It’s being reported today (originally by VentureBeat) that Verizon has blocked implementation of Google Wallet on the new Galaxy Nexus handset. Verizon is the exclusive US carrier of the heavily anticipated device. According to a statement issued to Bloomberg, Verizon is citing security as the rationale: Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. wireless carrier, blocked Google Inc.’s […]
A big story today is the US government’s effort to block the proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA by AT&T. AT&T wants T-Mobile’s spectrum and network and the US thinks it will harm competition in the wireless market. According to the New York Times the government’s lawsuit boils down to the argument that less […]
The big tech news of yesterday was the announced $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA by AT&T. In less than 24 hours almost every potential angle has already been covered at length. Both AT&T’s and Deutsche Telekom’s boards have already approved the deal. So now it’s on to the regulatory drama. If approved by US […]
Over the past few months, I’ve been testing various Android phones. Overall, the platform has continued to improve, to the degree that I can easily swap an Android phone for my iPhone 4 and not feel a loss. But unlike the one-size-fits-all iPhone, each Android phone has its own individual characteristics. Below, a look at […]
The end of the year is the time when people feel more free to make wacky statements and dubious predictions. Whether it’s the season, too many rich desserts or the additional alcohol people consume it’s not clear. But one such prediction is that Google might seek to become a full-fledged phone company in 2011. Having […]
Google is rumored to be rolling out a “Nexus 2” — or if it were a movie sequel “N2” — on November 8 with Samsung. Google’s Nexus One (built by HTC) was a failed experiment in direct selling to the public rather than through carriers. Despite public statements to the contrary, the move angered carriers […]
“Where’s the revolution,” I asked when Google launched its Nexus One phone earlier this year. There had been plenty of rumblings that Google would shake up how cell phones were sold in the US. Google’s Eric Schmidt once predicted we’d all be using free phones paid for by ads. But the Nexus One simply offered […]
The 1950s classic Japanese film Rashômon by Akira Kurosawa is an exploration of human perception, truth and how there can be widely differing accounts of the same event. The film’s plot revolves around the rape of a woman and murder of her husband and is told through dramatically differing accounts of four witnesses. The stories […]
The wide-ranging search and advertising deal between Verizon Wireless and Microsoft reportedly cost Redmond between $550 million to $650 million in revenue guarantees over five years, according to prior reports in the Wall Street Journal. The deal specifically exempts Android handsets, such as Droid, from the provision that Bing become the default search engine on […]
As everyone knows by now the weekend saw an explosion of interest, speculation and posting around the “Nexus One,” the so-called “Google Phone” predicted first in an article by TheStreet in October and then further exposed by TechCrunch. I wrote two posts this weekend as the story evolved:
Yahoo has decided to discontinue its “Go” mobile app. Go was originally part of a larger “three screen” strategy that included TV and mobile delivery of Yahoo content. The Go app was intended as a way to have a richer, self-contained experience on mobile devices. But that strategy has given way to a “Yahoo for […]
Google has created a mobile app for its Google Voice service, right now only for Android and BlackBerry with an iPhone app to come. Think of this as Skype for mobile only more so, because there’s a usable number associated with the service and integration with your phone’s contacts. Effectively what the mobile app allows […]
The Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning that Microsoft is offering substantial financial incentives to “steal away” the mobile search relationship with Verizon from rival Google. Verizon is the US’s largest wireless carrier (given the recent approval of the Alltel acquisition) with more than 80 million subscribers.
The US Federal Communications Commission has approved 214 “qualified bidders” for the forthcoming 700MHz wireless spectrum auction. Among the bidders are Google and wireless carriers AT&T, Verizon, and MetroPCS. According to this Bloomberg report, the government expectation is that the spectrum licenses may raise as much as $15 billion.
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 […]
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 […]
This article from Forbes sort of quotes Google CEO Eric Schmidt saying, for the first time, that the company would “definitely” participate in the forthcoming 700 MHZ wireless spectrum auction to be held in January. It also says that Google would open that spectrum up to anyone willing to pay for it, in defiance of […]
Yahoo to announce new Asia mobile tie-ups from Reuters reports Yahoo is expected to announce several partnerships with mobile operators in Asia. Yahoo is in talks with operators in Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. Yahoo’s President, Susan Decker, said: We will have a number of announcements in the months ahead, even days and […]
There is a belief, held by many, that there is a bright future for ad-supported or subsidized mobile services. Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt floated this idea as far back as November 2006. Now, the long-delayed Blyk in the U.K is live and MySpace in the U.S. has announced an ad-supported model (and a richer subscription […]
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google is making a push to court wireless carriers in an effort to accelerate mobile ad distribution and revenue growth. The article also contends that Google is actively working a mobile handset, the so-called “Google Phone” or “GPhone,” and possibly envisions itself an operator one day of an […]
Google is seeking to penetrate and open up the walled garden that is the US wireless market. Carriers are the gatekeepers, controlling access and the devices available to consumers. In Europe the situation is quite different, allowing consumers to buy any phone and essentially use them with any operator. Google had made a very public […]
FCC Draft Auction Rules A Win For Google, Hi-Tech Industry from CNN Money reports that Google’s wireless spectrum proposal gained backing from FCC chairman Kevin Martin. Ultimately, this could see Google buying wireless broadcast rights. The USA Today article, New rules could rock wireless world, explains part of the proposal means that you might be […]
Search marketing firm iCrossing just released the results of a mobile Web usage survey with 1,001 US residents over the age of 16. The study found that about 30 percent of mobile users access the Internet, but among that population 75 percent used search. Assuming the survey methodology is sound and statistically valid, the findings […]
InfoSpace and FAST announced a partnership at 3GSM conference that seeks to marry InfoSpace’s carrier relationships and content expertise with FAST’s search technology and PPC platform on mobile devices. The companies will be offering their new “white label” services and platform to wireless carriers in the U.S. and Europe. That makes the combined InfoSpace-FAST effort […]
Both the Seattle PI and the Seattle Times have details about a group of technology companies — including Microsoft and Google — seeking permission from the US Federal Communications Commission to test a prototype device that uses "white space" radio spectrum freed up as TV stations go digital. Could it potentially be a way for […]
Mobile giants plot secret rival to Google from the Sunday Telegraph reports that UK mobile operators and one American mobile operator are looking to build out a mobile search engine that will compete with Google and Yahoo.