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Apple’s Intro into Tablets May Mirror Same Path as Smartphones

Posted on 05. Apr, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 1 Comments

Remember 2007? That summer was a magical time for smartphone enthusiasts. That was the summer that Apple introduced the iPhone, and while many said it wouldn’t work (marrying an iPod with a phone would be crazy) the exact opposite happened. Apple changed the smartphone market, created an application store that developers now salivate over and created an operating system platform that now extends to their newest product, the iPad.

It wasn’t too long after that Google announced it would lead a consortium to develop an open source platform for mobile phones called Android. Unlike the iPhone, however, Android took a different path to development into a highly touted architecture used by many smartphone manufacturers. The first phone with Android, the G4 manufactured by the little-know HTC with wireless service by T-Mobile, was a curious device and one that only captured the interests of the most early of the early adopters.

Now Android is a successful commercial system, but because of its open source nature it is not only in smartphones but also in netbooks, tablets and even cars. I can’t wait to run Android on my fridge. It’s so hard to keep organized right now.

Fast forward to today. I do apologize for being repetitive, but here’s the story so far.

Apple introduced the iPad, and while many said that it won’t work (supersizing an iPod Touch would be crazy) the exact opposite may or may not happen (600,000 sold already is not bad though). Apple potentially has changed the tablet market, with an application market that developers are salivating over and offering a device that is far cheaper and more widespread than any other tablet that is on the market.

You can fill in the rest for Chrome OS. I don’t have that information yet, but I would assume that the iPad is leading the way for some interesting open source development when it comes to tablets and other devices.

Wireless Carriers Get Revenue Share From Google Search

Posted on 29. Mar, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments

There are an estimated 3 billion people who use cell phones worldwide. Google just wants a portion of them using their search engine.

Tricia Duryee of PaidContent is reporting that the major mobile phone carriers who have Android phones have a deal with Google to share revenue. Not just any revenue of course – but the kind that comes from search engine advertising. Not a shocker, then, when you see search being prominently featured on Android phones. And it isn’t just because Android was developed by Google, but because the carrier providing service for that phone has a stake in the mobile advertising market that Google is trying to enter.

To be sure, it is not that easy right now to make money in mobile advertising. But as the user experience for smartphones improves (a la Android) and the technology gets better, I’m sure the major carriers realize that advertising that is running through their “pipes” will someday prove to be uber-profitable.

Consider Google’s acquisition of mobile advertising firm AdMob for $750 million, which is still awaiting regulatory approval. The amount of money involved in the deal, and the technology that AdMob brings, is surely convincing to the mobile networks that this could be a massive money machine for everyone involved. While Google is the expert on search advertising, AdMob will bring its experience in web display and app display ads to the table, which could be later added to a partnership deal with carriers if it hasn’t been already.

It may already be part of it, since Duryee’s article also says that carriers get a piece of the Android Market revenue that is coming in, and that has to be growing.

And let’s not forget the fact that Google is trying to change the way we buy mobile phones. Instead of choosing a carrier and then deciding on a phone, they want us to pick out a phone and then choose a carrier. Hence the reasoning for a powerful Google phone like the Nexus One. Consider the options table when you go to purchase Google’s phone:

The same will soon be said for Chrome OS hardware, may that be a netbook or tablet. We will most likely lust after the best specs that Google knows we want and then choose where our connectivity for that device will come from. There will be a choice of carriers – much larger than this example above if they are interested in lucrative ad profits.

So is the Nexus One really a failure it has been said to be? Probably not. This is a trial run to see how Google can perform in the hardware market, and the fact that the carriers are making money from Google Search, and possibly other things in the future like Google Apps, will give them cause to keep quiet while Mountain View tries to change the dynamics of the wireless industry.

Intel and Sony Work With Google on TV Box, Will Run Chrome

Posted on 18. Mar, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 1 Comments

The New York Times is reporting that Google has been working with some technology heavyweights to produce a set-top box that will compete in the digital TV market. Intel is said to be offering their Atom processor architecture which is used primarily for mobile computers like netbooks. While its not quite clear what Sony is contributing, the fact that they sell televisions and are a content provider with their Sony Pictures unit make sense for them. In fact, Sony has been trying to integrate digital TV functionality since 2008.

Interestingly, the Time reports that the operating system that will run on the set-top box will be Android. Yet unlike phones, this version of Android will be capable of running the Chrome browser. This is probably in an effort to allow the box to show content from several different mediums – from YouTube to Hulu and other sites that offer digital content, which incidentally is growing by the day as people watch what they want when they want it.

I wrote an item not long ago about Google’s partnership in testing  their services with DISH Network – where I compared DISH in the television market as what T-Mobile has been in phones for Google. T-Mobile was the first carrier to adopt Google’s strategy by selling phones that ran on Android. I would expect that this announcement is related to their testing of what will probably give people a better user experience while watching TV.

So, is the box going to be a Sony-labeled product? Maybe, but it’s an interesting choice since Sony traditionally does not sell set-top boxes. With the partnership including Intel, expect to see a box that is basically a computer that uses your television as a display – not only showing you television programs but also allowing you to go to web. In fact, the Times article states that that Google and their partners are also working with Logitech to come up with a remote that has a keyboard somehow included on it.

A keyboard? Are we looking at a set-top device that you actually “point and click”? It’s unknown right now. I think the biggest element of this is that the box will run Android with Chrome, which is an open source platform that offers a lot of flexibility. This could be a boon for app developers, as it would give them a larger audience than even the mobile phone market if cable companies are willing to adopt the technology. My guess is that with DISH Network on board, they may not have a choice if the box becomes a hit.

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.

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?