respective areas of focus” Morgan Gillis, LiMo Foundation

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Scant seconds after the rumor breaks that Google will be announcing their gPhone OS and application suite within two weeks, comes the suggestion that talks with mobile operators in the US are in far more advanced stages than previously believed.  Key, indeed, is the revelation - as usual, by “people familiar with the matter” - that both Verizon and Sprint are close to formulating a deal with Google for gPhone-powered handsets to utilise their networks.

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Someone, somewhere, just wound up a big spring in Google: if the Wall Street Journal are to be believed then within the next two weeks we’ll be hearing an announcement about a Google-developed suite of software and services which manufacturers can use to release Google Phones.  While spokespeople from the search giant declined to comment, sources close to them revealed that deals are likely to include LG and HTC, while involved carriers mentioned were T-Mobile USA, France’s Orange and the UK’s 3 network. 

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It’s taken a little while, but Microsoft has finally thrown its oar in to the 700MHz spectrum auction furore, but for anybody expecting a sweeping “we could do that best” arrogance oft attributed to the Seattle software giant you may be surprised.  At CTIA this week, Steve Ballmer - who could never be accused of being less than enthusiastic about Microsoft’s capabilities - set the record straight about the company’s plans to sit back and observe the auction rather than wade in with an open wallet.

“No, we don’t have plans to participate in the spectrum auction.  We may be broader in what we do than any company, but we have a core competency. And we think the telecom industry has a core competency. It takes a real expertise to set up networks, to invest in capital expenditures, to provide customer service 24/7—that is a core competency. What would it buy us to own a piece of the spectrum? It would probably alienate us”Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO

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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.

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Something is afoot.  The FCC has delayed the 700MHz auction [pdf link] from its original January 16th date so that prospective participants have extra time to “develop business plans, assess market conditions and evaluate the availability of equipment.”  Thing is, they’re postponing it for a grand total of eight days, with the auction now taking place on January 24th.

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Just as happened with the iPhone, the prophesied Google cellphone is causing pre-emptive waves across newsrooms and blogs as various agencies sift through the scant evidence and clamour to have their say.  Today it’s the turn of the New York Times, who are keen to differentiate between the “revolutionary” and “customer experience redefining” iPhone and Google’s potential next-step into the mobile marketplace.

No longer is this step a rumour; it’s become a matter of when and not if.  NYT’s Miguel Helft is quick to label the search giant’s intent: using mobile ads to broaden their market share.  If anything, Helft makes it sound like, where Apple planned a revolution in the cellphone industry, Google aren’t particularly bothered what industry they’re entering, just as long as it caters to their role as advert and search provider.

“Google wants to extend its dominance of online advertising to the mobile Internet, a small market today, but one that is expected to grow rapidly. It hopes to persuade wireless carriers and mobile phone makers to offer phones based on its software” Miguel Helft, NYT

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