Exclusive: Google to Crash Android Party

NEW YORK (TheStreet) — Move over, Apple (AAPL Quote), Research In Motion (RIMM Quote) and Motorola (MOT Quote), Google (GOOG Quote) is jumping into the smartphone market with an Android phone of its own.

In what is likely to be seen as disruptive to the wireless status quo, Google is working with a smartphone manufacturer to have a Google-branded phone available this year through retailers and not through telcos, according to Northeast Securities analyst Ashok Kumar, who has talked to Google’s design partners about the plan.

The move would fulfill Google’s pledge to bring a new generation of open-standard mobile Internet devices to consumers. By bypassing the carriers, who keep tight controls over the features and applications that are allowed on phones, Google will presumably offer a device that lets users determine the functions.

Both the Chrome netbook and the Android phone will use Qualcomm (QCOM Quote) chips, with the netbook running on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform, says Kumar, who has discussed the plan with original design manufacturers working with Google.

If talk of the Google phone plan is true, the entrance of a unlocked, low-cost, Web-friendly touchscreen device will probably undercut other Android phone efforts by players like Motorola, Samsung and Dell (DELL Quote).

Motorola’s entire turnaround strategy is based on the Android operating system. The company is expected to announce a ultra-thin Droid phone at Verizon (VZ Quote) next month. Both Verizon and Motorola expect the Sholes/Droid phone to be a significant challenger to Apple’s iPhone.

 

Skeptics point out that Google might have a hard time getting the phone out in time for the holidays, since it typically takes a year or more to bring a phone from design to production.

Industry analysts also argue that the move would be an affront to the U.S. carriers like Verizon, AT&T, Sprint (S Quote) and Deutsche Telekom’s (DT Quote) T-Mobile, outfits that have been supporting the Android effort by selling or planning to sell subsidized devices.

“It’s a bit of a departure from Google’s strategy, but I think the speculation is valid,” says Michael Cote of the Cote Collaborative. And as for getting the phone to the market quickly, Google “would probably use a partner they are familiar with.”

HTC, the first developer of an Android phone, is also a no stranger to Qualcomm chips and would be the most likely manufacturer able to give Google what it wanted fast.

If Google goes through with the plan, it would point to how eager the Internet ad giant is to get Android in as many hands as possible so it can extend its search business beyond desktop computers to mobile devices. Going around phone companies to reach consumers is a bold move, but Google no doubt sees the wireless Internet market as a land-grab race with Apple, Nokia (NOK Quote) and Microsoft (MSFT Quote).

Google also has plans with computer maker Quanta to build its own netbooks that will run on a Linux-based Google Chrome operating system and be available next summer, says Kumar.

Representatives for Google, HTC and Quanta were not immediately available for comment.

Google shares were down 0.8% to $547.78 in recent trading.

[Solar Phone Teardown] Charging Performance Tested [Part 2]

Jun 25, 2009 17:30 Nikkei Electronics Teardown Squad

The Solar Phone SH002

Our test was conducted on a sunny day.

We started charging the battery when the remaining battery power was zero. The icon of “optimal charging” was shown on the electronic paper.

The angle of the handset to the sun was changed so that it received less light. The icon of “charging” appeared.

In the shade, the icon of “solar power unavailable” was shown.

After 40 minutes of charging, the icon of “one-minute talk time” was seen.

After 60 minutes of charging, three-minute talk time became available.

After 85 minutes of charging, the icon of “five-minute talk time” appeared.

Continued from [Solar Phone Teardown] Sharp Debuts Solar-powered Handset [Part 1]

Nikkei Electronics Teardown Squad started to examine the performance of the solar cell module, which is mounted on the rear chassis of the Solar Phone SH002 as its main feature.

According to KDDI, when charged for about 10 minutes in fine weather, the mobile phone provides approximately one minute of voice call or two hours of standby time (See related article). Therefore, we charged the handset by using the solar cell module before disassembling it.

We began charging the battery at noon June 7, 2009. Though some clouds were seen in the sky, it was nice and fine.

As for the evaluation method for the solar cell module, the SH002 has a function to show information on the status of charging on its 1.1-inch black-and-white electronic paper mounted on the rear chassis. When the module is being used, its charging efficiency is shown in four levels, “optimal charging,” “charging,” “charging stopped” and “solar power unavailable.”

When the power is off, the SH002 indicates an estimate of available talk time up to five minutes. So, we started charging the battery when the remaining battery power was zero and stopped it when an icon appeared to indicate that five-minute or more talk time is available. And we measured the time it took.

First, we exposed the handset to sunlight. Because it was a sunny day, the icon of “optimal charging” was shown on the electronic paper. On the seal attached to the solar cell module, there were messages such as “Do not leave it in high-temperature places like in a car. It could lead to heat generation, ignition, deformation and breakdown.”

Though we believe that the layout was sufficient for the experiment, it might not meet recommended conditions. In fact, when the angle of the module to the sun was changed, the icons of “charging” and “solar power unavailable” appeared.

In the experiment, the icon indicating one-minute talk time was not displayed even after 10 minutes of charging. In the end, it took about 40 minutes for one-minute talk time, 60 minutes for three-minute talk time and 85 minutes for five-minute talk time.

In other words, to have talk time of one minute, it took several times longer than 10 minutes, the charging time Sharp announced. Considering the light intensity and the angle to the sun, the results might be reasonable. In fact, KDDI and Sharp define the solar cell module as an auxiliary power source. The module will be useful when it is not possible to use an AC adapter to charge the handset, for example, outdoors.

We finished checking the charging function of the solar cell module and started to tear down the chassis.

Mobinttechno : being linkedin is just a thought

Didn’t find what you’re looking for in the tech world? heard some tech rumours that you would like to know more about? this is the place to go. Whether it be mobile content & services trends or plain old tech gossip, Mobinttechno fills you in on the upcoming latest & finest. A thumbs up for my lifelong friend & fellow brainstormer Abdelhamid (Meedo) Abdella.

Between Virtuoso and Mobinttechno, you are guaranteed to be informed, entertained and even allowed to brag to your friends on sizzlin’ hot tech stuff, because if you read it from us, you read it first!

Be sure to come back to us for more splashes from the big raging tech wave.

And remember, with all the virtuality and digitality spinning around us, keep your reality in check.

Rey

Mobile Services – Let the fun begin!

iPhone AppStore, Android Market, Nokia Ovi, and thousands of AppStores from third parties are being opened worldwide. That is the no-limit entertainment, that is going to go mass-market in the following 2 years. Mobile applications and services on mobile web are slowly becoming a dominant feature of these platforms, and soon will become a standard of every mobile phone sold. This means that any phone sold in the next quarters will be a browsing and mobile service phone. Subsequently, there is a higher and higher chance that every time a new phone is sold, that a new mobile services user was just born. With the iPhone, it’s definitely like that, and if there is something that we can’t take from Apple it is that they have supported this heavily.

Mobile internet and mobile services have risen in the last year, probably the most since the 10 year history of GSM mobile phones. We are talking about an uptake that has led to mobile web outnumbering the number of people on the normal internet in many countries in Europe (i.e. Nordic Countries) and Asia . This is massive. Mobile phones are used more and more in every day life, but not for calling and messaging, but for rich services, that generate more and more interesting content.

Imagine a world fully connected with mobile applications that make it easy to check your Facebook, that  fully cross-connect your contacts in your phone to the ones on your PC. Imagine your calendar has all social features, which means you can immediately share it with your friends, and they can come to your event. Or if you are just hanging around outside somewhere, you just simply search a nearby restaurant, which your best friend recommended to go to a week ago, and they just have the best Sushi in town.

Those are the types of things people will be doing with their phone daily, and many of them are already playing with it. The truth is though, that these technologies are still not adopted by a sizeable population of users, and there is still some extensive work to do on the UI and GUI side of the mobile phones, and both the applications and thus work for their vendors.

I think, we are living in the most amazing times of mobile phones truly coming into our lives. Mobile phones bundled with data tarrifs for 12 months for free, mobile data capping arriving, and mobile services to come as a mass dominator of communication. Look at companies like Skype, eBuddy, Google, Yahoo, Facebook – all entering the mobile space with one key goal – attract as many people as they can to their mobile services – and they are slowly succeeding. Google Maps are the only usable mobile maps in many territories, and Nokia’s Navteq will have issues making a compelling offering for normal people usage in their daily mobile lives. All of those applications are downloadable for free, and many even don’t include advertising. Those who do and are ad-funded, are usually ad-funded through companies such as Admob, who are doing a great job on the monetisation part.

So what is your opinion? What mobile services will kick ass in 2009 and onwards? What mobile service are you looking for? We’ve asked our opinion leaders that question this week, and let’s see what they reply.

This is an exciting time for mobile, and an exciting time for users – who will have better access to information, anywhere they are.

What if… Google bought Nokia

What if Google bought Nokia? Thats something to consider . The two largest companies – one in the internet space, and one in the mobile space.

Nokia deploys more mobile phones than some candy companies release new candy bars. Nokia releases more diversified phones than any brand in the world. On the other hand we have Google, that currently releases only high-end devices with their Android operating system. So what would happen, if these companies were to merge?

• Google would become the largest digital company providing services and even hardware in the world
• Nokia would restructure, possibly sell Symbian, and Android would become the dominant operating system
• Android for low-end phones would be presented, and would thus start fragmenting on the market and do what other platforms have done.
• Google would become the largest supplier of mobile search for a long time to come
• Android would take over 30 % of the market share within 2 years
• Google would polish its mobile social networks heavily, and interconnect them with all search, search with friends, etc.
• Google Lattitude would be a native feature of the phones
• Google would integrate all Nokias web services
• Android Market and OVI would immediately merge
• The largest mobile and web company in the world would be formed, with no competition whatsoever in any area of expertise they would do

So what do you think? What if Google bought Nokia?

Digital Behemoth

Fanta’s new mobile app, the Stealth Sound System

Ogilvy Advertising has devised a ground-breaking mobile phone application for Fanta that allows the brands’ younger consumers to communicate with each other without adults hearing.

Downloadable from www.m.fanta.eu, the application, called the Fanta Stealth Sound system, uses high-pitched frequencies that are only audible to consumers under about the age of 20. It features sound tags such as wolf-whistles, warnings and pssts, along with other tags representing traditional words and phrases such as “cool”, “uncool” and “let’s get out of here”.

Fanta Stealth Sound System is being launched Europe-wide, supported by PR, viral, print and on-line advertising, on-pack promotions and POS materials.

The sound tags have been developed by electronic music pioneer and digital music guru Martyn Ware, who founded both Heaven 17 and The Human League.

The idea for the application combines Fanta’s brand vision of creating “more play” with the insight that teenagers never like to be separated from their friends or their mobiles – and like to talk freely without being overheard by adults.

Ogilvy Advertising has plans for upgrades and an interface where stealth sounds can be made on a mixing program and downloaded to mobile phones, enabling users to create their own custom sound tags.

Coca-Cola Europe Interactive Marketing Manager, Prinz M. Pinakatt, said: “Mobile phones are teenagers’ most prized and most personal tool, therefore by offering this innovative and fun application Fanta will be invited into their personal space and thus foster relationships on a whole new level.  This new focus on providing entertaining digital content also fits perfectly with the Fanta brand vision to create ‘more play’ in the world.”

Useful Noise