Tag Archives: Nexus One
Google Testing Search for Television
Posted on 09. Mar, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 
1 Comments
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google is working with DISH Network in testing a variation of their search algorithm that is customized specifically for TV. Since the WSJ site is for subscribers only, we have analyzed AppScout’s article for this post.
I’m currently a DISH customer, and I must say that the ability to find programs that you want to watch is ridiculously hard. Sure, it’s easy if you know the name of the show you are looking for, but finding one in terms of content or detailed subject matter is just not very easy. This seems to be a common theme for cable/satellite operators, as I’ve been told by someone who is a customer of AT&T’s more advanced UVerse system there is no drilled-down search capabilities in their system either.
The problem with traditional satellite and cable TV search functionality is that there really is no way to do any type of contextual search. Sure, one can look for a show title or a genre, but there isn’t really a way to drill down to actors, studios and specific content of a program. For those of us who are used to using internet search engines to find things easily, this presents a problem to the more traditional environment of television.
That’s why I think Google testing this could potentially be a win for TV. Many people are switching their video tastes to YouTube or Hulu, so these operators need to do something drastic to continue to attract younger customers. Plus, DISH Network is not one of the top tier providers. So, much like T-Mobile starting out early providing Android devices which resulted in them getting the first crack at the Nexus One smartphone, this could benefit DISH as a content provider.
What DISH Network should really do is drop their proprietary set-top box operating system and use a customized version of Chrome OS. Why not? It would probably be a faster experience, and the architecture would provide better user interaction and interoperability with the web. The problem has been that cable and satellite companies have wanted to keep these two realms apart, but expect to see them converge more often then not in the future.
Asus Mulling Options
Posted on 17. Jan, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
Asus doesn’t know what to do. The company, which actually has its roots derived from Acer, has about 30% of the nascent netbook market. And although they showed off a sleek designed Eee PC that was loaded with an ARM processor at Taiwan’s Computex back in June, they showed off relatively nothing at the recent CES show.
That’s probably because although they are testing both Android and Chrome OS in their labs, they haven’t yet decided which one they want to back. It’s possible that Google has made hardware demands to Asus that they company simple does not want to fulfill – creating an Android phone such as the long-rumored Eee phone would be an easier task than being under the scrutiny of being the netbook version of the Nexus One.
Unfortunately, Android just doesn’t appear to have the meat to be able to be a network operating system like Chrome OS does. And with competition coming from Intel’s Moblin as well as Ubuntu, using an operating system that was designed for smartphone use on a netbook just doesn’t seem realistic right now. Rumor is that Android and Chrome OS will at some point merge, but it appears to me that the two platforms are getting further apart in technology.
If the Google netbook is going to have an ARM processor, it is very realistic that HTC could be a dark horse candidate to be the manufacturer. They are taking their lumps a bit with the Nexus One, but that experience along with the fact that they would be entering a new and profitable netbook/smartbook market would be enticing for them to compromise with Google. Besides, before HTC came out with the first Android phone, the G1, who had ever even heard of them before?
Support for Nexus One Could be Improved for Google Netbook
Posted on 09. Jan, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 2 Comments
So while it is apparent that Google wants to be at the epcicenter of even selling hardware, as the sale of their Nexus One phone on their website shows, it doesn’t appear that their customer service for this product is up to snuff when comparing other wireless providers. It’s being reported that the forums for Nexus One support questions are being overloaded and there is very little in terms of response from Google’s support people on resolutions.
Customer service on the Nexus One support page of Google’s website does not offer a phone number to contact, and email responses that are sent to Google are being responded to in one or two days. Too long, says some of the people over at the official Nexus One support forum.
In looking at the forum, it appears that many of the problems being reported are related to 3g coverage being extremely spotty, and that the phone keeps switching from 3G back to EDGE, which is slower, almost like 2G. Unfortunately for Google, I don’t know how much of this has to do with the hardware or Android, as it may be something that T-Mobile is going to have to address on their network.
And therein lies the problem of Google selling the Nexus One direct to consumers. With Google offering the operating system, HTC providing the hardware and T-Mobile running the network infrastructure, you have a new dynamic that is going on where there is a confluence of factors going into one product. Plus, that leaves some problems out of Google’s sphere of control and therefore is causing customer service problems.
I’m not saying that Google can’t make this right – it just means they need to try to learn from this experience if they want to launch other hardware offerings such as a Google-branded Chrome OS netbook in the near future. Because although that device may reach a different demographic than the Nexus One, it still will require the contributions of several different companies in order for it to be a success.
Why Google Likes T-Mobile
Posted on 05. Jan, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 2 Comments
What exactly is it that Google likes so much about T-Mobile? Once again, as when Android first hit the wireless market, T-Mobile is the flagship wireless carrier for Google. This time it is for the newest Android phone, the Nexus One, which is made by HTC and sold officially by Google.
It started back in 2008 when Android was in its infancy, and yes that was really not too long ago. T-Mobile was the only wireless company that was willing to carry something new and somewhat revolutionary like the G1, also made by HTC. No one except Google one wanted to try to compete with Apple, and the reality is that the G1 was kind of an ugly phone. Although you could do some cool things with it, and Android was open source, the general feeling was that development-wise Android was not ready for prime time.
Well, now it is. And T-Mobile, which is a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, is reaping the benefits from that earlier partnership. If you don’t opt for the $179 Nexus One with a two year plan, the “unlocked” phone will cost $529. But because the phone is set up for GSM, you can only use it with T-Mobile or AT&T. With Nexus One on the AT&T network, the phone can only operate at EDGE data speed, which is not as fast as the 3G on T-Mobile. This is because the two networks operate on different frequencies. Oh yeah, and it only works in the U.S.
So T-Mobile is the one who is benefiting from the decision to launch Android in the first place. Will there be other versions that will cater to other wireless carriers? There is supposed to be in the spring. We’ll see whether Google decides to make versions that cater to each carrier or not. Whatever the case, it’s interesting to see that Google is selling this phone on their own website instead of T-Mobile’s. There is a strategy in play here behind the reason to do that.
Bottom line? Expect this to be a trial run on how Google plans to release a netbook with Chrome OS. If the Nexus One is successful, I would expect Google to sell a Chrome OS netbook on their own and offer service plans from the wireless carrier of the users’ choice down the line. Intially I would expect T-Mobile to get the first crack at selling wireless data plans to subsidize the netbook’s cost as well.
So, when is Google just going to be billing for data service as well?
Chrome OS to Compete Against Apple’s Tablet
Posted on 01. Jan, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
Who’s going to make the GoogleBook that is supposed to come out later this year? It’s not known yet, but it looks like there may also be a tablet. The rumor is that HTC is going to show off a tablet that is sporting Android at CES next week, and that there might be a Chrome OS version as well. The idea is to have something that competes with Apple’s impending tablet offering, which is expected to be unveiled later on this month at an official press release.
It’s possible that the ever-prolific HTC has been working on this for a while, although they have been focusing on phone products primarily, this may have been in the pipeline for some time. The rumor is that Google and HTC have been working together for over eighteen months, but if that is that case I would suspect that was initially for the development of the Nexus One phone, which is going to go on sale pretty soon, maybe even this month.
Netbooks, nettops and tablets. This could become overwhelming. But one thing is clear: Apple’s tablet will be going head to head with Chrome OS at some point soon.
The Top 10 Questions For Chrome OS in 2010
Posted on 31. Dec, 2009 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
As we wrap up what has been an eventful 2009, I thought that now would be a great time for some reflection on where Chrome OS is going and some of the big questions that do not have concrete answers yet. An official release by Google is at least six months away for Chromium but even so that leaves a lot left to the imagination at this point. So here is a review what are the biggest issues relating to the Chrome operating system and my best attempt to try to explore them. Enjoy and here’s to a great 2010!
Who will manufacture the GoogleBook?
A look at the third quarter 2009 market share for netbook manufacturers puts Acer out in front with a 38.8% piece of the pie. But Asus is not far behind at around 30%. I don’t believe that a brand like HP or Dell would want to slap a Google logo on hardware that they’ve designed, so my bet right now is that Asus is Google’s HTC in the netbook market. However, a contract supplier such as Foxconn or Flextronics could offer a sweeter deal and have no qualms about branding issues.
Will it be subsidized?
As we’ve already seen with Google’s Nexus One Android Phone pricing, subsidizing and partnering with a wireless provider looks like the best path for the GoogleBook. It doesn’t look like Google wants to eat any cost trying to release this product, and why should they? There should be enough hype prior to an official launch. And don’t forget that open source developers will have had their hands on Chromium, release their own builds. This project is starting to mirror in some degree the path that Android took to completely blowing up this year, and I mean that in a good way.
Will it be secure?
It’s going to need to be. McAfee has already reported Chrome OS as a top vulnerability of 2010. In a hacker’s eyes, Microsoft is no longer the big daddy, since they have gotten their security up to snuff in the past couple of years. Now it’s time for the focus to be shifted onto software that is complementary to operating systems, such as Adobe’s Flash or Reader. Since Chrome OS will be both the OS and the applications, that’s where the concern is. Basically, cybercriminals are going to target the software that has the lowest level of protection in terms of security, and I think that McAfee has now put Google on alert with their report.
Will there be hardware options?
No, there won’t. Just kidding. But it’s interesting to see Google deciding what hardware is going to work with their operating system. I don’t blame them, because they want to make something that is simple and just works. Microsoft has spent so much time trying to be everthing to everyone in terms of hardware support, and although I don’t blame them, I am curious to see how creating specific standards for Chromium could potentially make this operating system so simple to use there’s no thinking about it.
What about the competition?
Amazingly, there are a lot of options out there for operating systems designed with netbooks in and mind that there too many for me to list here. We just did a review of Moblin, Intel’s open-source foray into the realm, and we plan on posting more soon. A little competition never hurt anyone, especially in the tech market since that is just going to make products that are better for us end users. This is especially true when you consider that sales for netbooks is expected to grow by 297% within the next three years.
Is Chrome OS a marketing ploy?
You have to start wondering if Chrome OS is supposed to be a conduit to everything Google. If you think about it, the operating system complements things that Google has been working on for years. Take Google Apps. While it has been out for 2006, and it did experience an outage this year, it appears that Apps is starting to gain some traction with large companies such as Genetech implementing it. Now give users a Google-branded device that doesn’t have Microsoft Office and what do you get? Instant adoption of Apps by a wide range if users. This method could potentially be used for an array of other Google offerings.
What about Android?
It’s difficult to figure out the strategy on this one, because although Sergey Brin says they’ll eventually converge, it feels like there is a chasm that is further separating these two especially as Android begins to take off in the mobile phone market. Along with a tepid review for the Acer One D250 netbook loaded with Android, it feels like for the time being these two are going to be very, very separate in terms of functionalities. Besides that, I keep wondering about the human-computer interaction element of the two that makes them fundamentally different: for a netbook to be really useful, it needs a full keyboard which is not a feature that is in any way desirable on a phone.
How does Chrome OS affect privacy?
It wouldn’t be surprising if Google CEO Eric Schmidt would like to take back his recent comments on privacy in terms of search, but he has not retracted them as far as I know. While it’s a great idea that cloud computing can allow someone to log onto a machine and get their data from wherever they are, let’s not forget that the logon you use is your Google account. The information from your account is currently used to target advertising while you search and use Gmail. If that is the case now, in the future who knows what else? Did I mention that the login to Chrome OS is your Google account as well?
What will open source developers’ impact be?
We’ve already seen iterations of Chrome OS developed by open source developers, and there is already a 64-bit version out there to try out. This leads one to wonder where this will go in the next six to eight months before there is an official release. Since Chrome OS is open source, it’s entirely possible that techies out there will run there own builds that allow them to do more than a commercial version would. Regardless, open source is the way to go. Developers outside of Google will make this a legitimate competitor in the netbook market, and we shall soon see if it will either quickly dominate or not.
How will Microsoft fight back?
Although Steve Ballmer doesn’t seem particularly concerned with Chromium, there are some indications that Microsoft is going to have embrace more open source projects in order to stay relevent in a market that is increasingly on the moving towards that direction. For example, Windows4all is a browser based version of Windows 7 that has been developed by Microsoft’s open source community called Codplex. Also, They are releasing Office 2010 with browser based versions. They are going to attempt to stay in the game, but really it seems like all they are doing is trying to not fall completely behind.
