We don’t have much information on the Google Phone just yet. In fact, it sounds more like a party favor than anything else. However, if and when Google starts selling this thing, prepare for some of the strangest – and coolest – times in mobile we’ve ever experienced.
What do we know? It’s an HTC phone – probably the Passion, a distant cousin to the beautiful HD2 – with large touchscreen. It’s GSM unlocked and everyone at Google has one so whatever the super secret specs are, they won’t stay super secret for long.
But what if Google starts to sell this thing? This is “a big deal” on the level of Neo learning Kung Fu in The Matrix. This means Google is making hardware.
For nigh on three decades computer manufacturers have been secure in their positions of power. Dell and HP, for example, ruled the roost while upstarts from Asia like Sony positioned themselves in the consumer electronics market. This stasis has held back innovation for years.
But suddenly service providers are doing hardware. Amazon has the Kindle, Barnes&Noble has a lumpen Nook, and now Google has a phone. What’s next? The Credit Suisse Fondue Set?
When service providers make hardware, they have a different set of priorities. They have a lower number of SKUs so their products have to be great. They control a lot of the software so the UI is great. They control the distribution so there’s a bit of the “rarity” and “early adopter” factor to consider. This sort of stuff is what CE and PC manufacturers would kill for – after all, when’s the last time you drooled over a desktop?
PC makers are working in commodities. Service providers traffic in rarity. In this neophilic age it’s the first few months of a product’s existence that is most important. When Dell launches a phone, it’s news. When Google launches a phone it’s a Moon Shot.
We don’t know enough right now to say how interesting this be, but it’s definitely intriguing.
Looking forward to the specs and availability. I’ve been holding off on the Droid and hoping for something like this in early 2010.
If, indeed, it has been given to a large number of Google employees, it must be to test the Android platform. As Googlers call it “eating your dog food”.
We know engineers are best at reporting bugs and providing feedbacks. Who better for the job than Google’s own engineers to report bugs and give feedback on other limitations of the platform.
It is unlikely, that Google will get into consumer hardware, an unchartered territory. Besides, none less than Eric Schmidt himself, has refuted such speculations in the past.
And Steve Jobs once says “We’ll never do video on the iPod”.
Everything a CEO says is a lie. They aren’t going to spill corporate secrets out to the media just because we ask!
Hey hey….calm down….
What do you know… I was right! You just can’t believe what corporate execs say when it comes to new products. They will never announce something because of a question at a Q&A, but instead a press conference.
John,
When and where did Steve Jobs say that?
I remember something along the lines of “we don’t think video matches with the small screen” or “customers don’t want video on the go” or “we want to focus on music”, but I’m sure you can find a source where he actually said they would “never” do it.
I mean, Apple doesn’t comment on future products either in the positive or negative, but I’m sure you were there the one time they slipped.
The term “Eating your dog food” has long been used prior to Google… Just most Googlers are too young or inexperienced to know that.
Give the young Google engineers some credit. I’m sure they’ve probably Googled the term once or twice before.
Ahh yes, the one tweet that feed us all. I must say TC really made a rare-find on this one. Although one of the question remains will the new phone have it’s own “BIG G” brand? or go on with a tag ‘HTC” like the ones released last October, 2008. Let the rumor of excitement continues: http://bit.ly/google-phone-is-for-real-coming-very-soon
Nice plot, but it’s actually wrong. Microsoft broke the taboo earlier when they started to build keyboards, mice and finally computers: The XBox.
Before, Microsoft’s advantage was that they were complementing the hardware manufacturers. Suddenly they became competitors.
Now MS doesn’t count as a service provider. On the other hand, Google is (was) basically “just” a software development company, too (apart from building their own infrastructure and selling some appliances).
Its a nice phone to look for, but Driod rocks!
This rumour will put a dent into Droid sales for the next few weeks.
This has the potential to put the droid to rest permanently.
Steve,
That depends on what Verizon and Motorola want. The drive behind Android has always been coming from manufacturers and carriers (those that don’t have anything better), not from customers, who mostly prefer Blackberries, iPhones and Nokias. Motorola will keep on doing Android phones because that’s all they have.
Will this have the Google Brand and not HTC?
If not, it is not a Google phone. :P
BIG G of course.. it wouldn’t be a Google Phone if don’t have the goog brand, would it? The question is what carrier will it have… Hopefully its Red V not AT&T…
Thanks for this link: http://bit.ly/google-phone-is-for-real-coming-very-soon
Great UI ?! The android UI system is a programmers nightmare ! how lame is their XML ? How counter intuitive is the layout system for something that is more than just a form? should we create all our GUI in OpenGL if we want to make something that would stand out from the boring XXXXXXXLayout?
Short answer… Yes. If you want the bling, be prepared to do some work.
Shorter answer… If you want bling code for iPhone.
I code for iPhone to – but their market is just too crowded… The Android seems like a great opportunity but programming for it is no fun.
unfortunately it is not onlythe UI that is a nightmare hopefully people will realize this over time, when their excitement from being able to have complete control over the phone calms down a bit and start putting some pressure on Google
I haven’t looked at Android from a developers point of view, but from a users point of view its still UGLY.
2.0 made things a little better but it really doesn’t look like Google is trying hard enough.
Android will never beat the iPhone unless they start taking the UI *VERY* seriously. Without a doubt the iPhone has the most slick interface of any phone on the market.
Will the Google phone “change everything” ? No, its not really going to change much of anything. They will have the same impact as any other Android device.
1) Beauty is a subjective thing. I prefer the UI to my droid over the boring black wall of icons of my old 3g.
2) The UI is entirely customizable. Even if you have no clue how to code, you can do just about anything you want with free apps in the market.
yeah it is so ‘slick’ to have to jailbreak your iPhone in order to change your wallpaper, enable multitasking and download apps from other app stores such as Cydia. That may be fine for geeks who don’t mind messing with root but ordinary people will find it much easier to do those things in Android.
I actually like the Android UI. Sure, the iPhone’s is better in a lot of ways, but compared to all of the dumbphones that most T-Mobile or (especially) Verizon users would be upgrading from, Android is absolutely remarkable.
Google products are for the lumpenproletariat: hold absolutely no value in terms of design and usability.
Be interesting to see if they sell this thing. Fingers crossed.
its not going to be HTC by the way
just sayin
Again, this was clearly in the works well before Eric Schmidt resigned from Apple’s board, which just makes me think that the guy totally lacks credibility. He said that Google and Apple we not competitive. They are VERY competitive and will become arch enemies. It has to happen.
He never lied, Google Phone is competitor to another search service provider..ie MS..as Ms could offer cuts of ad search revenue to OEMs to implement Mobile Windows on devices..its a blunder on MS’s part no to do so..
Google is doing to Apple what Apple did to Motorola.
The phone better be compelling.
Google aims to do to Apple on the phone what Microsoft did to Apple on the desktop.
smart
We’re still talking about consumers buying this thing right? Remember that Google doesn’t have the same fanatical following in hardware like Apple
Rome was not built in a day.
Doesn’t make sense. Microsoft developed a GUI similar to Apple’s and married it to its MS-DOS monopoly. Success.
Google develops a GUI similar to Apple’s but, without an existing powerbase to parlay and after Samsung and Nokia refuse it, has to resort to releasing their own hardware. Fail.
Unlike Apple, Google’s customers are advertisers, not end-users. This is reflected 1990′s look and feel of Android – complete with Java pokiness.
Agreed, a Google HTC unlocked phone may be the only phone that I ditch the iPhone for. Noticed I said unlocked phone. This with a mifi card and who needs a cell phone contract.
I am not sure about the change in phoneworld…but this type of writing and half baked analysis will definitly change your professional life…for worst..I mean.
Do us a favor and dont overhype anything..just try be neutral and trustworthy SMEs..
Have you even looked at any Andorid based phones ..GUI sucks badly …and this post as well..
Ditto, unless there’s a skin on top of it like Sense UI, the default Android UI is just vomit of green and black.
“This means Google is making hardware.”
Google already makes hardware, in the form of the Google Search Appliance.
… yes, but who really buys that thing?
manufacturing and direct sale of a mass-market consumer phone is a whole different story
I don’t think enterprise hardware is the kettle of fish… Consumer is a different ball game.
The “real” Google Phone has a lot of expectations to live up to, but judging from the fast progress of Android phones so far, they will get there sooner or later.
I agree with @johnforsythe Google already makes hardware. And, they’re not making hardware here, they’re repurposing a device made by another manufacturer.
Big deal.
“… and everyone at Google has one so whatever the super secret specs are, they won’t stay super secret for long.”
I really find it hard to believe that if everyone at Google has one, that there is any possibility of the “super secret specs” not leaking out by now.
I.e. I’l believe it when I see it…
Will it be? Or will all of the hype make it a huge let down, like the secrecy/hype of “Code Name: Ginger”? We were told that Ginger (aka the Segway) was going to change our lives. After the Segway debuted it was more like oh, well it’s cool, sort of, but not really life altering, heck, it wasn’t even transportation altering. I guess what I am saying is that I expect that there will be some different/neat features, but I don’t expect it to turn the cell/smart phone industry on it’s head.
Not saying I disagree with you, but HORRIBLE ANALOGY.
The problem with Segway was it was an expensive, completely radically different form of transport. I think their newer transporter they are building with GM will catch on in urban areas, but the standup model is too dangerous and slow for roads and rough sidewalks.
Google Phone isn’t radically different. It’s a phone that does what Iphone does as far as a non tech person knows. Nuff said. Plus you don’t look like a tool while riding it.
the segway dint change our lives cuz it cost $5999. the idea was great. we already know what to expect from the google phone, plus google will add some goodies to it. and it is widely believed that it will be pretty cheap to own. more so that carriers. so its a win win for us.
nuff said
the only question i have is how much will it cost? btw take the hyperbole level down a notch.
” Google is making hardware…. it’s a HTC phone ”
That does not read like Google is actually making hardware, it seems like it’s another Android based HTC phone made for Google’s employees.
wow wow wow
google to dominate the world
Google looks more and more like microsoft…this reminds of when Microsoft developed the zune and helped to crush all the non-ipod MP3 manufacturers
My prediction…google makes their own phone and give’s their phones first crack at new google developed apps and latest version of android…just like microsoft would
of course TC won’t call that evil…for google it’ll just be ‘smart business’
I’ve had a G1 and recently purchased an iPhone. It’s literally not a comparison.. The iPhone blows it away (and it’s cheaper).
The Java GUI blows and they know it.. Google is going to have cook up some dag-nasty Quartz-like rendering layer at some point, or they’re toast.
Apple is definitely not worried.
Apples and Oranges. Your comparing the Corvette to the Civic and making the determination that Chevy is better than Honda.
Try using a Droid and then make the comparison. The G1 is a piece of crap in my opinion. The Droid is not. Android 2.0 was a big upgrade, and I’m pissed that my Iphone can’t do some of the stuff my brothers Droid can. Phone calls that don’t disconnect every 10 seconds is quite a feature. And its not ATandT either. Its the Iphone. Other ATT phones don’t disconnect constantly.
TC (& CG) always suffers from lack of perspective – consumers are no where near as aware of these devices vs the iphone – apple has a decade advantage of building (nice) stuff for consumers that they get, have heard of, can use and want straight away. I’m sure the Droid is nice, but conusmers need A LOT more than a nice review on a tech site they’ve never heard of and a few TV adverts to start buying these devices in volume.
No it’s AT&T. I have T-Mobile with an iphone for 2 years and I don’t lose calls.
Wow, I’m surprised tmobile has raised their prices as apple dropped theirs. When I got my G1, it was significantly cheaper (total cost).
i love it when iphone fanboys 5h1t bricks in there posts about android, knowing full well that there beloved iphone is dying a slow death. well maybe not as slow as we think.
yeah see above – anyone noticed why the apple stocks chart looks like the ascent of everest? Because their performance is not based on the thoughts of slightly in-too-deep tech crunch readers who fall in & out of love with tech brands every year thinking that what they think is a clear insight into how consumers will behave.
Er no, people like big safe brands (that do what they expect) that make nice shiny products that are popular, & that they have heard of – that’s what they spend their money on. Google phone, Droid, HTC whatsamacalled it don’t cut it with these guys yet – many many more years before that happens if it ever does.
If it´s an HTC and Google indeed wants to brand it, they better make sure it matches the quality of the software… I have not been impressed by HTC build quality this far.
true. whenever my hero falls from 20cm high, it dissolves into 4 pieces, every time. my iphone was much more rugged
A big screen and a single button at the bottom. I wonder where they got that idea from?
You mean their products need to be great. Simply having fewer SKUs doesn’t magically produce better products.
Producing a great UI takes more than control. It takes experience and really good intuition and a lot of testing.. Most service providers (like Barnes & Noble) have zero experience in UI. Just because they control it, does not make it great. Yes, Google has a lot of experience in Web UI. But Android is not quite a UI dream.
Oh boy… So few people have the product, it’s got to be great!
What does any of the above have to do with desktops? People stopped drooling over desktops when they could start doing the same things on laptops and mobile phones. It has nothing to do with “service providers”.
I can’t name a single CE or PC manufacturer that would kill for fewer SKUs or more rarity. And if Dell ever came out with its own UI, it would be a nightmare.
Somebody should just create a website that lists all of the idiotic hype and predictions and off-target analysis from media outlets/personalities like TechCrunch and CNBC, etc.
Anyone remember when TechCrunch lectured us on why Silverlight was going to change the world? Still waiting for that to happen.
This.
Great reply. To be fair, the completely limpness of “analysis” (if you can call it that) contained in this article is more likely due to John Biggs himself (TC’s weakest link), rather than TechCrunch the organization as a whole.
This is a terrible post:
********
“What do we know? It’s an HTC phone”
********
Point: Therefore Google is not making it, duh.
*******
“When service providers make hardware, they have a different set of priorities. They have a lower number of SKUs so their products have to be great. They control a lot of the software so the UI is great. They control the distribution so there’s a bit of the “rarity” and “early adopter” factor to consider. This sort of stuff is what CE and PC manufacturers would kill for – after all, when’s the last time you drooled over a desktop?”
*******
Are you naively unaware that there is a computer company out there that already does this?
So by your argument, since Apple doesn’t actually manufacture the iPhone, it’s not an Apple phone?
Will they launch at Mobile World Congress? Eric Schmidt is keynote at MWC this year whereas Ballmer is keynoting CES.
I agree with you
I just looked at my invite and found hes a keynote speaker
http://www.fonearena.com/blog/2009/12/13/will-the-google-phone-be-announced-at-mwc-2010.html
why to hype around just a phone!!!???
a phone is a phone and a phone ..period..made by google..made be blah blah..how does it REALLY help??
do you hear your wife or girlfriend Sweeter on a particular phone?? it’s the SPEAKER at the other end who matters not the STUPID Phone..
and by the way..I am sticking with my iPhone 3G (jailbroken) which beats ANY other phone in the market
iPhone as a device has LOTS of built in capabilities if unleashed from the restrictions it has been imposed..
Believe me, it has been an year and half of exploration and experimentation which has made my iPhone like NO OTHER phone in the market..
Includes turn by turn voice command GPS
it can take videos and can directly upload to wherever you want
it can stream videos to the web
camera can Zoom and can do the picture editings
it has unlimited Hard drive as it’s linked with laptop and Cloud
I have been doing SHOPPING on it and managing my money and small business
I am connected with around the world (yes I mean it)
I can even charge it in Air Plane!! so no battery issues..
I have iPhone connected 80″ widescreen eyewear which makes big screen tv useless
i can edit Word, excel etc on the go ..
Blah blah blah….
Did If I miss any thing?? you name it and I HAVE IT!
I CHALLENGE IF ANY OTHER PHONE CAN DO THIS OR MORE..
So no more chasing around ANY OTHER Phone..
What’s the hype in your comment? The iPhone is just another phone.
yes agree and iPhone is a really useful phone..even if you don’t like the speaker at the other end..you can do lot more with the phone!
Don’t forget you have real games.
oh yes..when I am bored with ALL the other stuff on iPhone..then I can play games too :)
…and can it do something which the N900 can’t? :-?
How can we feel safe with a Google phone, now knowing Google CEO Eric Schmidt Dismisses the Importance of Privacy: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/12/google-ceo-eric-schmidt-dismisses-privacy
I would have gotten a Google phone too if I didn’t just learn that Google is against the concept of privacy.
+1 +1 +1
Google Phone is on its way, loaded with Android –
http://www.machackpc.com/news/google-phone-is-on-its-way-loaded-with-android/
Stick your shitty blog where the sun don’t shine
Your shitty WordPress blog does not count as a start-up
It’s not Apple that should be worried. It’s Nokia. Apple doesn’t go for the largest piece of the pie, prefers the small but expensive one. For Nokia, it’s going to be hard to implement a smartphone strategy when the world is flooding with cheap Android devices.
The concept of cheap Android phones is not there yet. $199.- may be cheap in US, but take away the subsidy and see what price point that gets you. – Nokia knows that hence you will see Symbian^3 and Symbian^4 targetted to that segment (and remember this is a segment Nokia knows better than anybody). In fact if the trend towards selling unlocked phones continues, it is Nokia who benefits the most since that is a game they play well and they already have their price points aligned to that type of market and have been loathe to play by the US market rules of carrier lockdown and subsidy.
And guess why there will be only 1 Maemo device launch per year as announced by Nokia – that device is not for competing with the likes of Android.
Plus Samsung is now in the same low-price race with Bada. The Android camp doesn’t stand a chance against Samsung’s and Nokia’s logistical power.
They’re really not making hardware, they’re just putting their name on another company’s hardware. Not really a big thing.
And hardware has been getting commoditized for some time. It’s cheap and margins are low.
You miss the point of Goggle is designing the hardware..I think
Maybe I do. What do you mean designing it?
outsourcing the design to a team in italy maybe?
lets hope all this hype doesnt end up like the crunchpad disaster
I think your categorical statements about the success of hardware made by service providers is overbroad, Biggs. There have been some successes, but by and large I’d say that the companies that have the experience designing and manufacturing their own products do a much better job of it than other companies that try and get in to the business with one branded product. The reason is simple; they companies that are in the business of making hardware know all the tricks, all the problems that can come up, and can invest the resources to make sure that the products have a good chance of success. Sure, it doesn’t always work and there’s just as much crap coming out of Sony these days as there is good stuff, but under the right leadership and with the right people in place, companies like Dell can hit on all cylinders and crank out some great stuff.
Other retailers or service providers have a much harder time of it. Often, they’re working with outside design and manufacturing firms and the process breaks down because there’s too many ways that things can get lost in translation. Corners get cut. People have the opportunity to shift the work to someone else and say it’s their problem. Worse, many retailers and non-traditional hardware companies just buy stuff that is “off the shelf” from some Chinese manufacturer – something designed as a generic device to have a label slapped on it. That happens a lot even from hardware companies who are trying to get in to a new market. The absolute worst of course is when the company isn’t even involved, and instead their brand name has just been licensed for a product. In most of these cases, the hardware has much less of a chance of being good than if a hardware company took the time to make it, and make it right.
That’s what makes products like the Kindle such an unusual success. It’s not because it comes from a service company but despite it that we should consider it so highly. For every Kindle there are 10 (or maybe 100) Crunchpads that end up in one kind of disaster or another.
Could Google do a great job? Sure. They have the internal resources and relationships to make it work. HTC has clearly been a close partner in making sure that their vision of Android is executed at a high degree of elegance. But I wouldn’t yet say that the whole world will belong to Google, nor would I even say that I thought that Android’s success was guaranteed. A company like Google can easily forget about a project like Android that isn’t generating any revenue for them, and abandon it just as quickly as they have other projects.
To be fair, there are no official sales numbers for the Kindle. Absolutely agree with your last paragraph though.
Just what I wanted to hear, another possibly decent device on one of 2 spotty networks…
Last drooled over a desktop when the 8-core Mac Pro was announced.
Google is not making hardware, HTC is…
You asked “when’s the last time you drooled over a desktop?” I have naked women on my desktop and I’m drooling over it all the time.
As for the phone, think I’ll be sticking with my humble LG cookie for a while yet.
I don’t think Apple is too worried. IMO, its already too late. By the time this Google phone would hit the market there will already be what 50 maybe 100 million iPhones. That’s too far behind in market share. People aren’t gonna switch even if Google made a better phone. They really should stick to what they do best and leave the phones to Apple and Crackberry.
I am planning on switching to the Gphone or HTC bravo from the Iphone as soon as it comes out
By that same argument, Apple will never sell the iPhone, because by the time they came out with a phone (about 30 years after Nokia), it was already too late, because Nokia had already sold several billion phones.
The Moto RAZR was selling 50 million phones a year for a while, that doesn’t mean that it was too late for anyone to compete with Motorola. 50 million phones is really nothing, especially when you are talking about over several years (and at about 15 million phones a year, it will still be a bit before Apple hits 50 million).
Very intriguing indeed.
My first impression: How is Microsoft going to respond now that their most committed partner is getting even further in bed with their arch nemesis?
P.S. Got to agree with everybody else about the hyperbole. I am not an iPhone fan but it’s definitely safe for the time being.
I’m looking for and not finding any indication this is The Mythical Google Phone and not just a new HTC Android handset that’s coming out soon.
We heard about Google distributing Droids to employees pre-launch as well…
what a terrible post. no content and mere hype on Google. totally discredit TC.
Google phone or not, the Bravo aka Passion, which this post points to, is a sick phone.
It looks just like the HTC HD2; size-wise it’s in-between the HD2 and the Touch Pro 2. It’s basically a slimmed down HD2 with the same specs running Android 2.1 with a newer version of HTC Sense. What is there not to like?
Full specs below:
- Networks: WCDMA/HSPA: 900/2100 MHz; GPS/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz; UL=2 Mbps; DL=7.2Mbps
- Display: 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED capacitive touch screen
- Camera: 5 megapixel with Auto Focus with camera flash with High definition/720p Video capture
- Operating system: Android
- Input: touch screen
- CPU: Qualcomm QSD 8250, 1GHz
- Memory: 512MB flash, 256 MB RAM
- Memory card: microSD
- Storage: 16GB MicroSD card
- Connectivity: WiFi, AGPS, FM radio, 3.5mm audio jack, Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR, MicroUSB
- Battery: 1400 mAh
- Dimensions: 112 x 56 x 11.7 mm
- Other: Google Mobile Services, Microsoft Exchang e-mail, Facebook, Flick, Gompass, G-Sensor, Search boutton, Optical Joystick, DivX
So it doesn’t have any US 3G bands you say? (850/1900 at&t or 1700/2100 TMUS)
Read the post
I was replying to ‘G’, not the original post. He claims: ‘WCDMA/HSPA: 900/2100 MHz’, i.e. no US 3G bands. Thus his claimed specs might be generally wrong.
In my opinion Google wants to get into Mobile Business via some third party and looking at the cash and earnings and being a global leader its very much in their reach
I don’t think so.
Also Test Drive Android OS 2.0 Emulator on Windows.
http://www.zjtechlive.com/try-android-2-0-on-your-windows/
It is still an HTC phone, isn’t it? So how could you claim Google is entering into hardware space?
No Google isn’t making Hardware in this case, they’re contracting the phone out to HTC which makes the phone.
Still a big deal, but I defiantly see Google and Apple’s relationship getting worse, They’re now competing directly with Apple and every other vendor of a smart phone platform.
More pics please!!!!!
Man just like i thought. Google needed/ used companies like Samsung, Motorola, HTC, LG Sony Ericsson to develope AND! establish Android as a consumer recognised brand.
Now the Job is done and Google/ HTC will be the only one left to profit.
The other companies won´t get the extra Google (brand) love and are still damned to improve Android for free, or are hoping/ switching back to WinMo.
Lesson learned: If Google partners up with companies – in the end, only Google profits and some lucky guys like HTC, or AP (News).
Next one to bend over for Google is Ubuntu – helping to develope Chrome OS and when that is done, Google will release a full Desktop OS and Ubuntu will be left in the rain crying: “But hey wait, you promised to just make a Web OS?!?”
Don’t worry, with 0.5 % of the phone market Android is not a consumer recognized brand.
The Google Phone: This changes everything (mostly) = techcrunch Google fan boys
“When Dell launches a phone, it’s news. When Google launches a phone it’s a Moon Shot.”
- Techcrunch Google fan boys
It’s for Google employees only, to field test new Android features. Put your pants back on.
http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2009/12/android-dogfood-diet-for-holidays.html
Nobody in the Realworld cares about design and operating systems. Google wins because:
- their phone will be nearly free to acquire
- it will be nearly free to operate
- Google’s Voice, Talk, WAVE, QR Tags, Gizmo5/VOIP, free voice Navigation, etc. will all play together to create a device that is far more useful than something with a pretty Wholefoods App on it…
Do you think Google just sent out 100,000 QR Tags to local businesses last week on a lark? They are about to connect the World, to you, via their phones.
Behind all of this, Goog’s phone is the penultimate advertising machine, which is why they have been acquiring mobile ad platforms — it will be under the guise of useful information and Search…but, it will be where the best User targeted, geo-located ads will exist…it will make all other advertising inconsequential.
Where there is room and opportunity will be in the development of ad/brand content that flows through these pipes…there are unique ad formats that are emerging that can integrate with WAVE etc. — the companies who move into that space should do quite well for the long run (compared to iPhone App developers who have a very short window to survive).
It is a great opportunity for mobile advertising development, that’s where my money would go if I had any.
How could they ever give it away for free? Making $1000 in ad revenue per user is not something Google has achieved so far. Even in the US, overall ad spending across all channels from Radio to billboards to papers to TV to sponsoring to Internet is just $150-$200 billion per year, or $500 to $700 per person. It’s just impossible for Google to grab all that and double it. And the thought alone is scary.