Googlephone a Reality, According to Sources
|
Written By Drupad Sil | August 29, 2007 | Share This
|
|
As announced by Ryan Block at Engadget, various ‘very trustworthy’ sources have confirmed a Google mobile device platform, or OS, to be revealed in the near future. The new Google offering, christened by various blogs as the ‘Gphone OS’, is expected to hit handhelds in 1Q 2008, if not earlier.
The new OS apparently began development after Google’s 2005 acquisition of Android, a mobile software company. The Android team is currently shopping around a Linux-based mobile device OS that provides a customizable system, ostensibly with great Google integration. Some people have put the announcement date as early as immediately after Labor Day, though at this point the major suspense is whether the online giant will be offering hardware developed in-house as well (most observers agree that no hardware will probably be offered). There have been many clues in recent months to suggest that Google was planning a big mobile move in the near future. From Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Land:
“We’ve seen that they are bundling software on phones. We know they hired mobile phone operating system developers, so releasing something like that wouldn’t be too surprising. We know they want wireless bandwidth and are going after it in at least two different ways, which will likely involve two different types of devices. And they’re still working with the carriers, as well — through multiyear deals that aren’t going to just disappear. And did I mention that free WiFi thing they do in Mountain View?”
So what exactly can we expect in the near future? Details are understandably a little sketchy, but the common consensus on the web is that a launch will occur in Taiwan during Q1 2008. Google is supposedly checking out over twenty different HTC models and refining its final handset design. Users should expect a special version of Google Maps compatible with built-in GPS, as well as compatibility with GMail and Google Calendar. Google Talk will also become part of the phone, adding VoIP technology to whatever hardware Google selects. We carried a story on Google’s acquisition of GrandCentral back in June - ostensibly they’ve been working on this aspect of the gPhone.
Google and Apple have had a great working relationship, so why would Google look to launch a product that may threaten the iPhone? Well, most everyone agrees that the effort, products, and target audience for the two products are very different. From Michael Arrington at TechCrunch:
“Google’s effort is different than the iPhone. They look to be focused mostly on the OS and layering Google applications like Maps and Gmail on top of that, while simultaneously talking to device manufacturers about a number of devices. Apple, instead, took a much more holistic approach in creating the iPhone. Google’s product likely won’t appeal to the mainstream audience that the iPhone attracts…but it probably won’t have a $500 price tag, either.”
Jacqui Cheng at ars technica reaches the same conclusion through different reasoning:
“Unlike many others, we believe that when the gPhone (or gPhones, as the case may be) finally do come out, they won’t be facing Apple as a competitor. The iPhone occupies a mobile market that is far separate from what Google will be targeting with its series of lower-end, consumer-level devices. Google wants as many regular people using its mobile apps as possible, which won’t happen while confined to the iPhone, which is at the very top end of the mobile market. The two aren’t likely to compete in the same space… unless Apple decides to go for the lower-end mobile segment with its rumored iPhone nano.”
We’ll have to wait and see what exactly Google rolls out in the next couple weeks. Suffice to say, it’ll be huge news. Adding to the whirlwind are rumors that Yahoo has actually been developing a mobile device for longer than Google and may be considering an upcoming launch. It seems the next level of the portal wars has arrived.
Topics: Apple, Domains, Google, Wireless & Mobile, Yahoo! |