Telstra has revealed the addition of almost one million new mobile services in the six months to December 2011, but Sensis revenues plummeted 24 percent in 12 months.
They may not be as pretty as the Apple iPhone but new Google mobile phones will not be tied exclusively to one carrier, they'll operate on 3G networks, they'll come in multiple form factors and best of all they may offer free subscriptions funded solely by advertising.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal ,
Google already has phones under development which could reach the US
market within a year and is holding serious talks with both handset
manufacturers and carriers to offer Google branded phones. The phones
will be customised to feature Google products including search, email
and new Google web browser developed specifically for mobile phones.
According to the WSJ, Google has already spent hundreds of millions of
dollars on the project and prototypes of the new phones look similar to
slim Nokia phones with a slide-out keyboard, as well as other models
that look similar to Blackberry or Treo smartphones.
The report also states that Google intends for its phones to have
cameras, Wi-Fi and be built to work on fast 3G networks. In other
words, Google wants to maximize the mobile Internet experience for
users so that it can maximize its mobile online advertizing
opportunities.
Google has already declared its intention to be a serious player in the
mobile communications business, one way or another. The search leader
has signaled its intention to be a bidder for a slice of mobile
wireless spectrum in the 700MHz band. As the WSJ points out in its
report, some US mobile carriers have not in the past been enthusiastic
about the prospect of incorporating Google search into phones on their
networks because Google demands a large slice of the advertising
revenue. However, other carriers, such as Deutsche Telekom subsidiary
T-Mobile USA, may be ready to talk turkey.
An interesting aspect of Google's plans is its relationship with Apple,
which has just entered the mobile business with iPhone. Both companies
have a number of common directors, including Google CEO, Eric Schmidt.
Descriptions of the Google phone's ad-supported free subscription
multi-carrier business model make it sound like the antithesis to
iPhone with its money up front plus two-year subscriptions with
AT&T.
It is not clear if Google would open up its phones to third party
developers but it appears likely given the company's present online
policies.
If serious competition did arise between Google and Apple in the mobile
phone space, it would tempting to think of the battle as being
reminiscent of Microsoft and Apple in the desktop space. However, the
analogy would be superficial. In the cell phone handset space, both
companies are relative minnows compared to the likes of Nokia and
Motorola. Nokia currently sells more phones in 10 days than Apple is
hoping to sell in the coming year.
David Bass
| For the fourth year in a row, IDC has placed content security provider Websense (NASDAQ: WBSN) at the top of the IDC Worldwide Web Security 2011 –…
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