Cell Phone Reviews, News and Blog

If you weren't the first geek on your block with an iPhone, don't despair. There's still time to get in line for the GPhone.

That's G, as in Google.

Still warm from this summer's rollout of the stylish Apple iPhone, the Internet hype machine is whipping itself into a new frenzy over a mobile device that Google may -- or may not -- have up its sleeve.

Stealing a page from Apple's playbook, the search engine king is mum -- fueling the kind of rabid speculation that money can't buy.

Over at Engadget, a Web site for gadgeteers, they've been saying a Google announcement is imminent. Citing "inside sources" at Google, podcaster Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins claims the new phone is conceived more as a cheap wireless computer than as a threat to traditional cellular providers.

Some accounts suggest the GPhone will run a modified version of the Linux operating system, with a new Web browser and GPS location technology married to Google Maps and search applications.

And unlike the pricey iPhone, Google's device or its phone service may be free -- with a bombardment of ads.

"Google doesn't comment on rumor or speculation," is all Google spokesperson Erin Fors will say about any of this.

Here's what is known for sure: Google, which reaped $10.6 billion in revenues last year selling search-related ads online, sees mobile phones as the next frontier.

And with good reason: Research firm Frost & Sullivan predicts the U.S. market for mobile ads will jump from $301 million in 2006 to more than $2 billion in 2011. Another research firm, Gartner Inc., expects the figure will approach $4 billion in North America and nearly $15 billion globally.

Mobile versions of Google Maps, Gmail and Google's YouTube video-sharing site already are available.

Meanwhile, Google has lobbied the Federal Communications Commission to set aside a valuable swath of broadcast frequencies for "open access," freeing consumers to use any device or software they choose for interactive services.

That's the opposite of the iPhone business model, which restricts users to AT&T services. Google is poised to bid billions of dollars for these frequencies, indicating a desire to offer wireless services or partner with others.

Late last month, Google filed for a patent on a mobile phone payment method. Dubbed "GPay," it would enable consumers to buy items from vending machines and retailers using text messages.

Google's acquisitions include Android, a mobile software startup co-founded by an inventor of T-Mobile's flashy Sidekick cell phone.

"Simpler" and less flashy than the iPhone, the GPhone sports a small BlackBerry-style keyboard instead of iPhone's touch-screen, according to unnamed entrepreneurs quoted by The Boston Globe. The paper said a wireless expert from Google's Cambridge lab has shown a prototype to Boston venture capitalists.

Famed for its "Don't Be Evil" credo, Google has legions of fans drawn to such free innovations as Google Earth, offering fly-bys of the earth and sky.

But "cool" alone won't cut it in the fiercely competitive world of wireless, analysts say.

"Unless they show some key differentiation points -- like really strong distribution -- I would not advise going into this market," says Tole Hart, Gartner's research director.

Greg Blonder, a partner at Morgenthaler Ventures in Summit and former chief technical adviser at AT&T, says Google's challenge is cracking the vast local ad market -- the countless pizzerias and nail salons that together rival national advertisers in size, but are harder to serve in a cost-effective way.

Blonder says Google must generate $25 a month per subscriber from advertisers to eke profits from GPhone if there is no charge for the phone or service. He calculates that means subjecting subscribers to 2,500 ads per month -- nearly 100 per day.

"The key is to engage the customer on the phone for at least two hours a day," with a Web browser, games or music player, Blonder says via e-mail.

He says the tricky part is converting free calls into paid calls, when users fail to view enough ads.

Despite the sketchy details, Blonder feels sure Google will take the plunge.

"Google will not cede half the advertising market to a competitor. Period. Since they cannot broker acceptable deals with carriers, they believe they have no other solution than to create their own physical presence with hardware and spectrum."


» via NJ
» author: Kevin Coughlin may be reached at kcoughlin@starledger.com or (973) 392-1763.