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Google Says "We're Not Doing a Mobile Phone"
thefickler writes "A top Google executive has denied outright that the company is developing a mobile phone. Last week rumors were flying after a Google official speaking in Spain said that the company was looking into offering a mobile phone; and British phone analyst Richard Windsor claimed that during CeBIT Google staff confirmed that a Google mobile phone was being developed. However, Alan Eustace, senior vice president of engineering and research, has now said 'We're not doing a mobile phone, I'd like to find something that is broader, rather than do yet another mobile device.'"
Although the article links to another about an Australian telco executive attacking the iPhone that's quite entertaining.
I wonder why folks at Google do not first help us with the Linux desktop. They could do so by enabling ODF document search, pushing open media formats (video and audio), and publicity. Right now, QT4 does not look bad or incapable at all.
What the Spanish official said, actually, is that somebody in Google, with the 20% time allotted to pet projects, was working on something or other related to cell phones.
It's just a BloJJ
"I'd like to find something that is broader, rather than do yet another mobile device."
Ah, but that leaves just one possibility for their secret project: it must be a stationary device.
With this bit of news, let the further speculations begin...
And Apple is not doing a Video iPod. Companies have always been stating that they're not doing something which never really sopped them from doing what they want. So who cares? If they do a phone let them do it and if not why bother?
Left arm of corp doesnt know what the right arm is doing.. Welcome to the corporate world. Microsoft is even better at not knowing what it is doing.
http://www.rense.com/general79/wdx1.htm
After watching what happened to Apple, smart people should wait to see if wireless carriers are forced to become common carriers. Until they are common carrier status, its not worth trying to get into their game... sadly.
Support NYCountryLawyer RIAA vs People
Last time I checked Spain was connected to France and Portugal with USB, and was sending OGG files over the Strait of Gibralter.
Now that would be a bit broader, mightn't it?
... I'd like to find something that is broader, rather than do yet another mobile device. Perhaps he's thinking of some sort of... immobile device? And broad. Perhaps they'll paint the entire planet with some touch-sensitive OLED display paint, and hook it all into the Google server network. Then, the internet will be everywhere, Google will be everywhere, and you can access your impossible-to-use spreadsheets from all over the world! And, they can claim to have the most up-to-date map anywhere -- full scale! Press release: world domination is not evil -- we're offering you a service!Because there is plenty of room to make a cell phone that does what I want in the market, and for cheap, and yet nobody has done it.
MyDreamPhone:
x86 low power chip.
1gb ram
USB charging and connectivity to mouse/keyboard/monitor/speakers through charger/docking station.
touchscreen covering whole phone.
1280x1024 camera (with decent color!)
geforce to go implementation
5.1 sound when plugged to charger
standard headphone jack (switching to stereo headphone mix automagically when headphones plugged in)
decent basic joystick (via touch screen?)
Firefox
Zsnes
Project64
FOSS Video chat with speex/H.264
FOSS winamp clone for mp3/ogg/wav/speex
beryl when plugged to charger (when in "computer" mode)
wine (when in "computer" mode)
FOSS mp3/ogg/wav recorder (for voice notes, concert bootlegs).
1-4 gb sdram, upgradeable via cheap sd chip
NO DRM
easy windows/linux/mac file sharing through wifi
Simple Loud Alarm(s)
Simple photo album, divx/xvid, online sync
Simple VNC with address book/ip lookup (assignable to "full screen" when in "computer mode" and added as an additional desktop that beryl can spin to)
Thunderbird
MSN/AIM/yahoo/skype/googletalk/myspaceim (maybe via extended gaimlib)
Urban Terror (when usb mouse available)
gimp with CMYK support (when in "computer" mode)
decent OCR via camera, and simple text file creation app
instant on OS
instant off OS
long lasting lithium/ion battery that recharges quickly through the USB port
Infrared/bluetooth
Multitrack wav/mp3 recording via USB mixer attachment (with phantom power)
Basic 640x480 xvid/h.264 recording video camera and easy YouTube upload
GCC and other programming tools (when in "computer" mode)
Basic SMS/GSM/standard cell phone features (address book with personalized icons/ (mp3/ogg) ringtones.)
$50
The sad thing is, 90% of this software exists NOW in the FOSS community. The final 10% would probably be a reasonably cheap programmer hire, maybe a year of dev time. This hardware is dirt cheap with economies of scale, so a $50 price tag IS possible. Then a serious kick ass FOSS standard would exist by which all phones and computers would have to interact with which could beat MS, Mac, Motorola, Sony, and Nokia to market.
This is a project that would make billions, and cost maybe a million initially. But since there is no free market on the planet, it's not going to happen. Some corporation would whack you if you made and started selling this phone. Like DeLorean in the 80's, or Tucker in the 30's.
Too bad, too, because with this phone, a lot of people would get a lot of great things done quickly. Including me.
rhY
I hold very few opinions. I hold information based on observation and fact. If you wish to disagree, please use facts.
Google's employees. IMHO, Google is making the Google Phone/Tablet available inside Google as a convenient device for Google employees. Similar to how Google uses Gdrive internally. It makes sense to me that Google employees should have quick and easy access to their own network. And with their own phone to do it.
Funny createSig(Witty remark, Odd reference)
{
return (Funny)remark + (Funny)reference;
}
"Something broader, rather than another mobile device". Perhaps Google's definition of 'phone' or 'mobile device' is something archaic, and that what they're creating is so different from what we have now, it begs a new name.
The only real losers were the customers who can't put together the deals that they want. THis will cause some churn due to some people really wanting Apple.
If some more hhighly branded phones (Google, Starbucks,...) came onto the scene then this could eventually force common carrier cellphones. However, to do that they will all need to use a common protocol.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
With all that, it's not really a phone anymore. It's a shrunk-down portable computer with built-in camera and the ability to make phone calls.
And please explain how you'd get all the hardware required into the average phone size. 1GB of SDRAM, with a sufficiently fast processor AND a large enough storage volume would take up quite a bit of space on it's own. You might say that, in order to be able to interact with it effectively, you'd make it bigger - but then why not just carry a laptop around?
In all honesty I don't believe that there would be as large a market for this as you claim, and without figures to back it up I certainly don't believe your claims about the hardware price.
Don't you just hate it when people reply to your signature?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_supply
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_money
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation
I'm using both their HTML and Java based email client on my phone(s). The Java based email client is as good as any I've used (Elm, MUTT, Eudora, Lee Mail, Netscape*, Yahoo Mail, etc.); in some ways it's faster then their GMAIL web client. Faster in terms of refresh and faster in terms of interface...
Using their phone based email client as a starting point, it would seem that what they really "need" is to maximize their revenue. They get their revenue as we know when someone who is online sees their ads. The question is how to do that on a phone?
Here are four approaches they might be looking into, one I don't like and three that are worthy talking about:
#1
One way would be to build a phone that using the ad revenue to in part subsidize the phone usage... NetZero if you will, for a phone. I DOUB'T this is what they are thinking. I would guess they have concluded that market isn't' right for that NOW and might NEVER be ready... It would also require them to get into the cell phone business which is highly competitive.
#2
They could do on phones what they have done on the web broswers...
A) Introduce useful low cost productivity tools (Search, Email, Etc.)
B) Find ways to build ad content into those tools
#3
If they were really thinking outside the box, they could build a "new" OS or operating layer for phones. They would also build lots of mobile productivity apps for that OS... nothing crazy just some Unix/Linux and Java. Rob Pike and Vint Cerf did used to work for other famous phone companies.
A) Today a cell phone company has to build or license an OS
B) Google could provide that OS for no fee (lowering costs); and support it
C) Google could then provide a model which allowed the phone company, the phone network and Google to share the ad revenue.
D) Since phone companies are good at getting people to pay for things like applications and ring tones, they might even be able to get people to pay to use the Google Apps; like the $10 a month I pay Sprint to use the Garmin GPS system.
#4
Another approach would be more in the area of phones but not mobile phones per se. "We are not working on a mobile phone..." Imagine that they are:
A) Building phones for office or home office use
B) The phones work with a "wire" (or with Wi-Fi of they chose to)
C) They tie into the Google Docs suite of productivity tools
D) And if you happen to have two offices in two locations you can call from one "extension to the other" even if Alice is in Atlanta and Bob is Biloxi, routing the call over a VPN.
E) Thus your "office" phone becomes an extension of your desktop and all your contacts, documents, etc. are with you as you go from meeting to meeting and office to office.
F) IF you wanted to look down the road and be a bit "Scary" using Speech to Text and the same targeting software they use for ads, based on your phone conversation they could pop-up contact names, documents, and even Google Searches.
http://www.hawknest.com/
Perhaps the iPhone is NOT certain to be the most popular up and coming device? Out of all the people I know, noone wants an iPhone. It's just too expensive - pretty much not worth the price tag
For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
The Trapper Keeper Ultrakeeper Futura S2000.
I'm talking about an iPhone killer. Everyone wants an iPhone, but iPhone will actually be worse as it is also not:
8 2E16820211309
8 2E16819112206
/. just proves that technological intellectualism doesn't preclude the sheep mentality of most primates.
/. to corroborate human knowledge and reality rather than the typical group think and media FUDD that I can get on Fox "News", and am routinely disappointed. Even the nerds are fucking idiots who can't think for themselves, apparently.
A. DRM free
B. A completely portable desktop computer
C. Cheap
As to all the haters and their skepticism regarding hardware prices:
Initially you could include a 1gb SD card REALLY CHEAP:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N
You wouldn't need much more than a standard low power Pentium III clone to do all that stuff, and this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N
would be complete overkill and is $36 for a single one. I imagine you could get if for about half if you ordered a few million?
1gb of integrated ram has GOT to be cheap at this point. If we made a few million, there's no QUESTION you could do this phone for less than $50. Hell, throw in the USB docking station complete with HDMI out and usb mouse/keyboard, and you could still come in way under $100. People can buy any monitor or projector they want separately, or offer them a package deal for $200. This would replace every computer and cell phone on the market, and replace windows and macs and linux for 90% of all consumer uses, and probably a huge percentage of business pcs and cell phones as well.
The realm of the possible has been FUDed by corporations. Seriously, do the math, this phone is possible, I don't know how anyone could be so mentally limited as to moderate me "Funny".
*sigh*. People make me sad. Kennedy was murdered by our government. Science > Religion. Steel buildings don't just fall down because of some jet fuel. The "accepted" facts of today are OFTEN the laughable misconceptions of yesterday (frequently after less than a decade!). Ask for the facts and think for yourself. The invisible men in the sky probably don't exist, and if they did, they certainly wouldn't have written all that horse shit that you and our politicians seem to want to base their lives on. I mean seriously, "chosen people"?!?! What kind of racist ignorance is that? I continually expect
rhY
I hold very few opinions. I hold information based on observation and fact. If you wish to disagree, please use facts.
Perhaps the iPhone is NOT certain to be the most popular up and coming device? Out of all the people I know, noone wants an iPhone. It's just too expensive - pretty much not worth the price tag
Possible, but I doubt it. My guess is that most people on slashdot are not the target demographic. People still buy smartphones, people still buy iPods and Cellphones and carry both. The price IS high, but it will be the sexy thing to have, and non-techy people will be the first to buy it. It will be the ultra cool thing to have, I am certain of it. Geeks like us will wait until it costs less. Joe Public will want it, and want it badly. We will see in June.
Besides, it will cost less eventually. The early adopters will be the ones who will be picking it up. My guess is that it outsells the Razr, and I think that there have been 35 million sold to date. That is the sort of platform you want your software on, so I can see Google working on that.
Try to hack my 31337 firewall!
Why should Google build a mobile device, then compete against every other mobile device? Want to watch everyone switch partners and go with Yahoo? They also have free webmail, maps, and (gasp) even search technology.
It is much better for Google to "partner" with others and be the dominate set of mobile applications no matter what device or carrier you use.
first indication you're in fantasy land.
Why x86?
If a low power x86 will do, so will a low power arm or coldfire or PPC or SPARC or whatever. We even have open source Java interpreters working on several non-x86.
Google don't sell PCs or servers but they have one of the most strongest technology brands in the world today. They make money from providing people with information and there is no reason why Google can't provide information to people on their mobile phones in the same way do on their PCs. Actually building a hardware device will be a far higher investment than simply adapting their existing applications for mobile devices. With the significant mindspace they already occupy when searching the internet from your PC or laptop you'd it won't matter that Vodafone and Orange have their brands plastered all over their phones, it never made any difference when they established themselves as the dominant search engine provider or changed the webmail market overnight.
The Gnome desktop has search for ODF built in, and mplayer probably has the largest range of format support of any multimedia player.
Where exactly is Google supposed to help?
Now, I think it would be nice if they ported Google Talk and Google Desktop Search, but I think the holdup there isn't their unwillingness, it's probably just that they are finding it tough to do and have other things to do.
I'm half-Spanish and I'm deeply ashamed by this. I hope that Google has fired that incompetent attention-wh0re.
as some people said.
But it's a server. Stores your e-mail, your voice messages, your personal website, all of that. Maybe even routes your TV, but that's really for next year, when the current quantum wall gets pierced by some new advances. Google runs your backups, should your server go off-line.
Just like Apple Computer didn't have any intention of getting into the music business, and thus agreed not to do so with "Apple Records" (Apple Corps, associated /w the Beatles). However, as time passed, the emergence of P2P music technology and portable players led to the creation of the now-famous iPod and the related website iTunes. Of course, this led to more legal battles between the two Apples, but it's probably safe to say that Apple Computer didn't see the merger of the computing and music markets coming.
So, like Apple, it might be true that Google has no interest in pursuing the mobile-phone industry, but who knows about the future
They're doing a phone mobile. Syntax is crucial. Saying they're doing a mobile phone is like saying they're primary website is a engine search, or that they're main source of income is revenue ads. There's no telling exactly what thing they're making will be mobile, but it's going to include a phone function. It's just like Apple making the iPhone. It's not a phone ipod, it's an iPhone. The i comes first, hence it does other things first, and the phone is auxiliary to it's primary function (music, video, PDA functions, etc). Come on people, I thought we were all on board with this type of market speak long ago.
Was wondering if anyone would comment on this. I stumbled on this co. Splinternet a while ago and it actually enables you to talk through your PC and Google Talk to anyone in the world - it's dead-easy to use too. Perhaps Google is trying to enable a link of Mobile/Land lines and 'free' phone calls globally. http://preview.splinter.net/news.php
Who doesn't need consolidation these days? I'd certainly value a phone that handles my email, Voice, docs and spreadsheets, photos, music, and search. I mean, in all honesty, that's all you really need on a phone and when it's from one source, mazal tov!
.02
Just my
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