The Google Phone - What Next ?

    About an year back, I blogged about Google Phone.. Quite a few developments have happened in this area after that..And a few days before, Google came up with its first Android based phone , manufactured by HTC.. 

      Quite a few of the applications in this G-phone or G1 happens to be similar to what I thought about last year.. quoting Larry Magid's article,

"there is already an application called iSkoop that lets you make free or inexpensive international and domestic calls using Skype".. -- This is a key point to Google's overall strategy..10  years later ( or maybe even before that ),  G-phone will be a device just to connect to internet..No SIM card as such..U'll talk to people using G-talk ..Just take the g-talk in your phone, tap the person's user ID, and make a call.. No complicated maths like STD/ISD rates or anything like that..Infact, the much hyped about number portability will come into existance this way..i.e, as long as u have ur gmail ID, u'll be accesible from anywhere..

Quoting another point in the same article... "Warning to merchants - my favorite application lets you use the phone's camera to "scan" a product's bar code to look up reviews and comparative prices"

-- I never thought John Battelle's fantasy ( check my earlier post ) would get converted into an application so soon :) .. 

  But Google had a major setback to this overall strategy last year  - They lost the bidding for the US Wireless spectrum 

     Consequentially, these concepts of No-SIM + mobile Ad based phone business model will take some time to come up. Maybe soon, Google might strike an alliance with Verizon(the winner of wireless spectrum bidding) ..Afterall, the AT&T - iphone combination is proving to be too good in US..

  Quite a few analysts are speculating whether this G-phone is going to be an iphone killer . The interesting thing about iphone is that, if you analyse its every feature, u'll find better offerings in market ( camera phones from Sony is better, Nokia's robustness is great ... etc )..Maybe in an aesthetic sense & battery backup , iphone is really great. But what makes iphone tick is that it brings to you a 'great' combination of 'good' ( not the best ) features and a strong tie-up with AT&T..  And Apple's itunes based music + phone + carrier tie-up business model is really great.. Atleast in the short run, no, i dont see any possibility of G-phone dethroning iphone.. For that matter, Nokia too has realized the importance of bringing in a multitude of features to its phones and is investing heavily in music & GPRS based maps..But in the long run, I'd bet that Google's strategy will succeed..

  So, what next to expect from Google ? 

My take

1) More efforts on wireless spectrum front-- maybe a tieup with Verizon or some other prominent player.

2) Music/Entertainment - This remains a strong point of Apple.. And I really wonder how Google is going to tackle this front..Maybe some innovation/business model based on youtube ? 

I dont know.. 

3) Gpay integration :- This would come soon 

Ajith 

Age, Marriage & a Tag

Aging is a reality . On sep-29, I completed 26 years of existence in this planet.. Now when someone gets into this so called 'wrong side' of 20s, the pressure towards marriage starts building from all the sides... I notice a definite change in the way my elder friends & relatives tease me..

4 years back: Hey, how many girl-friends do you have ?

3 years back: Hey, do u have a girl-friend ?

2 years back: Hey.. time to find a girl for you.. Any good looking Nair girls in your office ?

( yes, there were..but they were married :( )

1 year back : Hey, all of us thought you'll find a girl on your own..u have disappointed us..Shall we find one girl for you ? There is this girl, who is my second cousin's grand mothers's uncle's daughters' son's neice... ( damn..why are relations so complicated )

Now : Hey.. heard ur Amma has started looking for suitable matches for you ?

-- I see that over the years, the girl-friend factor in queries has come down and 'arranged marriage' factor has been going up.. Can't help it..

GWBE has tagged me over a similar subject..Can't refuse the tag from college & IIMK senior :P Now lets go to the tag..

1. If your lover betrayed you what would your reaction be?
I think I'll move on.. I've come past the age of brooding over spilled milk.

2. If you have a dream come true, what would it be?
That I'm free from all constraints and get to do what I like at my own pace.

3. If you could, whose butt would you like to kick?
I hate this..Thats why I removed b'day alert from orkut :P

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?
Travel around the world ..Acquire landmark / crosswords :-)

5. Will you fall in love with your best friend?
Ah..well, possible.. Long back a friend of mine remarked to me "There is a thin line between friendship & love "

6. Which is more blessed: loving someone or being loved by someone?
Being loved by someone.

7. How long do you intend to wait for someone you love?
I dont know..It depends.

8. If the person you secretly like is attached, what will you do?
Look for another girl :-)

9. If you could root for one social cause, what would it be?
I've not come to an appropriate answer to that.. There was an NGO, Asha which I was associated with sometime back..Liked their motive..But still, I dont think its a final answer to our ills.

10. Do you lie?
Very rarely..Usually its done either accidentally or to follow some rules / decorums.

11. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
I firmly believe that you can't plan your life more than a span of 2 years realistically..So, not sure :-)..Would take it as it comes.

12. What’s your fear?
I dont know..Can't imagine anything right now.

13. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
She travels a lot..I think after I graduate I'll ask her to give a job in her company..Where all she travels..Scotland, Swiss, ...I forgot the list.

14. Would you rather be single and rich or married and poor?
Married & poor..And buy a sub-prime mortgage based house..There are enough ways to live in this world if you know finance :-) ..
PS:- Check that subprime link..Awesome slides..Link given by emperor prometheus

15. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously who will you pick?
I've had simultaneous crushes towards Vidya Balan & Katrina Kaif..But unfortunately, got chance to pick none :-(

16. Would you give all in a relationship?
Yes.

17. Would you forgive and forget someone no matter how horrible a thing he has done?
Yes for most..but not for all.. Shawshank Redemption influence :)

18. Do you prefer being single or in a relationship?
Both have its own advantages/disadvantages..Having said that, I think my bachelor days are numbered with increasing pressure from all sides... So,lets wait and see :-)

19. Your all time favourite song. Only ONE. And why?
Sooryakireedam veenudanju.... From my favorite malayalam movie Devasuram..
Very few songs picturise the transformation that happens in a person this much beautifully..There is one song in Kireedom too..But I like this better.And over the movie, check the link..and lot of videos in youtube too :-)

Ajith