Google Mobile

I have given myself to Google.

I didn’t mean to. I didn’t really want to even. Sure I Google as much as the next guy; it’s my homepage, and I’d be completely lost at work without Google Desktop search (it is indeed the search engine for my brain.) But I wasn’t crazy about Google taking over my desktop completely and besides, I used Mac Mail for my personal email and NetNewsWire for RSS and was perfectly happy with the both of them.

Then last month Google released their new Gmail mobile client and it really impressed me. I downloaded the app to by Blackberry 8700, got myself a free Gmail account, and started playing with it. It’s fantastic. Very clean, very easy to use. I transferred my Outlook contacts in about a minute and started forwarding my Mac Mail. Within about a week I was hooked. When I got my enV and saw how easy and integrated Gmail was with Verizon’s built-in email app Gmail pretty much had me for good.

It wasn’t long before I decided to try out the Google RSS reader. I’m a big fan of RSS applications as nothing beats their speed and ease of use. My favorite is NetNewsWire, which by syncing with a Newsgator account online let me read feeds from different computers. Newsgator has a great Windows Mobile app but I don’t have a Windows Mobile phone so that does nothing for me. Friends encouraged me to give Google Reader a shot and then I noticed that, of course, Google has mobile access to their reader. You can guess what happened from here: switched to Google, loved the experience, never went back.

Now I’m doing more with Google Desktop, experimenting with Google Calendar, and using Gmail and Google RSS Reader many times every day from multiple devices and machines. All of this is synced, and all of this is free. And everything I do is indexed and searchable. What’s not to love?

So is it any surprise that Google is looking to push the mobile envelope more? According to the Guardian of London, Google is in deep talks with mobile carrier Orange to create a branded “Google phone” that incorporates their full suite of mobile apps, and then some.

Their plans centre on a branded Google phone, which would probably also carry Orange's logo. The device would not be revolutionary: manufactured by HTC, a Taiwanese firm specializing in smart phones and Personal Data Assistants (PDAs), it might have a screen similar to a video iPod. But it would have built-in Google software which would dramatically improve on the slow and cumbersome experience of surfing the web from a mobile handset.

Honestly, I’m not sure how much an iPhone would appeal to me. But a phone with all my favorite Google apps integrated into the OS and optimized for the device? Google maps with aGPS? Google RSS app with offline browsing? Sign me up.

Om covers the news and points out something very interesting:

Normally, one would not spend too much energy on this bit of news. However, presence of Andy Rubin on Google campus gives us a reason to pause.

Who is Rubin? He was one of the co-founders of Danger, the company that makes the Sidekick devices. He sold his last company Android to Google for an undisclosed amount of money, and he has been holed up in Mountain View, California campus of Google, doing something.

Andriod has always been shrouded is mystery – it’s never been entirely clear to the outside world what they were working on before Google snatched them up 16 months ago. But Rubin and his team at Danger were the ones who came up with the idea of caching mobile optimized websites to make them faster to access and easier to read on mobile devices (specifically in their case, the Sidekick). Doing this allowed T-Mobile to offer mobile web access via a flat-rate data plan – a first in the US. And we know that Rubin is interested in location-based services; here’s a demo of a location-aware camera project from his personal site. Google has also been making recent noise about the importance of location to their mobile plans. From a recent CNET interview with Google Mobile head Deep Nishar [via MocoNews]:

The second big category we are focusing on is location-based services. People take their cell phones with them everywhere, and they generally are looking for information in the context of a location. When you're on your mobile device and you type in the keyword "movie," you're likely searching for a movie theater because you want to go see a movie. But if you typed in "movie" on your desktop at home, you may be searching for more general information about movies. With Google Maps, we can show you the location of the nearest movie theater, the times of the shows, and even let you purchase tickets from your phone.

So picture a device that knows where you are, knows what you want, is seamlessly integrated with your newsreader, your email, your calendar, and your documents. Its searches are contextually relevant and it browses faster than other devices as top sites are optimized and cached away somewhere in the Googlecloud. The pieces all exist today and are deployed in one way or another. This new project with Orange looks to me like a way to get them all together and deeply integrate them with the handset.

By why stop at there? Remember when Google CEO Eric Schmidt said, “your mobile phone should be free,” at the Web 2.0 conference last month? And recall that Google is actively trying to build free municipal WiFi networks? Now imagine the device described above isn’t a phone provided by a carrier at all – but a Sidekick-like mobile media WiFi device: ad-supported, location aware, chock full of apps, and free to use. I think it’s a comin’. What do you think?

Comments

[colron]

That idea seems more atractive than the iphone to me as well. Take note Google.

[Edward]

This is amazing, and i thought there must've been other suckers like me. I just got my k800i in July and my Data Services (unlimited) in October... Playing with the phone's pop mail features, enjoyed it, and liked the connectivity and mobility..

Until i December when i finally registered for google mail, and stumbled on its mobile applications. Downloaded it and i fell in love immediately. Hooked. The interface, user friendliness and the most important part of it is it is FREE!

To develop an application to Manage my mails so comfortably would take ages with my super hobby of procastinating.

Go Google.. But if you can promote your phone globally, would be a plus too.

[doug]

does anyone know if there is a way to use google contacts as your mobile phone contacts? i imported all my contacts into my gmail account and would love to be able to dial from gmail contacts.

[Simon Andrews]

We're convinced that Google will launch an MVNO - it would make so much sense
http://simonandrews.typepad.com/big_picture/2006/09/larry_and_serge.html

[Bud Caddell]

Exclusive photos of the Google Phone:
http://www.passion2publish.com/2007/03/exclusive_googl.html