What Microsoft did for personal computers with Windows, Google- through its recently-announced Android- is planning to do for mobile phones. However, Apple has already stolen a march on Google with its ground-breaking user interface on the iPhone, which has arguably changed the way people interact on mobile phones. Good as it is, it’s still far from taking the desktop experience to mobile phone users. The primary reasons for this are a lack of open standards-interoperable platforms, hardware, software and the control of content by carriers. Google is all set to address just these issues with Android.
Object of attention
The humble mobile platform is today abuzz; it is emerging as probably the single platform with the most potential for innovation, new technologies, new business models and user experiences. Google realized this quite a while ago when it acquired the young start-up, Android, way back in 2005. But it couldn’t build a product and ecosystem around it, and the rumours of a Gphone floated around for quite some time. However, what Google seems to be doing is vision-oriented. It is building a new platform, based on Linux, and supported by the open source community and alliance partners.
What should a platform do? A mobile phone primarily serves four purposes-listening to music, watching video, browsing the internet and taking pictures. The weakest function is Internet accessibility and rich content document manipulation. The limits of what you can do with your mobile phone are dictated by the carriers, and the availability of hardware and software to enable new features. Carriers charge heavily for Internet connectivity, which is further constrained buy a usage cap and low speeds. What’s more, the browser and other applications for mobile phones are not that rich. Here, the iPhone’s Safari browser may set new trends that state how a mobile should look, and perform.
The need of the hour
But what challenges might Google face by coming out with its own platform. Here, we need to understand the complexity of the mobile industry. On the one hand are mobile operators who offer a set of services known as VAS (value-added services). Effectively using these services largely depends on the kind of handsets users have- this is one of the reasons most of the telecom players tie up with hardware manufactures and offer locked handsets. RIM’s Blackberry is a good example of the need for a customized handset to use the full range of services.
On the other hand, the irony with major hardware vendors is that even if they do induct a feature or piece of hardware in their devices, it is rendered moot if the operator doesn’t offer services that use it. Nokia’s N92, which has the capability to run TV programmes, as well as new 3g handsets, are some examples of such helpless handsets.
Google not only understand this, but also wants to in jet its revenue generation machine, advertisements into this lucrative market. Natural, the company wanted to ensure that its platform had support from both hardware manufacturers and carriers. That is why the alliance comprises not only player like HTC and Qualcomm, but also carriers such as Sprint and T-mobile, so that Android’s features would actually be usable by customers.
This may get the two components of the telecom world- carriers and hardware manufacturers- in better sync to deliver the full potential of the device to users. Google also knows that its platform will depend heavily on connectivity or carriers – which are one of the reason why it is also bidding for the wireless spectrum to be auctioned in the US, next year. The spectrum will allow Google to offer services, bundled with its advertisements to customers, and also get other carriers to use its model.
An industry observer, who refuses to be named, feels that Google might even offer almost ‘free’ connectivity and calls, with ad revenues covering costs. It would be more like a ‘free to air channel’, or free e-mail, chat or blog services. Google WiFi, a free wireless Internet service that the company offers to the city of Mountain View, is an example of the city of Mountain View, is an example of what Google is capable of doing. And if that is what Google is planning with mobile phones, Apple’s iPhone is nowhere near being ready to face the competition Google is going to throw at them.
Greatest expectations: User experience
Technologically, Google’s platform is based on a specialized Linux operating system. The company has reportedly worked hard to address all the requirements from hardware to software-device drivers, middleware and applications. Its browser is based on the same web kit that Safari is based on, so it is poised to offer an excellent Web browsing experience. Packet Video is the force behind its music, and video-playback software. Since the applications will be built by the open source community and third parties, the user experience will be much richer than what is available today. The platform will be available for a diverse range of hardware, whether with multitouch screens, QWERTY keyboards or RIM-like devices.
Thus the direct competition would be with the revolutionary iPhone. That gets interesting, as Google’s CEO, Dr Eric Schmidt, is on Apple’s board of directors. One wonders how comfortable Apple and Google will be after this, considering that Apple is not an alliance partner for Android. Microsoft and Nokia are also not part of the alliance-the primary reason being that they already have competing platforms.
Interoperable mobile phones
One big reason Google’s Android may re-write the mobile OS space is that the already available OSs for mobile phones have stagnated. Interoperability is another major issue when it comes to reaping the full benefit of these devices. Every mobile hardware has its own firmware, and supports various file formats, depending on the licence agreements they have. The games or movies that I can run on my Nokia N73 may not run on the N95, leave alone Motorola or Sony handsets. So, what is needed are some open standards for the mobile platform as well. Well, here comes Google! Being an outsider to the mobile industry, Google would definitely think of something that traditional mobile players failed to offer.
Why are mobile Phones bound to replace laptops?
Today, more and more people are using their mobile devices to access the Internet. Executives use the Blackberry far more than their bulky laptops. Google is seemingly trying to optimize the usage of these smart mobile phones and do for mobiles what Microsoft did for desktop PCs. But people still have apprehensions when you say that the mobile phone may replace laptops, since it’s hard to imagine a mobile phone giving you the capability and the flexibility that a laptop offers. Thankfully, this effect is not as dramatic as it could have been had gadgets like the iPhone or iPod Touch not hit the market.
Now, reading PDFs, editing documents and spreadsheets, creating presentations or even using heavy suites like Photoshop or the GIMP on your mobile phones will be an easy task, owing to increasing screen sizes and the interfaces iPhone is offering. You can easily put a 3.5 inch (8.9 cm) small screen in your pocket, given that you’re probably comfortable carrying a wallet of the same size. Interestingly, a recent survey conducted by Panasonic revealed that 70 percent of laptop users feel uncomfortable stowing their laptops in the overhead bins of airplanes. Imagine carrying a mobile device with the same capabilities in your trouser pocket! Come to think of it, you’d no longer need to carry a bulky laptop around, and your lap is now free for more interesting occupants.
Did you say something about bulky applications and processing speed? With the iPod letting you carry 160 GB of data, storage and installation of heavy applications will not be an issue. Intel’s initiative on Mobile Internet Devices may in future, merge with mobile phones and offer desktop-level computing power on these miniature devices.
There’s only one nagging worry, though-isn’t Google a rather late entrant in this domain, with Microsoft’s Windows Mobile, RIM and Symbian already enjoying a huge market share? The windows experience suggests it’s quite hard to replace the present platform. Think what you may, but to a great extent, the most-used platform always becomes a standard. Then again, iPhone’s entry has opened new fronts in the mobile space. So, we’ll need to wait and see whether Google’s Android will be able to put the desktop in our pockets!.
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