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Google Hopes to Disaggregate Carriers with gPhone
Hugh Pickens writes "The New York Times has a look at Google's plan to loosen the carriers' control over their mobile phone networks in an effort to bring the dynamics of the PC-oriented Internet to the mobile Internet hoping that it can beat competitors in an open environment. The Google Phone or gPhone which is expected to be unveiled later this year will not compete with the iPhone but will help Google distribute their online services. Google intends to provide software that will be built into phones sold by many manufacturers and, unlike Microsoft's Windows Mobile, Google is not expected to charge phone makers a licensing fee for their software. Google will make its money brokering ads on the mobile phones and even envisions a free phone service one day supported entirely through ad revenue."
In order to have any service, you have to be in a gSpot.
I would call someone to brag about it, but my gphone directory has no number in it.
Yet !
This is my opinion based on what little I know and understand of the rumors and lies Thanks, Randal
They like control because it provides them a way to sell additional software and services for the phones. They don't want companies like Google stepping in and selling ads. Even on smart phones, Windows Mobile is customized for that purpose. Will Google allow that level of control to the cell companies? I'm guessing no more than they allow other third parties to control their content on the Web.
My blog
FTFA: Industry analysts say that Google, which has little experience with complex hardware, faces significant challenges. I'd have to disagree. Now, I'm not saying that the two technologies have any overlap, but that the statement that Google "has little experience with complex hardware" seems a little disingenuous.
I stole this sig from a more creative user.
Ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, and ads.
And then some ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, ads, and aslo ads and ads.
I think there is enough ads already, I'm starting to hate Google.
look an ad in my sig!
heurg!
So, the users are the ones who are going to pay for it, every Ad showed to the user will be paid by them (Your phone will need to download them).
I've never thought of paying to see Ads.
Although I hate, loathe and despise ads and marketing, it is not like it is gonna go away, so if I get free phone service that would be fantastic! I also just want openmoko to dominate the cell phone software market, this will push things towards less control from carriers and more control to the software and hardware underbelly of the whole cell phone market. Good job Google, OpenMoko, and the iPhone hackers that makes things much better for everyone!
To see a few of my Android apps goto: www.hartwired.com
Because I'm sure the manufacturers will pass the savings on directly to you and me.
What is the possibility that Google gets the 700MHz spectrum and then uses it for their own phone service? I have no idea if that's even feasible, but if so, it would bypass any problem they may have with the current carriers not using their software because they see them as competition for advertising dollars.
I stole this sig from a more creative user.
As soon as someone developes AdBlock for the gPhone
The New York Times has a look at Google's plan to loosen the carriers' control over their mobile phone networks
ph0wned!
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
Wow, that gets funnier every time someone posts it.
My basic issue is this: How much cheaper is an ad-subsidized gPhone going to be in comparison to some relatively nice pre-paid phone? But if Google-powered phones prove to be a hit with consumers, other carriers may feel pressure to follow suit, said Richard Doherty, director for the Envisioneering Group, a consulting firm. Why? You could replace "Google-powered" with just about anything and the statement would hold true.
Other than a low(er) price... a Google Phone isn't magically going to bring the internet to the masses. Are Google ads going to subsidize a 3G network? Even the iPhone isn't anything special unless you're within range of a wifi network and/or are paying AT&T $2,000 for their service plan over the next two years.
As far as I noticed, TFA never comes out and says what a gPhone is going to bring to the market that will win over consumers. Brand name? Features? Function?
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
Mnay people, like myself, don't want ad-supported cell service. I want my money to be what controls the services, no the advertisers' money.
LedgerSMB: Open source Accounting/ERP
> The Google Phone ... will not compete with the iPhone
I don't really think they expect me to carry a gPhone in one pocket and an iPhone in another.
How do they figure that?
its a phone, it has applications, it has internet access.. Of course its competition..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
From Article - "Running a Web site and a search engine is one thing," said Mr. Weide of IDC. "But developing a phone is a whole different game. It will not be easy for them."
They claim that Google will have hard time because it doesn't have the experience dealing with complex hardware. Sure, maintaining what is probably the world's largest search engine isn't complex. And as far as the handset hardware goes they won't be the first to port the kernel to a mobile platform, and someone else may have already done the work for them. Communication is Google's business, and they have spent a ton of R&D time and money to prepare and launch their product. I bet they are further along than IDC thinks.
"Where have all the good people gone?" - Jack Johnson
"Hey, let's have dinner tonight"
(Robotic Google voice) "May we suggest ... Chez Panisse ... which is 2.4 miles from your present location, Bill, and 1.3 miles from your present location, Karen. Reservations are available at 7:30 and 7:45 PM. A reservation has been made for you at 7:30. Bill, please turn right on Western. Karen, go 1 mile straight ahead to Central, then turn left on Western. Chez Panisse is at 1540 Western. Have a nice dinner, and thank you for choosing Google for your phone service."
I was being sarcastic when I said maintaining the world's largest search engine isn't complex.
"Where have all the good people gone?" - Jack Johnson
From the article:
"Google may be responsible for the gPhone," said Karsten Weide, an analyst with IDC "But they are not in charge of gUndam."
I really do not think their apps will be integrated into phones sold in the US for the major carriers. The manufacturers will have it in the original OS install of the phone probably, but let us not forget that when US carriers purchase the phones to sell for their network, they tend to heavily modify the phones OS. Generally all useful features installed on a phone that are free to use are disabled, or erased (Motorola phones, and Verizon policies come to mind). The US carriers want you to pay them more money, when it comes to having something useful (fully functional Bluetooth, easy transfer of files, ect). They like playing the "nickel and dime you to death" game. This is why phone modding is so popular. People want the functionality back in the phones, that the carriers removed.
In European markets, as well as others outside of North America, however, might see a great benefit here.
"This is America... where the will of the few outweigh the outrage of the many..." - Unknown
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
It occurs to me that it is not in the best interest of Google to tip its hand prematurely on this announcement, before the spectrum auction of 700 MHz, in which Google is a bidder, is complete. If this is true then Verizon, Sprint/Nextel, and AT&T will know that Google represents a serious competitive threat and must therefore be outbid in the spectrum auction at any price so that Google can be denied the spectrum that it needs to roll out the competing services. It should be abundantly clear to everyone that the type of services that Google wants to offer in the mobile space are anathema to the entrenched providers who are used to the revenue stream from nickle and dimming practices that are enabled by absolute control of their networks. The existing carriers will certainly not offer the Google mobile OS on terms that Google would accept (Google wants freedom whereas the telcos want lock-in). This upcoming spectrum auction may prove to be very interesting indeed.
Someday, when Google takes over the world, everything will be ad-supported, and everything will be free. My cell phone will be free and display ads to get a free ad-supported car. The car, in turn, will be painted with an ad for a free ad-supported house. The house will be totally free as well, but be plastered in advertising for free ad-supported cell phones.
What has *science* done?!? -- Dr. Weird (ATHF)
I will be driving in my Gmobile supported entirely by add revenue and the occasional mandatory detours to "suggested vendors" while en route to my destination, using of course, Gmaps. But on the way there, I need to fuel my Gmobile with some environmentally friendly and sustainable/renewable Gfuel, which is supported solely from advertising revenues which I'm forced to watch at the pump station. But before I leave the pump station, I plan to make a visit with my Gdoctor of course which the appointment has already been setup for me through Google calendar as Google knows my schedule by now anyway. I didn't need to confirm this, nor even ask for the appoint thanks to Gpsychic. The Gdoctor knows all my medical needs thanks to Grecords, all of which is sponsored by tailored advertising supported by the drug manufacturing consortium. I'm even planning on selling my Ghouse next week, to by a bigger house, for which G mortgage will help me out on the loan....
~ In Trust, We Trust ~
Considering I pay over $55/mo for my blackberry with an unlimited data connection, and I can't even tether to my laptop (use as a modem) via bluetooth or USB (at least in Linux), anything that allows more connectivity and openness is sure to be a hit with more technical users. I couldn't give half a hoot about being able to buy annoying ringtones, it's the connectivity that I want.
So, hurry up google, I need you.
The critical metric, the fulcrum, the absolute measure of success or failure of ad-supported media, in any form, is the ratio of ads:content. If ads outweigh content in terms of user attention, you'll lose.
I could argue that ads are more effective when they're in the background, and don't capture your attention directly, as they're less likely to trigger your conscious censors.
Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
Google and others like it should force open the airwaves for mobile telecom. Telcos like AT&T, Sprint and Verizon have fled to their mobile divisions because it's still much more regulated against competition, though without the "common carrier" regulations that forced competition in landlines, and cable, and carried over into Internet. Even though radio phones are the least reliable, and often the most urgently needed, the redundancy that any phone connecting to any network available at the time/place is still out of reach. Except at outrageous roaming rates. Including the charges for text and other async messaging.
Google tried to force the 700MHz band open to any terminal device, unbundling the network from the dialtone. It didn't work. But there are other ways, and Google is persistent. Google bought lots of fiber and built lots of datacenters, so it can mount its own competitive telco. But Google's model calls for everyone to have unfettered access to all content and people on all the networks, so Google can help everyone navigate everyone else's content (and each other). They'll get there. And the incumbent telcos (and cablecos which keep their own bundled monopolies, though they just got the cableboxes unbundled from them this year) can't compete with Google. It's too rich, too popular, too smart. Unfolding history is on Google's side. I just wish it would all happen a lot faster.
--
make install -not war
I will be driving in my Imobile supported entirely by add revenue and the occasional mandatory detours to "suggested vendors" while en route to my destination, using of course, Imaps. But on the way there, I need to fuel my Imobile with some environmentally friendly and sustainable/renewable Ifuel, which is supported solely from advertising revenues which I'm forced to watch at the pump station. But before I leave the pump station, I plan to make a visit with my Idoctor of course which the appointment has already been setup for me through apple calendar as apple knows my schedule by now anyway. I didn't need to confirm this, nor even ask for the appoint thanks to Ipsychic. The Idoctor knows all my medical needs thanks to Irecords, all of which is sponsored by tailored advertising supported by the drug manufacturing consortium. I'm even planning on selling my Ihouse next week, to buy a bigger house, for which Imortgage will help me out on the loan....
Hardly fair -- it costs me ~$105 a month for unlimited data/talk...
Required reading for internet skeptics
How exactly will this loosen carriers control? Carriers in the US already dictate the features for each phone it offers [which are the majority of cell phones sold in the US]. Just look on the latest KRAZR, it's advertised by MOTO has being this fabulous phone, but each of the 4 major carriers sell it with a significantly different feature set. And just offering the OS for free doesn't make a difference to manufacturers as some cell phones already run Linux...
And it's a non-starter for Canada, given the outrageous data fees...
Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
and how many /.ers will be able to find these gSpots?
> In order to have any service, you have to be in a gSpot.
And just where am I supposed to find one of those??
That's what I'm saying. Assuming they're not incredibly intrusive, I'll sit through some ads for free stuff. Don't expect me to ever act on them, though. Google is pretty good at making advertising palatable, and chances are, we'll be able to use our devices more fully if google has its way. Anything has to be better than the current mobile landscape. The US wireless industry is in the dark ages, it needs something to give it a good kick.
I'm not the parent poster who got marked as a troll, but seriously, what did they say that deserved that?
There's a lot of truth the what the parent poster said, but even if you disagree, maybe you should make an argument stating otherwise and explain yourself.
I don't like this trend to putting advertising everywhere.... we have more then enough advertising in society. no more is needed or wanted.
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
Seriously. What's next? A toilet that looks at my poop and tries to recommend the right kind of diet, brought to you by Google?
People that think services are "free" if advertisers pay for them are pretty silly. In the end, we still pay for them.
This is my sig.
Should not we be having the option to choose the Handset, carrier and the software (display, browser, yadda, yadda) already on our phones?!! Have the mobile players succeeded where Mac failed in the PC-market. (yeah ok, Apple has not failed but trying...)
Use a third party reseller. They will have many more phones for free than the mobile provider will, and on some models they will even pay you to take them. I used letstalk.com and and got two motorola phones from T-mobile and they actually paid me $200! $100 came from letstalk, and the other $100 was the mail-in rebate from t-mobile itself. The price of the plans is the same, so there was no downside in my experience. I was actually even past the deadline on sending in some of the rebates and they still paid me. I know there are other companies that basically do the same thing as letstalk.com but they're the ones I used and can recommend. They also resell for all the major US carriers (verizon, sprint, cingular/AT&T, t-mobile). Good luck.
Get a used Treo 650 that works with Sprint.
The plans are cheap. You can tether. You can install any Palm software you want -- and there's a lot of it. You can also write your own. It's a good phone that also takes photos and videos, plays videos, plays audio, displays pdfs, has imap and pop support out of the box, supports the gmail and google maps apps, has a full-sized sd slot, comes with editors and viewers for MS docs, and supports ssh (client, not server). It doesn't run Linux, but other than that, it's darn near perfect.
The Blackberry and the iPhone have nothing (important) on this 4-year-old Treo.
Then sell the AT&T stock. Although it looks like it won't buy much google stock atm...like 42$ vs 610$ :P
Obligatory blog plug: http://www.caseybanner.ca/
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Comment removed based on user account deletion
You can use unlocked phones and installable software on several major US carriers. In Europe, you can do so on all carriers. If you don't have the phone you want or the features you want, you only have yourself to blame.
I have two words for you... Nokia N800. Open wifi, Linux, and Skype. Very cheap calls at home and other places I visit a lot. Next month I will be switching to a $15 pre-paid plan for any few extra cell minutes I might (or might not) need. Browsing with a beautiful 800x480 screen. It goes on...
Do you want a "Hell Yeah!" with that?
Too right, remember when you all went to the same pub, so if you wanted to see them you'd go there?
Please consider this account deleted, I just can't be bothered with the spam anymore.
when sometime in the future, the entire global economy doesn't seem to be based entirely on advertising. Imagine what would HAPPEN if companies decided that advertising didn't work anymore...
-how would TV networks afford to do anything?
-how would 75% of the websites out there stay in business?
and so on...
I'm sure it'll never happen, because the human race does seem to be sheepish enough to succumb to advertisements, but it's still an interesting thought experiment to wonder what'll happen when/if the paradigm does decide to shift and suddenly people began to doubt the overall effectiveness of all this extreme product placement and advertisement...
ìì!
Your previous providers were capable of bombarding you with unwanted ads that because they are (or view themselves) as the gatekeepers to your phone and your contract with them as a way to tie you into buying from them only.
With more open phones/networks (ie those not locked down to the extent they often are in the US) there is room for much more competition based on quality of apps and user experience.
I just got a new Nokia N95 ("free" if I commit to a 2 year contract) from Vodafone Australia. The best thing about it is that I can install what I like on it and it will happily do things over WiFi, not costing me a cent. Currently I am loving the Google Mail and playing with the Google Maps applications on it (which seems better than the map app that comes with it.
They are presumably ad supported in some way but I'm using them because they are, as far as I know, the nicest applications available for the purpose.
Your phone company will screw you for what they can and will supplement their income with ads anyway if they get the opportunity (though likely in a more annoying and incompetant way than Google will). However you will be better off in situations where your phone is open and allows applications and service from different providers as those provider will have to compete more.
Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
The issue isn't whether services will be ad supported, it's whether phones/networks are open to the degree that you can choose what/who to use for different applications/services.
Even if you are paying a phone company they are not going to turn their nose up at an additional revenue source if it is there to be had.
At least with a more open environment the various will have to compete against each other to be less annoying and provide a better experience so you have a reason to choose their app/service. If you just want to be stuck with one provider then ultimately you will get worse service.
Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
dumbass. learn a little.
Hey man thanks for this. I was looking at switching to verizon and needed a new phone. This looks golden
I can't believe how out of whack the telco and data services industries are in the United States (I don't know how they fare elsewhere). Its seriously about time we have a big push for fiber-to-the-premises, and extended WIFI coverage for rural areas. You would think that the U.S. would be able to get something like this going by now. Yes I know that Verizon and ATT have their limited coverage fiber services out now, but there is still a loooong way to go. Once we have a large-scale broadband network in place, we can do ALL of our communicating over it...VOIP, videoconferencing, VR marketplaces, whatever...If we actually spent time putting together a solid digital communications backbone, I believe customers would be much happier with their service and the possibilities it offers. Of course someone better pinch me, I'm probably dreaming.
I doubt they would go the audio delivered route, but rather text ads on the display/map. Image if your cell phone could tell you about things you like where you happen to be. When I am traveling, I want to know about Thai and other interesting restaurants. Driving down the interstate, I want to know about places I can stop, that are not McDonalds. Around home, I want to know about sales and new places of business.
A well targeted ad, is not that annoying. I am not saying this would be easy to do, but you give me good maps, with useful ads and reasonably prices phone service -- I will probably give it a try.
pth
Home Automation & Linux -- now I know I'm a geek
The words you're trying to use are spelled "screwed" and "balls." If the words offend you, then use different words, but there's no need to protect us by inserting asterisks. Noone here gives a fuck about such language.
The N800 isn't actually a phone though is it? I need internet access when I'm at these stupid places like Starbucks where they want to charge $15/day for wifi.
Get a used Treo 650 that works with Sprint. .... It doesn't run Linux,
As an owner of a Treo 650 and a tester for Linux4palm, it is my duty to direct you to hackndev where they have been successful in running Linux on a Treo 650 and I have tested it myself.
It's not technically a cell phone, though I use it as a phone with Skype. I plan on transitioning most of my phone minutes over to Skype in the very near future, as it works quite well with good quality. It's rumored that Sprint is coming out with a 3g version of the N800, but the whole reason I got it is to avoid the high data charges for things like the iPhone. Once I am mostly using this with Skype, I will be able to get down to about $18 dollars a month for both phone and mobile internet usage. However, I'm one of the kinds of people who isn't on the phone much except when I'm at home, work, or visiting family. If you are constantly on a cell phone, like when you are driving or out on the town, then my plan probably wouldn't work for you. And if I'm going out for coffee, there are usually places like Panera around that have free wifi that I will go to instead of Starbucks.
i sincerely hope that they do not interrupt your phone conversations as many of the people here have suggested. Even If they do listen in on your conversations I'm sure that the ads will be sent as text messages, similar to Google AdWords. Many carriers (such as rogers) already send you text messages to advertise new services they offer so I don't this this would be too big of a big deal, providing they are pay-per-click and you not charged for every text message that you receive from google. There should also be a set limit on the number of ads you can receive per week, based of your payment plan - The more you are paying per month, the less ads you will see. This also encourages users to upgrade there cellphone plans.
It will help loosen carriers' control by forcing them to accept Google's software in its entirety.
I mean, one can only assume that Google would require the carriers to offer either all of the features of their application suite, or none at all. And once one or two national carriers (or a handful of regional ones) start adopting this software, the rest will be compelled to make a decision:
Play ball with Google and adjust business models accordingly. This is obviously a somewhat frightening concept for companies like Verizon which are deeply entrenched in selling individual services for exorbitant sums, and it will likely be an expensive task to perform.
or...
Distance themselves from the household name of Google, stubbornly maintain the status quo, and fade into obscurity as an increasingly-clued consumer populace flocks toward their Google-embracing competition. And where the former choice was merely frightening and expensive, this one will be downright terrifying and death-bringing.
Kid-proof tablet..
Okay, but how will Google get any carrier to accept their software if it means losing all those profits from services sold separately?
But
Many people, like myself, want free of charge service, even at the cost receiving of contextual ads. And it would be an interesting service, as interesting as google services can be.
About contextual Ads, I think google will take care about not bothering [too much] people with them. At the cost they can charge to advertisers for the targeted Ads, customer would probably receive a couple of Ads per day, and that is worth a free ubiquitous mobile Internet service. Even more, with the information the system would gather about us and the Local context (as we connect through a localized spot of the network), Ads would be so targeted that they could be beneficial for the customer, who would even apply to receive more Ads. For example:
[Text/Multimedia Message Ad; it is lunch time and you are close to a Mall] - Ho ho ho, come to Krusty Burger, show this message and get a $ discount in your meal-
Another example:
[Text/Multimedia Message Ad; You are close to a baby-expensive-stuff shop and Google knows that lately you have been reading about pregnancy and how to take care of a new born] - Ho ho ho, come Krusty BabyExpensiveStuff right now, show us this message and get a 50$ discount buying any of our trolleys!-
I wouldn't mind getting good juicy discounts on my brand free phone. On the other side, you would be paying for a less interesting service and missing quite big targeted discounts.
I don't see how this strategy will work for Google in Europe. You see here each country has a handful of operators (2-4) and a part of their revenue is bastardising the mobile phones they offer in as many ways as possible. I am afraid it will be all too easy for the handful of operators operating in a country to choose not to allow Google in and be certain that the other operator(s) will do the same.
Exactly. I did a lot of searching, and it seems that OpenMmoko is the only current significant effort at open-phone development. Apple and the rest run on *nix, but close up the phone so you can't do dick with it. Openmoko has some promise, but without wireless or a cell carrier in the US on-board, I'm not read to start hacking it. Ubuntu Mobile has potential, but the screen size currently has to be 4.8", and it looks more like a tablet PC OS at the moment than smartphone software.
There's some ultra-smart dudes at Google, at this point. The next major shift in computing will be smartphones. Only an open system with an excellent SDK for 3rd party applications has much chance of dominating, so the current players seem to be Google and Microsoft. I personally have disliked every version of Windows CE I've ever seen, though I hear good things about the latest version. Based on open-source GNU/Linux, Google's got a real shot at the largest new market on the horizon, IMO.
Beer is proof that God loves us, and wants us to be happy.
gphone+wimax+iptelephony=end of mobile providers business model.
You can bet they are not going to let google anywhere near them. This can only benefit google and destroy their business model. But for consumers nothing could be better.
The next iteration of OpenMoko will have WiFi with
an Atheros chipset, they say.
The problem with OpenMoko is its repulsive shape.
Was the case design made by the girlfriend/wife of the
project leader ? Why should it be THAT ugly ?
Actually, you were being facetious.
Maybe I'm slow or missing something BUT... If I get the GOSsiP (Google Operating System Phone) on the ATT network I'm not sure how this will save me money. Is Google going to mail me a check each month for the ads I see? Are the negotiating a lower price for my monthly service with ATT? Or are they going to greatly subsidize the cost of my phone (pay the maker to carry their software, like companies do with pc makers). If this is an OS on a phone I'm just not seeing how this is going to save me money. Google needs people to get on the mobile web but the cost is killing the us market. If Google can get me on the Mobil web without raising my monthly cellphone bill then I would surf a whole lot more, especially if I had a nice phone to do it on. I would check my Gmail more, I would be using gmaps more, I would be doing a whole lot more surfing through this set up but cost is the key. I'm not paying $30 to surf at home and $30 more to surf on the cell but I would surf on my cell if it was free. I just don't see how this will work.
-ringing-
"Hello."
"Calls recorded for quality"
"What? Who is this?
"Sorry about that, it's my gPhone?"
"Oh, that's weird. They're recording us?"
"Yeah, I guess. So anyway did you get the test results?"
"GOT HERPES? VISIT VALTREX.COM TODAY TO RECEIVE A FREE SAMPLE! PRESS 1 TO OPEN IN YOUR GPHONE BROWSER"
I imagine that they don't expect any carrier to accept their software just outright, which would explain why they're putting up $4.6 billion to bid on wireless spectrum. If Google has a service on the market that uses their OS, and if their OS has clearly superior features to other OS's, then other carriers would be forced to accept Google's terms in order to compete.
I'm not going to say I told you so, but....
I told you so....
:-p
Oh Crap, I'm an optimist.....
Well played, sir. . .well played.
Hey, can I bum a sig?
And don't forget the subsidies Google will get from the government for collecting all the phone conversations you make, and adding it to the Google data mine.
The carriers don't need to be on-board with OpenMoko. It's just an unlocked GSM phone, which you can put a carrier's SIM card in. The only limitation in terms of carrier compatibiliy is the dialing software (gsmd), which doesn't cover enough to work automatically with all of the GSM carriers yet. But that's being worked on.
DNA just wants to be free...
Yes, I take it back. In fact, I've just purchased the OpenMoko Neo1973, and hope to be of some assistance in the open-source development community, which so far seems vibrant and friendlier than most :-)
Beer is proof that God loves us, and wants us to be happy.
If one does not want to spend more than 1 talar on one's mobile eq. waiting for a gift from the operator than one should not complain. After all there is nothing stopping you from buying your own equipment - the market is full of them.
It is yet another very fascinating sight - a lot of 'free' people complain and whine about their lost freedom, the one that they gave away for a handfull of glass pearls.
Some other maybe more important questions would be: do I need to do things like reading my mails while I am on the way and if so how usefull a mobile phone may in such situation be. I chose to answer NO to the first question which by default makes the second one superfluous. The decision is yours of course. At least for so long as it takes to develop and install mind controlling wires into the mobile phones. I am not saying that this ever will happen, it may not be needed - after all people do what is wanted of them anyway. How handy...
and how many /.ers will have the chance to try to find these gSpots?
I didn't found something funny to put here.
Hate to break this to you, but Google is an advertising company, THAT is what they do well, finding new ways to deliver ads to people. They make the majority (99%) of their money from Ads.
Q.
It's about ads on the mobile services - maps and web. Anyone who's got a smartphone or iphone has discovered the usefulness of such mobile apps. That's where the ads come in. The voice part - that's pretty easy, actually. Voice can probably be subsidized by a robust mobile ad platform that does not get in the way of the utility applications on such a device.