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Exec Confirms Google Phone

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the let-the-battle-begin dept.

cyberianpan writes "The head of Google in Spain and Portugal has confirmed that Google is working on a mobile phone. "Some of the time the engineers are dedicated to developing a mobile phone," This could be the 20% free time development but publicizing that would be stupid. Obviously this phone could link in with Google Earth/Maps... it is a marketers dream for targeted advertising."

22 of 120 comments (clear)

  1. I'll say it first... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    I for one welcome our new mobile overlords

  2. why assume it's google's phone? by flynt · · Score: 4, Interesting

    why can't the phone they're working on be the iphone? also, i wouldn't say the "head of google in portugal" making an off-handed comment really counts as "publicizing" it.

  3. Hate to break it to ya... by PoopDaddy · · Score: 5, Funny

    why can't the phone they're working on be the iphone?

    I believe that name is taken.

    1. Re:Hate to break it to ya... by teknopurge · · Score: 4, Interesting

      i think the OPs point was that since google and apple have become so buddy-buddy, odds are good that google's resources are working on apps for the iPhone, pehaps a branding of it.

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    2. Re:Hate to break it to ya... by jrp2 · · Score: 5, Funny

      why can't the phone they're working on be the iphone?

      "I believe that name is taken."

      like twice

      --
      The only athletic sport I ever mastered was backgammon - Douglas William Jerrold
    3. Re:Hate to break it to ya... by alexburke · · Score: 5, Funny

      why can't the phone they're working on be the iphone?

      I believe that name is taken. Didn't stop Apple, did it? :)
  4. Magical Google phone? by Applekid · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "... it is a marketers dream for targeted advertising."

    How is that different than other phones? I've heard lots of bells and whistles over the years about phones being a portal to direct advertising and that I'd get ads pushed to my phone constantly and, at least myself and my circle of contacts, it's. just. not. happening.

    I don't see what would make Google phone more viable for direct marketing than iPhone or a regular cell that can run Google Maps mobile on it already.

    I'd be more concerned with a Google phone dropping calls when you start talking about stuff the Chinese government would consider corrupting influences on society.

    --
    More Twoson than Cupertino
    1. Re:Magical Google phone? by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 4, Informative

      How is that different than other phones? I've heard lots of bells and whistles over the years about phones being a portal to direct advertising and that I'd get ads pushed to my phone constantly and, at least myself and my circle of contacts, it's. just. not. happening. You're kidding me, right? I have a Motorola Razr V3i from Sprint. I get SMS spam from Sprint just about every other day (it's gotten worse in the past 3 months or so). Plus, the phone itself is loaded with demo software (including a handy-dandy psuedo-GPS feature from a company called Handmark) that's expired since I got it -- this in itself is a form of advertising. Plus the Internet browsing experience is chock-full of advertising and 'popups'.

      Interestingly enough, I already have GMail and Google Maps installed on my phone. Works great and also includes ads.

      The phone is fully capable of displaying all sorts of ads -- it has a browser with Java and support for multiple forms of video and animation and a nice big screen. I wouldn't be surprised if Sprint starting pushing out more.
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    2. Re:Magical Google phone? by bheer · · Score: 4, Insightful

      > I get SMS spam from Sprint just about every other day

      SMS ads are untargeted and largely provoke negative reactions. Sounds familiar to banner ads? Google's business model is all about creating advertising models that don't piss users off, and they've succeeded on the web. I'm not a huge Google fan (I don't buy their "don't be evil" kool-aid) but I'd put money that if anyone makes mobile advertising work, it'd be Google.

      --
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    3. Re:Magical Google phone? by cgenman · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I don't see what would make Google phone more viable for direct marketing than iPhone or a regular cell that can run Google Maps mobile on it already.

      A phone knows where you are (through cell-tower triangulation).

      Google knows, through your searches, what you're looking for.

      Let's say you've been running searches for a few night on how to get a book published. Later that week, an SMS ad alerts you to the presence of a corporate training center that you happen to be walking by.

      Or get a little more creative. Google knows you contact someone through g-mail and orkut a lot. The gPhone knows that they visit a particular resturant on a regular basis. The next time you walk by this resturant, that resturant sends you a targeted message letting you know that your friend is there.

      Or there is a book exerpt you've looked up online. When you walk by a Barnes 'n Noble, google checks the local stock with them, then lets you know the price.

      Or maybe google has figured out your anniversary date through a combination of Gmail and google calendar. When you walk by a Zales, the sales associates are alerted to your upcoming event, and hops out of the store to sell you up.

      With databases of information about what people write about in their Gmails, their searches, their maps, books they've looked up, friends on the various systems, their blogs, their IM's, and whatever other data google desktop collects, you can be sure that they have a lot more targeted information at hand than any other advertiser could dream of, and can use it more creatively.

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    4. Re:Magical Google phone? by saboola · · Score: 4, Funny

      Or maybe google has figured out your anniversary date through a combination of Gmail and google calendar. When you walk by a Zales, the sales associates are alerted to your upcoming event, and hops out of the store to sell you up.

      Does the phone come with the "kick salesman in the nuts cause it's none of his damn business" feature, or is that a monthly charged service?

  5. Best Feature Evar by whisper_jeff · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "... it is a marketers dream for targeted advertising."

    Yeah. Because the ability to have people send you more unwanted advertising is a feature everyone looks for when buying a new phone.

    1. Re:Best Feature Evar by walt-sjc · · Score: 4, Interesting

      If I'm on the go and in the mood for Pizza, it would be cool to not only find a pizza place and order (like Jobs with the iphone / starbucks demo), but if google displayed a couple ads from the nearest pizza place that showed the specials, or offered me a 10% discount, then it would be worth it.

      IMHO, I would like to see some kind of WiMAX / VoIP phone come to market. The traditional cell phone market / technology sucks. For metropolitan areas, this should be viable. If I'm in the middle of nowhere, I can always use one of the prepaid phones, and setup my voip service to forward to it if my gPhone is not reachable (or maybe the gPhone falls back to old-GSM mode...)

  6. Google functionality by Sunburnt · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Does this mean that, in an unfamiliar town, I can just type "pizza," hit "I Feel Lucky," and be connected with the most popular pizza joint in town based on call volume?

    Really, I'm not being entirely sarcastic here. I wind up in strange places, and this feature would be more helpful than calling 411. Now, how to implement...

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    1. Re:Google functionality by physicsboy500 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Does this mean that, in an unfamiliar town, I can just type "pizza," hit "I Feel Lucky," and be connected with the most popular pizza joint in town based on call volume?

      Wouldn't that be the "I Feel Hungry" button??

      --
      The original generic sig.
  7. Most geeks will only buy it... by Billosaur · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...if they change "I Feel Lucky" to "I Want to Get Lucky".

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  8. Ties you to their services, gives them your info by The+Amazing+Fish+Boy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If it had GPS, it could know where you are, and display advertisements accordingly. This could just be the splash screen on your phone. Also, you could press "Food" or enter "pizza" and it would show you restaurants in the area, maybe even give you directions. Maybe you could even set it to ring a certain way when you're near a good restaurant.

    Tying you to their other products (Gmail, Picasa) will also bring them ad revenue. It could also legitimate Google's services for the Blackberry crowd. I think that like iPhone for Apple, this would fill the gap for Google's PDA.

    And I imagine contact information is worth a lot to them. Who's in your address book, who you're calling, when you call people, when you're phone is on/off, etc. Not to mention if there's GPS, they'd know where you go during the day.

  9. Why is this news?? by 8127972 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    (other than the fact it's about Google)

    It didn't come from Larry Page and Sergey Brin or anybody like that. For all we know, this statement may just be some sort of FUD meant to scare people who put out other smart phones (Read: Microsoft, Palm, etc.).

    I'll wait for some sort of "official" announcement.

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  10. Organizing the world's conversation by Random+BedHead+Ed · · Score: 4, Funny

    From a leaked press release:

    At Google we are committed to organizing the world's conversation. Our GPhone (or Google Telephone in Europe) will be entirely free, as will its service plan, so long as you agree to hear targeted ads during your conversations. This works in much the same way that GMail or GoogleMail parses your e-mail text for its ads. GPhone ads will be audio ads, akin to radio ads but targeted using keywords taken from your verbal conversation, and with the option to call the sponsor. If you call a friend and mention that you'd like to make vacation plans, for example, you may hear several brief ads for travel agencies, with the option to call each agency. When the ads are finished (or your convenient parallel-call to book an exciting Alaskan cruise is finished) you will be returned to the conversation with your friend, who will have waited patiently for you. Even more exciting is that all of your past conversations will be searchable, using Google's innovative new audio indexing algorithms.
  11. Re:oh jolly be golly gosh willakers! by arivanov · · Score: 3, Informative

    O2 already has something similar using streetmap and imode for the UK. Never tried it though so cannot venture an opinion.

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  12. the industry needs this by nanosquid · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Whatever this is, it's gotta be better than Windows Mobile, Palm, Symbian, or iPhone.

    Why is it better than iPhone you ask? Because, apart from being one of the most restrictive and proprietary phones around, the iPhone has the outmoded usage model that the user wants to tie his phone to some desktop machine. I don't want to sync with a desktop, I want to sync with a network service.

  13. A sample conversation by cryptochrome · · Score: 5, Funny

    John: Hey darlin'!

    Jane: John... we need to talk.

    John: Uh, OK.

    Jane: It's just not working out.

    Google: Want abs you can grate cheese with? Join Bally Total Fitness!

    John: God damn thing - wait, what are you saying?

    Jane: It's over John.

    John: But why?

    Jane: It's not you, it's me.

    Google: Head to iTunes to download hot new singles like "Why Can't I be You" by Taylor Hicks!

    Jane: Oh god, he totally sucked.

    John: Just ignore it, please? And don't give me that bullshit line. What's the real reason?

    Jane: It's your damn gPhone, alright? We can never just talk!

    Google: Reduce ads by getting your friends a gPhone of their very own!

    Jane: Goodbye John.

    John: Wait Jane-

    Jane: [click]

    John: Oh for fuck's sake.

    Google: Looking for sensual encounters? Try AdultFriendFinder.com!

    John: I guess I am now.

    --

    ---If you can't trust a nerd, who can you trust?