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Re: Google Phone Might Be Free, Linux-based AND Open (OpenMoko Rumours)

Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
> ____/ John Bailo, Texeme.Construct on Tuesday 07 August 2007 08:24 : \____
> 
>> On Aug 6, 8:21 pm, Roy Schestowitz <newsgro...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>> Google Using OpenMoko For gPhone?
>>>
>>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>> | A friendly penguin has told us at Phoronix that Google is looking to team
>>> | up with OpenMoko for their "gPhone".
>> 
>> I have to go with Google on this one.
>> 
>> A great idea and a revenue winner for them.
>> 
>> Especially when their Wimax network with Sprint and Clearwire gets
>> built, meaning everything can go VoIP.
> 
> They are clearly putting some bits and pieces together, even if acquisitions
> are required (see OP). It'll be interesting, but it'll also run many small
> companies out of business. I still keep wondering how Eric Schmidt fits into
> this picture. He was boasting about his iPhone, which he received before
> everyone else. He's also on Apple's board, so there's a conflict of roles as
> far as phones go.
> 

I wonder just what revenue Google are after, there, though.  As things
stand, almost no google users talk to other google users, and if they do
so, the chances are that it's quicker and cheaper to use a landline.  If
you use a computer, you have to boot it up and so on, although once it's
up you can try for a VoIP connection, although they are not all that
reliable, due to the lack of proper 3-mode networking in most things
(oddly, except 2G and 3G phones, which support 3-mode networking very
well indeed, but the audio stream is directed to the circuit-switched
mobile networks).

So what advantage to Google is there here?  You can use wifi to make
calls, but then you can do that now anyway, although it's arguable that
the N800 doesn't make it all that easy, and that a more "dedicated"
device could improve the user experience from the point of view of call
setup.  

Call quality during the call will be the usual VoIP best effort, though,
which might be terrible, or it might not.  It'll probably vary during
the call, too.

Any calls which Google punters push via the traditional operators will
not make any money for Google, unless and this is the *big* unless, they
get agreement to take a margin on that for themselves, so we get a new
concept, the "google" tax.  It'll be like the Microsoft tax on PCs, but
it would be a google tax on phone calls.

So, I remain a little unsure as to their game plan with respect to
calls.

Personally, I think they want a device which people can carry around
with them which will enable them to connect to google and view ads
wherever they are.  Again, perhaps google will reach a deal for 2.5G and
3G data delivery of their adverts to the phones?  That could work.

-- 
| Mark Kent   --   mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk          |
| Cola faq:  http://www.faqs.org/faqs/linux/advocacy/faq-and-primer/   |
| Cola trolls:  http://colatrolls.blogspot.com/                        |
| My (new) blog:  http://www.thereisnomagic.org                        |

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