Topic: Android

DoCoMo And Google In Japanese Mobile Partnership

Reuters and InfoWorld describe a new partnership between Japan’s largest wireless carrier, NTT DoCoMo, and Google. NTT DoCoMo is a member of the Google-sponsored Open Handset Alliance, as is Japan’s number two carrier, KDDI, which is a Google partner as well.

Yahoo Makes Bid To Become A Mobile Development Platform

Last night at CES, Yahoo made several related mobile announcements tied to its application Go and a new bid to become a mobile platform for third party publishers and developers. There are essentially three pieces to what Yahoo announced: Yahoo Go 3.0 (not yet live), an open mobile widget development platform for third parties, and […]

What Does 2008 Have In Store For Local?

Many people I speak to still ask the familiar question, “Is this going to be the breakout year for local?” while expressing frustration or disappointment that “local hasn’t yet lived up to expectations.” But local is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s also more complex than the general search market, which features an ecosystem built […]

SEO

Search Year 2007: Search News, In Review

Each month, I compile Search Month — a recap of all the stories that have happened relating to search, categorized by topic. I thought it would be fun to take all the Search Months over the past year and produce this edition of Search Year 2007. It was far more work than I imagined, but […]

SEO

Yahoo oneSearch To Power Wireless Carrier Portals In Latin America

Even as attention has been focused on Google’s 700 MHz spectrum bid and its Android mobile platform, Yahoo has been aggressively doing business development with mobile operators and handset makers around the world, in Asia, Europe, and now Latin America. This morning Yahoo announced that it had inked another major wireless distribution deal with America […]

Early Developers Giving Google’s Android Mobile Platform Mixed Reviews

Dow Jones reports (shorter Wall Street Journal version here) that some software developers are experiencing considerable frustration writing for Google’s much-touted Android mobile platform. “Functionality is not there, is poorly documented or just doesn’t work. It’s clearly not ready for prime time,” said one of the developers quoted in the story, which acknowledges that early […]

Verizon Wireless To Consumers: Bring Your Own Phone

It a potentially dramatic move, Verizon Wireless is saying that it will allow customers to use phones and applications that it does not specifically sell. As a practical matter that potentially means that a mobile consumer could buy any phone and use it with the Verizon network, so long as the phone meets certain technical […]

What If Google Had Released Its Own Kindle?

With all the talk of Amazon’s new $399 ebook reader (and blog, newspaper, magazine) Kindle, it made me think: What if Google had developed this or a similar device (the Gindle? Goodle?) instead of putting out Android? Of course, there’s nothing that precludes Google from doing such a thing in the future, but for now […]

Google Gears Up For Spectrum Auction And More (Perhaps)

We’ve written here several times about Google’s probable bid on 700mhz wireless spectrum licenses that will be auctioned by the FCC in January, 2008. This morning the Wall Street Journal has a kind of free-ranging article that explores a variety of possibilities and scenarios that could come out of Google winning spectrum licenses or pursuing […]

SEO

Yahoo’s Big Asian Mobile Push

Yahoo put out a dizzying slew of press releases today aimed at highlighting its carrier partnerships and what it claims is its mobile leadership position. The core of these releases is the announcement of nine new Asian mobile operators, adding to the company’s other Asian carrier relationships. Yahoo’s oneSearch will provide mobile search for these […]

Google To Acquire Sprint? Don’t Bet On It

A TMCnet blog repeats a rumor that Google might buy US wireless carrier Sprint. This is based in part of Google’s aggressive push into mobile with Android, its willingness to bid on wireless spectrum licenses, and its efforts to gain access to unused parts of the television spectrum, so-called “white space.” It’s also based on […]

Google Getting Ready To Partner With Clearwire On Wireless Spectrum Licenses?

Last week Forbes wrote that Google will “definitely” participate, according to CEO Eric Schmidt, in the upcoming 700MHZ wireless spectrum auction. Also last week, Google partner Sprint said that it was ending its relationship with wireless broadband provider Clearwire to build a nationwide WiMax network. (Sprint is a member of the Android Open Handset Alliance.) […]

Yahoo’s Boerries On Android: Google Risks Being Distracted By Technology

Reuters interviews the head of Yahoo’s mobile efforts, Marco Boerries, who emphasizes that Yahoo is building strategic partnerships with carriers and OEMs around the world and argues that Google is probably misguided in introducing Android. Boerries is quoted in the article as saying, “The race is going to be who builds the biggest arsenal of […]

Microsoft Willing To Lose Money Online To Fight Google

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was in Japan to promote Windows Live services and was asked about competition from Google and Android. According to this article in the International Herald Tribune, he acknowledged that Google was “ahead” of Microsoft in search. (It’s not clear whether that includes online advertising as well.) Ballmer went on to dismiss […]

“What’s Open” The First Android App?

ValleyWag speculates that a local search startup called “What’s Open” has written the first Android application. The site has some screenshots, which suggest a fairly familiar local search tool, with a map and some social networking features. The differentiator is likely — as the name suggests — data about what local stores and businesses are […]

Google’s Android Day Two: Here Come The Bears

Yesterday I wrote (with myriad contributions from Danny) a largely bullish overview of Android and the Open Handset Alliance (which sounds like a JK Rowling title, I admit). Now, on day two, the bears are coming out. The Wall Street Journal blogs that the “Google Phone” is “A Business-Tech Nightmare Waiting to Happen.” Wired says […]