Tag android
Verizon First to Blink Under the Glare of Google – Will Offer No-Deck Services
by mobileman (11/28/2007 - 18:36)
There are rarely times when someone can honestly say “I told you so!” with integrity. This is one of those times.
Under increasing pressure from Google’s Android initiative, the 700 MHZ auction, the iPhone and Wimax, Verizon made a seminal announcement yesterday that they will be “opening up” their network to all forms of devices and services.
While the devil will be in the details, it appears that Verizon will publish a Verizon standard for devices to utilize its services. So, while this is not quite the equivalent of ubiquitous Wifi access, it is, however, very significant. The company that touts its network prowess (and rightfully so) has decided that it cannot manage and approve all the applications and services by itself. Verizon is adding the “No deck” option to its existing on- and off-deck services.
If this plan is taken at face value, it will unleash a plethora of new services. These services will add tremendous value to the Verizon network's investment. The catch will be Verizon’s approval of devices in a company-run test lab. If this testing facility is purely technical, and devoid of business influence, then this plan may work.
The lesson of the Internet is that standardized access and connectivity will generate all forms of applications -- some good, some not so good.
The Android initiative is already working.
If this landmark announcement is just a public relations strategy for spectrum auction positioning, then this tactic will serve to distract from and delay the inevitable.
It appears to me that Verizon is serious, time will tell.
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Attack of the Androids
by mobileman (11/07/2007 - 03:52)
The Google-led Android open-phone initiative grabbed the headlines today. I normally take the pro open-source, open-platform position. In this case, I am not. The target of most open-source projects have been Web servers, application servers and database servers. There is a fundamental difference between a phone and a server. A server is designed and developed by IT professionals. It is maintained, monitored and administered.
In contrast, a phone is a consumer device. Consumers expect their electronics to work out of the box and not have bugs. The PC industry has flourished in large part because of the existence of two large commercial OS platforms courtesy of Microsoft and Apple. While there are Linux PCs, they are generally in the hands of the proud dorks, geeks and other technologically gifted individuals.
Consumer product are more like toasters than servers!An open-source phone platform might be a powerful platform for application development free of royalties from OS manufacturers and carriers.
However, phone design is not a hobby. It is a huge commercial enterprise and the various phone platforms are designed with quality and ease of use in mind. Phone engineers are not going to have their salaries replaced with tips and donations. Every company in the consortia has strong profit motives, and that means competition.
Even if the Android project succeeds in pushing phone standards, I guarantee that each phone manufacturer and carrier will have its own proprietary variant. Given my suspicions and skepticism about Android, why is it being launched? To understand that answer, read my previous blog. Android can succeed in its goals without ever writing a line of code.
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