AT-T wireless service - Google's iPhone fixation

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Google's iPhone fixation - a report from PhoneDifferent

4phun

2008-01-21, 10:33 pm

Google's iPhone fixation
Today, January 21, 2008, 5 hours ago | Dieter Bohn

One of the most interesting stories at Macworld hasn't gotten a lot of
attention in the larger press - namely that Google was around at
Macworld a lot more than most people realize. It's not just that they
have a medium-sized booth featuring both their Mac products and new
iPhone-compatible web offerings. No, the real story about Google at
Macworld is that it's very clear that Google has the iPhone on their
collective mind in a big, big way. Google's services will continue to
be great on the iPhone even after their Android OS hits the market.
Read on to find out why! ## Google In Line for the Keynote Michael
Ducker and I covered the Macworld keynote this year1 - we lined up at
3am and were lucky that we did - I spoke with somebody that lined up
at 5am and was forced into the overflow room. I mention this because
there was a large pack of Google employees at the very front of the
line. There were about 20 at a time, "working" in shifts, so that
there was a grand total of around 40 or 50 employees there who came in
line when the keynote started. That probably caused some grumbling
amongst those in back. The Googlers went so far as to have stockpiles
of pizza, coffee, and even a tent (originally three until the cops
said no) for sleeping. The interesting thing, though, as Valleywag
reported, was that this was a regular and company-sponsored sort of
effort, right down to Google's Vice President, Search Products & User
Experience Marissa Mayer leading the charge. What's her explanation? >
*"The man gives a great presentation. Hopefully we can learn
something."* ...that's a very nice and understated way of saying
something else: **Google seems to have a fixation on the iPhone.**
It's not just the line at Macworld, it's that as we waited in line a
Google employee got bored and did a survey of how many people in line
were using iPhones - both actively and whether or not there was one in
their pocket. It's not just the booth at Macworld where Google was
showing off their new iPhone-optimized services, it's that they *come
out with iPhone optimized services* on a regular basis. They update
these services on a regular basis. These services work *really well*
on the iPhone. Case in point: Gmail, more specifically Gmail's new
IMAP service. I've used Gmail with a browser on my desktop, with
Mail.app, with Thunderbird, with Outlook, with Windows Mobile Outlook,
Versamail on PalmOS, and a few others. I'm not exaggerating when I say
that no client, desktop or otherwise, does Gmail IMAP better than the
iPhone. I say this as a person who generally thinks the the iPhone's
email client sucks. But every other client has bogged down or
otherwise acted weird with Gmail's IMAP. Not so with the iPhone, it's
as good as email gets on the iPhone. That's either serendipity or
Google thinking very seriously about the email client on the iPhone
when they designed their (quirky) IMAP implementation. ...A popular
phrase among developers (especially, believe it or not, among Windows
Mobile developers) is "eating your own dog food." The idea, basically,
is that if you're working on something you need to *use* it. It seems
pretty clear to me that there is a large portion of Google employees
who are eating the iPhone-brand of dog food. I'm guessing that
Google's apps rock on the iPhone because they *want* those apps to
rock on the iPhone because they *use* them on the iPhone. ## Android
Which leads us to Android, Google's upcoming Smartphone Operating
System. We here at Phone different never really believed that Android
would compete directly with the iPhone and the more I hear about
Android the more I think it's aimed at a broader (read: cheaper)
market. Back in November, Mike wrote: > *Google's use of webkit as the
browser on Android reinforces Apple, and by the time Android phones
are actually released, iPhones will be even farther ahead in terms of
features -- Android doesn't even support wi-fi or bluetooth yet. It
could easily be that Apple is trying to grab the high-end customers
and Android is aiming for everyone else.* ...While we should admit
that these days the "high-end" is getting bigger and pushing more into
the mass market than we may have expected, the point still stands.
Google is putting development resources into quality web apps for the
iPhone. Even if we grant (as we should) that development is easy for
iPhone web apps, resources are resources. Yes, even for Google. Those
resources, presumably, could have been redirected at Android either to
make it better or to keep the iPhone from having a great Google
experience. No doubt about it, Google hearts the iPhone. So when Steve
Jobs was asked about Android, his take was almost spot-on: > *"I
actually think Google has achieved their goal without Android, and I
now think Android hurts them more than it helps them. It's just going
to divide them and people who want to be their partners."* There are
basically two options here, and I see them as equally likely: 1.
Google is trying to be the uber-service to everybody, everywhere, on
every device possible. They're a bigger giant now than even Microsoft
of the 90's and their plan for world domination includes offering
great services even on "competing" devices. They will overcome the
problem Jobs mentions through sheer size and resources. 2. Google does
not foresee a time when Android *would* "divide them and people who
want to be their partners" because, as far as the mobile space goes,
the only thing they're trying to win is the low-end space. They want
Microsoft and Nokia's pieces of the commodity pie, not Apple's media-
centric market. I'll take the easy out and suggest that it's mostly
option 1 with a side of option 2. There may be a day when Android
competes directly with the iPhone and Google finds itself in the
awkward place of deciding whether or not to favor one over the other.
Given the timeline of Android development, though, that day is a long
way off. In the meantime, it's a safe bet that Google will continue to
do a great job supporting the iPhone. And vice versa.

larry

2008-01-21, 10:33 pm

4phun <vic.healey@gmail.com> wrote in news:2e17d24b-ca0c-4adf-b691-
8e08dd1df64b@e10g200
0prf.googlegroups.com:

> Google seems to have a fixation on the iPhone.

I don't think it's such a mystery. Google specializes in browser-based
apps. Iphone is a browser-based appliance. What's the mystery? It gives
Google an outlet with a few million potential customers to spam, which is
what Google is all about...

Before that, Google did a lot for WebTV....same idea.

Google does a lot for phone browsers, too.

John Navas

2008-01-21, 10:33 pm

On Tue, 22 Jan 2008 02:56:00 +0000, larry <noone@home.com> wrote in
< Xns9A2CE0D23AFB9noon
ehomecom@208.49.80.253>:

>4phun <vic.healey@gmail.com> wrote in news:2e17d24b-ca0c-4adf-b691-
> 8e08dd1df64b@e10g200
0prf.googlegroups.com:
>
>
>I don't think it's such a mystery. Google specializes in browser-based
>apps. Iphone is a browser-based appliance. What's the mystery? It gives
>Google an outlet with a few million potential customers to spam, which is
>what Google is all about...

Google CEO Dr. Eric Schmidt is on Apple’s Board of Directors. ;)

--
Best regards, FAQ FOR AT&T (CINGULAR) WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/AT&T_Wireless_FAQ>

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