I'm sitting here listening to a recent episode of BOL (CNet's Buzz out Loud... and now I'd really like to meet Aneesh Chopra... but I digress), and Molly just finished a rant about her experience with the Galaxy Nexus and a discussion about Google's business opportunities now that they have Motorola's mobile division and it got my wheels turning.
Since day one of my involvement with Android I've longed for 1 thing.... stop playing catch up and INNOVATE, Google!!!! Ice Cream Sandwich is a big step in that direction (honestly I think they tied with the first release of Gingerbread and pulled slightly in the lead with the point releases there after... also including their improvements to the market and better hardware from manufacturers).
So here is Google with manufacturing capabilities (they'd BETTER pull that Nexus brand in house now... though I do love my Samsung Epic 4G Touch), get rid of "MotoBleh"... and lastly... wait for it.... move towards being a carrier!
There I said it! I think this would be a HUGE leap forward against Apple and they're already playing in the ISP space with their broadband "betas" in Kansas City... come on and round that out Google!
Imagine that, buy your google branded nexus device from an official Android carrier and enjoy some small perks there of. This would increase the amount of coin in Googles already huge coffers, provide them with even MORE data about consumer (I have nothing to hide... that I can think of at the moment.....) and would save an AWESOME carrier. I've always enjoyed my service with T-Mobile, but couldn't resist the employer discount and great phone from Sprint. T-Mobiles pricing is right on and they're VERY friendly towards smartphone users. Though I don't care for motorola products, that's mostly been because of the "MotoBarf" skin they put on top of it. To be fair though, I haven't used a motorola android device since I had the Cliq XT *shudder*.
Thoughts? Am I the only one drinking the Kool-Aid? Do I alone, welcome our Google overlords? Discuss.
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Dreamworld discussion: Should Google buy T-Mobile?
I've been using non-video-game technology since 1989, and Google is the first company in that time that has put together an integrated collection of services and devices that actually makes my life a lot easier without a ton of mental baggage to go along with it (in terms of having to remember to sync this and that, jump through cross-platform hoops, etc...). For this reason, I would LOVE for them to take it to the next step.
Do I fully trust them? Not sure. Even if I did, they are only one government mandate away from becoming the most frightening tool in the hands of the wrong people this world has seen since nuclear weapons.
Until that happens, though, I am ready to let them completely manage my info world. I also dream of the day Google offers a wireless data plan that will be the perfect complement to my Android world.
So, I say they should buy T-Mobile or Sprint, shut down the voice and SMS services, and make the mobile version of Google Talk handle voice calls the same way it does if you are sitting at your computer calling from within the Gmail web interface. Then, you'd get all your calling, texting, and internet service for $35 - $50 / month depending on the tier of data usage you choose.
I absolutely believe this is the future, the only question is how long it takes to get there.
Do I fully trust them? Not sure. Even if I did, they are only one government mandate away from becoming the most frightening tool in the hands of the wrong people this world has seen since nuclear weapons.
Until that happens, though, I am ready to let them completely manage my info world. I also dream of the day Google offers a wireless data plan that will be the perfect complement to my Android world.
So, I say they should buy T-Mobile or Sprint, shut down the voice and SMS services, and make the mobile version of Google Talk handle voice calls the same way it does if you are sitting at your computer calling from within the Gmail web interface. Then, you'd get all your calling, texting, and internet service for $35 - $50 / month depending on the tier of data usage you choose.
I absolutely believe this is the future, the only question is how long it takes to get there.
This is a fantastic idea!! I didn't even think of the "google voice IS your carriers voice service" angle. And just do the whole thing over data. I rarely use voice anyway. Its all texts and web for me and its all via google voice . I would personally love to buy an unlimited data plan and cut down on my minutes... data seems to be where the carriers like to stick it to consumers the most though.
I agree that this will be the future. I see the "tubes" becoming the primary way media is delivered as bandwidth and availability increase. I think ISPs know this as well, which is why they're trying to put heavy premiums on data now so that we'on all be used to overpriced data the moment we become totally dependant on it.
I agree that this will be the future. I see the "tubes" becoming the primary way media is delivered as bandwidth and availability increase. I think ISPs know this as well, which is why they're trying to put heavy premiums on data now so that we'on all be used to overpriced data the moment we become totally dependant on it.
Would I switch my carrier to a google-owned T-Mobile, and buy a googled-owned Motorola phone running a google-supported Android OS, and love it? Yup. Do I think it's right? Nope.
Would it save the carrier and sky-rocket the underdog into 1st place? Quite possibly, on par with AT&T and Verizon at the very least. At least at first, but It would likely force Apple into either doing the same or partnering heavily with one carrier. Sound familiar? AT&T? It was the release of Android that really brought Verizon up as a competitor when AT&T+iPhone were owning the game. Do we really want to go back to the days when you had to pick your carrier based on the phone you wanted? With everyone bogging down a single carrier again.
Honestly I didn't think it was even fair to the other phone manufacturers for Google to buy Motorola, let alone if they did it with a carrier as well. It's like they went "here's an open source OS, any manufacturer/carrier can put it on their phone" and turned around and said "we bought these guys, oh it's still open source, but really, who do you think we're gonna favor now?".
Motorola were the ones complaining how it wasn't fair that Google was picking other carriers as the flagship Nexus phones; it makes it hard to get Android tweaked to run properly on their hardware and get updates out when Google optimizes Android for their Nexus manufacturer's chipsets: www.droid-life.com/2012/02/09/motorola-googles-nex... , now we'll likely see the same problem for the other manufacturers.
Would it save the carrier and sky-rocket the underdog into 1st place? Quite possibly, on par with AT&T and Verizon at the very least. At least at first, but It would likely force Apple into either doing the same or partnering heavily with one carrier. Sound familiar? AT&T? It was the release of Android that really brought Verizon up as a competitor when AT&T+iPhone were owning the game. Do we really want to go back to the days when you had to pick your carrier based on the phone you wanted? With everyone bogging down a single carrier again.
Honestly I didn't think it was even fair to the other phone manufacturers for Google to buy Motorola, let alone if they did it with a carrier as well. It's like they went "here's an open source OS, any manufacturer/carrier can put it on their phone" and turned around and said "we bought these guys, oh it's still open source, but really, who do you think we're gonna favor now?".
Motorola were the ones complaining how it wasn't fair that Google was picking other carriers as the flagship Nexus phones; it makes it hard to get Android tweaked to run properly on their hardware and get updates out when Google optimizes Android for their Nexus manufacturer's chipsets: www.droid-life.com/2012/02/09/motorola-googles-nex... , now we'll likely see the same problem for the other manufacturers.
Well im not saying android as a platform would become closed AND we already have a situation where if you want a specific phone... you have to go to a specific carrier. Want a myTouch? T-Mobile has your back. How about a Droid (remember its a brand) Motorola has you covered on Verizon. Etc etc. I for one DO want carriers to just "shuttup and feed whatever device I buy the data!" Unfortunately we don't have a market controlled by the manufacturers.... yet. For now the carriers run the show and to lure in new subscribers they want different devices. Even the galaxy S II has 4 different versions with 4 different specs because each carrier wanted to stand out. I don't know for certain but I have a feeling Samsung would prefer to just kick out one SKU instead of 5 (including the international version). I have more thoughts but family and dinner beckon. I shall return....
So here we are at the end of the year about 9 months after I originally posted this and today I'm thinking the case for Google to buy T-Mobile is stronger than ever.
As Google further defines it's Nexus program, it's looking likely to me that we will NOT see a Nexus device on Sprint or Verizon anymore because of the CDMA issues. Further more, the exclusion of LTE which is supported by 3 of the 4 large carriers (all except T-Mobile) BEGS the case as well.
Google... buy T-Mobile.
T-Mobile is being shunned by Apple for whatever reason, so some kind of partnership with a smartphone OS maker would be helpful since they can't have the one everyone wants. So T-Mobile could really use Google's help in coming up with a flagship phone series *cough*NEXUS*cough* that would help boost the carriers brand and sales.
Google is abandoning LTE on it's Nexus devices but fully supporting HSPA+... which is used by T-Mobile. They ALSO seem to be bucking the pricing trend and REALLY lowering the cost of the handsets off contract... a move that's likely to make carriers upset soon... so having a carrier in pocket would be a good move *cough*T-Mobile*cough*.
I would absolutely LOVE to see this happen.
As Google further defines it's Nexus program, it's looking likely to me that we will NOT see a Nexus device on Sprint or Verizon anymore because of the CDMA issues. Further more, the exclusion of LTE which is supported by 3 of the 4 large carriers (all except T-Mobile) BEGS the case as well.
Google... buy T-Mobile.
T-Mobile is being shunned by Apple for whatever reason, so some kind of partnership with a smartphone OS maker would be helpful since they can't have the one everyone wants. So T-Mobile could really use Google's help in coming up with a flagship phone series *cough*NEXUS*cough* that would help boost the carriers brand and sales.
Google is abandoning LTE on it's Nexus devices but fully supporting HSPA+... which is used by T-Mobile. They ALSO seem to be bucking the pricing trend and REALLY lowering the cost of the handsets off contract... a move that's likely to make carriers upset soon... so having a carrier in pocket would be a good move *cough*T-Mobile*cough*.
I would absolutely LOVE to see this happen.
I am still all for the idea, but their market share has grown enough since then that it might be harder to get FCC approval. And while Samsung's engineers can't seem to make a decent CDMA radio to save their lives, Motorola makes great CDMA phones, so they have no reason to burn the Sprint bridge just yet.
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