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October 31, 2007

Google Tries To Land Mobile Phone Deals With Sprint, Verizon . . . Anyone

Erick Schonfeld

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googleogo1.gifIf things go well, we might finally see that Gphone by the middle of next year. Google is in heated talks with wireless carriers in the U.S., including Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, (and Vodafone internationally) to carry the Gphone, reports the WSJ. Google already competes (and cooperates) with some of these carriers. It recently fought with Verizon, for instance, over the rules of the upcoming 700 Mhz wireless spectrum auctions, while it is partnering with Sprint on its upcoming Wimax network. The only carrier not mentioned is AT&T, which carries the iPhone.

When the Gphone does come out, chances are that there won’t be just one Gphone, but many. In the next two weeks, Google is also expected, says the WSJ, “to announce new software and services that handset makers could use to build customized Google-powered phones.” Just as in social networking, Google wants to make mobile phones an open platform that developers can build lots of applications on top of. We may very well see a mobile 2.0 platform war brewing between the Gphone, the iPhone, Windows Mobile, and Nokia’s Ovi.

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  1. Mr. Stanley Russell Dudek

    October 31st, 2007 at 7:49 am

    So, if the GPhone will be more of a Mobile phone OS, then will I at one point be able to run the GPhone software on my phone, regardless of my carrier?

    Or will I have to buy a pre-branded, carrier specific GPhone to use it?

  2. RaoLin

    October 31st, 2007 at 7:49 am

    i think they should try with Tmobile. tmobile is the only reputed company in the market

  3. Rajeev

    October 31st, 2007 at 7:57 am

    Good for google to expand in a profitable sunrise telecom handset segment.

    http://tekno-world.blogspot.com

  4. ed

    October 31st, 2007 at 7:57 am

    That’s all we need is to have the AD MONGER pound the mobile channel!

    The applications where I would like the ads based on GPS are FAR outweighed by all the crap.

    Everything the AD MONGER does is ultimately about getting consumer insights and pushing out ads.

    Many folks here love the idea because it increases their revenue ops, but most consumers think it sucks.

  5. Alexis Brion

    October 31st, 2007 at 7:57 am

    I’ve heard so many times that T-Mobile so good in the US is… here at home, Germany, T-Mobile has such a bad service…

    You are lucky guys :)

  6. Khan Tasinga

    October 31st, 2007 at 8:02 am

    “We may very well see a mobile 2.0 platform war brewing between the Gphone, the iPhone, Windows Mobile, and Nokia’s Ovi.”

    One would think that RIM, with the BlackBerry, should be part of this discussion as well…

  7. dale

    October 31st, 2007 at 8:23 am

    They are starting to get there hands into to many things and not focusing on there business.

  8. Andrew Wise

    October 31st, 2007 at 8:24 am

    Now I wonder if Google is going to go for the same market as Apple, with the consumer based device.

    If it’s really true that Apple will be releasing, new, more powerful iPhones (business-class devices), then it would be interesting timing to see the two Titans go to battle together.

    Why oh why can’t anyone match Blackberry’s seamless PUSH network and combine it with the grace and features of an iPhone???

    As far as T-mobile goes, unless Google is going to wait for their 3G network to roll-out, they sure better find a faster way to deliver content than the current EDGE offering, puh!

  9. Dan Schawbel

    October 31st, 2007 at 8:50 am

    gPhone vs iPhone? Who will win?

  10. D.L.

    October 31st, 2007 at 8:51 am

    They should just buy Sprint.

  11. Richard Corsale

    October 31st, 2007 at 8:55 am

    ok lets add Google to the techcrunch dead pool

  12. Erik

    October 31st, 2007 at 9:08 am

    Google should buy Sprint/Nextel (market cap ~40 billion).

    Sell off the long distance business, keep the wireless business.

  13. Ryan

    October 31st, 2007 at 9:20 am

    please Verizon! your phones suck!

  14. Chris

    October 31st, 2007 at 9:23 am

    It won’t be the gPhone, it will be the gOS powering web 3.0.

    “Hello Windows 95!”

    If I was Google, I would pimp up my own version of Charles Petzold to write the first book for the platform.

    “Hello gOS 08!”

    They should get somebody superior to Jay Leno to do their launch party, and have Bob Cringley on hand as the witness in true Roman emperor style.

  15. airj1012

    October 31st, 2007 at 9:25 am

    @1. I really don’t understand all this hype. Isn’t the “gPhone” an OS? Why choose a carrier? And then that means it wouldn’t be a competition between iPhone and gPhone. Someone enlighten me.

  16. HMC Alum

    October 31st, 2007 at 9:29 am

    Don’t worry Europeans, T-Mobile service sucks in the US, too.

  17. Chris

    October 31st, 2007 at 9:29 am

    I bet you anything gOS phones/mobile devices will have ethernet, vga and other mini-ports on the bottom, and will dock in a cradle such as this
    http://www.slashgear.com/hard-.....228087.php
    But with firewire, USB and other KVM style ports, where the miniports on the phone expand to full size ports on the dock to plug in standard peripherals.

    Then the gOS phone/mobile devices will completely power your LCD monitor, keyboard, and your mouse. Making the same phone you use on the go, your home computer. And making workstations fully personalized. This is how Google will annihilate Microsoft for good.

  18. Renato Agrella

    October 31st, 2007 at 9:34 am

    Is Google creating a phone for the masses? That is what any big player should be doing right now.

  19. Mr. Stanley Russell Dudek

    October 31st, 2007 at 9:36 am

    @15: I agree.

    If the Google offering is an OS, it should work on any smart phone or PDA-style mobile phone, regardless of carrier, right? Just like a Windows Mobile phone isn’t on only one service provider’s phones.

    OTOH

    If the “GPhone” involves specific hardware, it’s a whole other story, I’d suppose, and I can see the need for lobbying for a carrier.

  20. airj1012

    October 31st, 2007 at 9:40 am

    @19: I think a lot of people are misinformed or are confused about this matter. Some people think its an OS war, which would be against Windows Mobile and then others think it’s a hardware war against the iPhone.

    Someone needs to create a very CLEAR article that shows the truth. Or maybe the problem is that there is so much speculation that the truth is still unknown. This comment might be directed to the admins of TechCrunch.

  21. Commoditize your Complement

    October 31st, 2007 at 10:06 am

    Goog’s strategy in IM, Mobile, Social Networking and
    desktop markets (where
    it lags the leaders) is — commoditize them via open-source sw/apis.

    In response, Microsoft (and others) would have to
    commoditize ad-serving — in particular ad-sense — ie
    create an open-source and transparent ad-serving network
    (contextual/behavioral/banner).

  22. Andy

    October 31st, 2007 at 10:48 am

    @17: Especially since I have left all of my desktop applications behind and rely heavily on Gdocs, mail, reader, notepad for most of my work life. I suppose a phone with a few hundred mhz should be able to support the webapp lifestyle. I could dig that, someday…

  23. Rajan Tawate

    October 31st, 2007 at 11:00 am

    So finally is it really…really …really confirmed that GPhone is not just a rumour.

    http://www.meetingflex.com
    Social Networking + Video - Crap

  24. image

    October 31st, 2007 at 11:05 am

    Skype is also in the race; http://file2fone.com/blog/mobi...../#comments

  25. Chris

    October 31st, 2007 at 11:23 am

    @22, That someday is sooner than you think. This is the revolution that will finally wipe out most of the things that tether us to our Desks. This is the next BIG computing revolution of the 21rst century.

  26. Chris

    October 31st, 2007 at 11:41 am

    “I suppose a phone with a few hundred mhz should be able to support the webapp lifestyle.”
    The iPhone does it today. It just doesn’t have the miniports or docking cradle.
    Apple doesn’t freely license their mobile OS, and neither does MS, plus WinCE just sucks monkey butt.
    That’s why this is going to be pretty darn big.

  27. Aziz

    October 31st, 2007 at 11:51 am

    I dont even think that this is going to be a full OS, I think this will just be an application suite .. like the Google Pack .. but for mobile phones .. probably, it will run on existing OSs .. and thats why they are talking to the carriers and not manufacturers ..

  28. Jesus H Christ

    October 31st, 2007 at 12:45 pm

    This will be googles biggest power play. Having a standardized OS for cell phones will give developers the ability to build real cross platform apps.

  29. yasam

    October 31st, 2007 at 2:39 pm

    nice article

  30. yasam

    October 31st, 2007 at 2:40 pm

    serach through this site http://lapnol.blogspot.com you might get info related to google in mobiles

  31. Stu

    October 31st, 2007 at 2:42 pm

    “Having a standardized OS for cell phones… to build real cross platform apps.”

    Hmm…I don’t think you know what your talking about.

  32. Velioncho

    October 31st, 2007 at 3:11 pm

    With ipods and ipohone, Apple succeeded because they are able to blend technology,easy interface and style/fashion so nicely. All thes three aspects are equally important for an expensive consumer gadget.If technology is good, interface is good but the fashion aspect sucks, then it would fail.

    No matter how good the software features, if looks are not “wow”, I simply wont buy it.

  33. David Mackey

    October 31st, 2007 at 5:45 pm

    I think Google should back an open platform such as OpenMoko. Hopefully they will at least make their phone very open, as opposed to some of their more closed if still altruistic (in some sense) products.

  34. Chan

    November 1st, 2007 at 9:59 pm

    Very interesting and useful. This is really great.

  35. Ilene

    November 3rd, 2007 at 8:51 am

    Andy, if you rely heavily on Gdocs, mail, reader, notepad for most of your work life, what do you do about security?

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