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Are Google and Apple outsmarting everyone else?

cnet.com — If you ask me, this is looking more and more like a premeditated, 5-year, three-point plan that aims at one eventual conclusion: reinvent the cell phone business. Objective 1: make Gphone dominant. Objective 2: Make the 700MHz spectrum a free, shared, open Wi-Fi network for people all over the country. Objective 3: Get the iPhone on the spectrum

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  • Ireland, on 11/03/2007, -5/+76Sooner or later "the Goog" will get their own digg tech subsection.
    • anotherjeff, on 11/02/2007, -7/+72Probably before an images section.
      • muniak, on 11/01/2007, -12/+1I wanted to bury this because it made me mad, but it's probably true.
    • NiX0n, on 11/01/2007, -0/+4It would be nice if we could reorganize old stuff into proper categories
      • chad78, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1KEVIN ROSE - PLEASE READ THAT COMMENT AND MAKE THAT HAPPEN!

        kthxbye
  • jlindenbaum, on 11/02/2007, -2/+85Maybe it's just me as an Apple fanboy, but I can't wait to see what happens with the 700Mhz spectrum beginning next year, especially if Google gets a strangle on it. Be it GPhone or iPhone, we're going to be seeing some pretty cool stuff coming from California next year.
    • virtualball, on 11/02/2007, -14/+4I don't see the connection with the iPhone. Why would Google share the wealth? It would be like Apple creating iPhone apps for Verizon, it's still competition...
      • 68024, on 11/01/2007, -2/+25RTFA?
        "Besides Al Gore and Steve Jobs, there is one individual currently sitting on the Board of Directors at Apple that may have some impact on the future of both companies: Google chairman and CEO, Eric Schmidt."
        • pt4117, on 11/01/2007, -1/+3Just because he is on the board of both doesn't mean that they must work together freely. He has a responsibility to both companies to try to make them profits. If they just freely shared stuff their would be a huge outcry from stock holders.

          Like if Google owned the entire spectrum, and gave apple a sweat heart deal Google stock holders would have an issue with that. As a matter of fact he probably has to be extra careful to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interests.
          • HonoredMule, on 11/01/2007, -0/+2The whole plan laid out by the article is pure speculation with some coincidental information carefully woven throughout, but it's feasible enough to warrant a little hoping and dreaming.

            It COULD be what's going to happen, and it certainly would be nice. Such a deal would mutually benefit Apple AND Google, because it would make them co-owners of the newly dominant platform for mobile communications. What's more, either one's capacity for reaching this point of dominance, shared or not, is greatly diminished if they don't work together.

            We know that's the position Google is after, the biggest question is whether Apple wants to go there too, or if they'd rather just focus on hardware and user-experience with exclusively their own products and services. I'm inclined to think that, especially given their compromised AT&T position, they'd rather have control over the network also.
    • stoppedcode12, on 11/02/2007, -0/+12It'd be very exciting if Google and/or Apple gets majority control over the 700mhz spectrum, since it is superior in terms of range. This can literally make Google into a cellular/urban wifi leader in US overnight.

      If they don't make the bid for 700mhz now, they will never be able to do it again. Not for a very long time anyways.
    • theblt, on 11/02/2007, -2/+3I vote for a GiPhone. Although if that happens, there's gonna be a ton of awful parodies..
      • chad78, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1the iGooglePhone - they already own iGoogle.com
      • hexydes, on 11/02/2007, -1/+2G.I.Phone - The Real American Cell Phone
  • jlindenbaum, on 11/01/2007, -16/+1I'm surprised they don't have their own yet - I guess for now they don't have enough new daily content coming to digg!?
  • totorototoro, on 11/02/2007, -1/+99I wouldn't mind seeing this happen at all.
    • KSteezy, on 11/02/2007, -0/+30Having a smart phone not limited to a certain carrier and doesn't have restricted components sounds good to me.
    • JrGhoull, on 11/01/2007, -4/+13google and apple almost totally controlling the cellphone market has just gotta lead to the consumer getting screwed over in some way...doesn't it?
      • stoppedcode12, on 11/01/2007, -1/+12yes, but they are lesser evils compared to at&t and Verizon.
      • gerrymac, on 11/02/2007, -0/+19Well maybe i'm just a fanboy, but i've always seen Apple and Google as the good guys.
      • ncaauwe, on 11/02/2007, -0/+5Not when the first company in your sentence is Google.
        • rassoodock, on 11/02/2007, -1/+1Naw, Google isn't evil. I'm sure the 5 billion+ that their board of directors made by selling Google stock last year all went to charity :) Little known fact: Google insiders made more money selling Google stock than Google made in net revenues.
          • ccheath, on 11/02/2007, -0/+2is it a crime (or evil) to make money?
            they deserve whatever they can get out of the market
      • MorbenDK, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1something tells me they might lead the market, but be very open to others becoming involved
  • andrewcsayer, on 11/02/2007, -3/+79Goopple
  • hoppdawg, on 11/02/2007, -1/+51I've been thinking something along those lines will happen. We will have blazing fast wifi across the US in a few years.

    I love it how they can just say ***** you to the establishment. Until they become the establishment though...
    • Player1, on 11/02/2007, -0/+12Sic semper tyrannis.
    • bingobongony, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1except it won't.
    • yabos, on 11/01/2007, -0/+3Hopefully you're right. Unfortunately it doesn't ever seem to happen in the US because of all the lobbying going on. The government would rather see the status quo stay intact than have some true competition(with the exception of a few areas).
    • crlingerfelt, on 11/01/2007, -1/+1iPhone has exclusive deal w/ AT&T..if thats not estalishment then I dont know what is....and look at GOOGLE's record in China...it sucks
      • redxxx, on 11/01/2007, -0/+2Is it in anyway different from the record off every single other IT company that does business in china?
      • redxxx, on 11/01/2007, -1/+1Is it in anyway different from the record off every single other IT company that does business in china?
  • masterm1nd, on 11/01/2007, -15/+2In googles case, maybe. In apples case, well, outsmarting is relative to those being outsmarted...
    • GreyICE, on 11/01/2007, -11/+6Apple's entire business model is based on being the underdog. If they ever got a serious market share, no one would accept their garbage, anti-competitive practices.

      Since they have like 5% of the market or something though, no one gives a crap about them.
      • totorototoro, on 11/01/2007, -2/+11Except that in their iPod business model they aren't the underdog, and have serious marketshare, and people seem to have accepted their "garbage, anti competitive practices". Other than that GREAT POINT :p
    • masterm1nd, on 11/01/2007, -4/+1/kidding
  • Dylson, on 11/02/2007, -7/+18Yes.
  • Lenny, on 11/01/2007, -3/+40Give the consumer what they want, and they'll come back for more. definitely outsmarting verizon with that one.
  • themoosejuice, on 11/02/2007, -20/+7JUST ONE PROBLEM
    1. ok, gphone, open hardware, sounds great.
    2. free on 700mhz spectum, yeah.
    3. ummm.... there are no 700mhz antennas or towers, DOH! towers cost upwards of $100,000 each.

    So you got a great phone with no service, hehe
    • Darmichar, on 11/01/2007, -3/+36I believe Google and Apple combined have a few dollars they can spend on 700MHz towers.
    • Scaryclouds, on 11/01/2007, -2/+12...Did you read the article? No...
    • derrickgossman, on 11/01/2007, -1/+21That was just a stupid comment.
      Whoever invests a large chunk of money in the 700mhz spectrum won't invest more to build out towers?
    • parkerhiggins, on 11/01/2007, -1/+6Can you recommend any further information, or a source, on this? I'm not saying you're wrong, I would just like to read up. For example, how many towers would be necessary? How many towers are there that broadcast on the current frequency?
    • TeatimeGrommit, on 11/01/2007, -1/+22Towers? hahahahaha. How 1990. Google has an entirely different idea in mind and it involves selling 700mhz routers to ordinary homes and businesses for cheap. Catch? You provide spectrum to your neighbors (with some guarantee of how much slice you get, to provide incentive.) Hence the need for new FCC "openness" rules. If google wanted to build towers, they'd just buy the spectrum and not try to change the rules.
    • fatdog789, on 11/01/2007, -3/+3I suggest you look at local plats, or ask the FTC. Either way, you'll shortly discover that the number of towers in cities easily reaches into the hundreds; LA, NY, Chicago, Atlanta, and Dallas have upwards of several *thousand* towers.
      It's important to note that each service provider must install its own towers, or pay enormous sums of money to use someone else's towers. Local cell providers (ie, city or regional scope) usually pay one of the big players to use the pre-existing towers.
      It's also important to note that each tower has a capacity of only a few hundred simultaneous calls/connections. If you've ever been to a sporting event, you may have seen the portable rigs that ATT/Verizon set up to handle the increased load. I should point out that portable rigs are just for voice calls; data transfer becomes unmanageable beyond a few hundred connections, especially at broadband speeds.
      Finally, this all doesn't even include the cost of PROPERTY, PERMITS/INSPECTIONS, CONSTRUCTION, POWER, and MAINTENANCE that are all necessary to keep the tower up and running. The going rate for a cell tower is $10k/year in most of CA (for private homes; most skyscrapers allow cell service providers to install antennas in/on the building for undisclosed sums).
      Long story short: this will cost *billions* just to outfit the major population centers of CA *or* NY.
    • eminem213486, on 11/01/2007, -0/+11According to some estimates, the cost of building a nationwide wireless network over the 700 MHz spectrum is around $2 billion versus a nationwide 1900MHz PCS that costs approximately $4 Billion. The costs are lower in rural areas, due to less interference issues and wide-open spaces. That’s because each tower broadcasting at 700MHz covers twice as many square miles. Some estimates say that a single 700 MHz tower can cover 20-miles.

      http://gigaom.com/2007/03/14/700mhz-explained/
    • shodanx, on 11/01/2007, -4/+0that's OK
      we've done this before
      We'll take it from here

      VE2 EHF and the ham radio community
  • delay, on 11/02/2007, -12/+24I will be amazed if google's phone is even close to the iphone. I have yet to see any good ui design from google. Very few companies are capable of doing this well. While there company has talent in some areas they have yet to make anything comparable. They are also notoriously cheap on spending for startup projects. To make a decent g-phone it is going to take a lot of new talent that they have not shown they have yet. People will probably digg me down because I know how in love everyone is with google.
    • 68024, on 11/02/2007, -0/+17The article says that whatever phone project Google is working on may not actually even be a device, but could be an OS. Coupling that with Google CEO Eric Schmidt being on Apple's board of directors and some of the other moves they made (700mhz spectrum etc) the article's premise is that Google+Apple will revolutionize the phone market together.
    • JrGhoull, on 11/01/2007, -3/+1so i guess it's possible that all the iphones in a few years will have huge software upgrades which will in truth be entirely new operating systems...wow..
    • winnch, on 11/01/2007, -4/+1I do think Google is absolutely terrible at design in everything they have made, but I also think the expectations for designing BETTER THAN Windows Mobile and Palm is so low, even Google's terrible designs might be seen as impressive. Will it be close to the iPhone? Not nearly. Will it rival the iPhone in technology? I doubt it.

      I'm excited for Google to own that spectrum (I guess), but the gPhone is the least exciting rumor out there right now.
      • inflagrante, on 11/01/2007, -0/+2I don't think you understand the term "design" and what good design is. Without exceptionally good design, google would be nowhere near what it is now. Try google.com for an example.
    • yoyar, on 11/01/2007, -0/+4Google doesn't make great designs. That's not their business. They make highly usable applications that can be continuously updated and improved and I for one love using the applications they produce. But you can't judge them by fancy design. It's just not what they do. And most people don't care, except for designers and most people are not designers. What most people care about is that the application does what they want in a simple and intuitive way. Also, with the iterative design model that Google uses, they can constantly add new features, which I find to be very enjoyable and I look forward to. You never know what new feature is going to pop up next in gmail etc... That's part of the fun of using it. Not to mention the humorous error messages and stuff like that. If Google produces a phone I bet it won't have any fancy look and feel front end. It will have all the features people want in a very simple UI and be really fun and easy and SIMPLE to use. They won't try to compete with Apple on Apple's level. They'll compete with Apple on Google's level.
  • nextbigthang, on 11/01/2007, -14/+9umm...does anyone realize that the "gphone" and iphone will be direct competitors if this were to happen...why would google and apple work together on something that will be direct competition? my opinion: almost everything said was correct except google is sticking with SOFTWARE...because thats how they make billions of dollars per quarter...come on now...lets be serious
    • 68024, on 11/02/2007, -0/+12Perhaps you should re-read the article. Or maybe you didn't read it first time around?
    • WebWorker, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1Because.. if two are working together and dominate together, that is better than someone else dominating.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligopoly
    • clockdist, on 11/03/2007, -0/+0It wouldn't be a gPhone vs. iPhone competition, it would be a gPhone vs. at&t competition.
  • kbaz, on 11/02/2007, -6/+15*****
    • ajchavar, on 11/02/2007, -0/+10i dunno, i see what you're saying, but i'm not sure most people would agree, or even understand.
      • shuster420, on 11/01/2007, -2/+2That is a total farse! If ou had a ***** brain in your head, you wouldn't even go there
  • 68024, on 11/02/2007, -0/+28Music industry, phone industry, movie industry, tv industry... time to turn 'em all on their heads and take a 21st century approach.
  • slevdog, on 11/01/2007, -6/+3That would be awesome! It makes sense, but is unlikely.
    • AndrewWiggin, on 11/01/2007, -1/+3I agree. This kind of article gets people excited but it's not going to happen. MAYBE the cell phone industry will be revolutionized, wouldn't that be exciting, but no, it won't be. I want it as bad as you guys even though I'll probably get dugg down for calling BS.
      • LiquidFusion, on 11/01/2007, -1/+2Dugg for Ender's game reference in screen name.
  • majortom1981, on 11/01/2007, -8/+2I hope google would have enough money to compete with both att and verizon.
    • sirdaz, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1huh? AT&T and Verizon are in the same market, so competing with one means competing with the the other at the same time.
  • POPULATIONPASTE, on 11/01/2007, -23/+6Apple has good products, but they also have a ridiculous, brain dead consumer base that will blow a load on anything brandishing their logo. It's getting to the point where I want to sell my macbook pro and get a PC so I'm not associated with these snobs. God forbid one of them sees you with carrying an apple laptop, they jump at the chance to infect you with their virginity germs.
    • POPULATIONPASTE, on 11/02/2007, -13/+4oh boy, i've angered the apple fanboys on their home turf. What with all the mens health articles that get posted here on dig, im sure they're all ripped by now and ready to hurt some apple haters.
      • 68024, on 11/02/2007, -2/+5Trolling much?
        (ps I'm a pc owner with Vista just so you know)
    • luchid, on 11/01/2007, -0/+8Get a PC, go ahead, see if anyone here or elsewhere cares...
    • Audacitor, on 11/02/2007, -0/+7Would it be okay if we "fanboys" encouraged you to get a PC? We don't want to associated with you either.
  • Trojan, on 11/01/2007, -9/+4The best Tech Fan Fiction yet. This is why Newspapers will remain dominant over blogs. People are just too wide-eyed about their favorite brands.
  • woodengate, on 11/01/2007, -9/+1Perhaps it has something to do with why Apple keeps telling developers to learn how to write applications in Google for the iPhone.

    themoosejuice - So at $100,000 per tower at the current prices, you're talking around 150 shares of Google stock per tower. How many shares of Google stock are there? Don't think that it is going to be a problem.
    • TeatimeGrommit, on 11/01/2007, -1/+10Where google's going, they don't NEED towers.
    • fatdog789, on 11/01/2007, -1/+2$100k/tower is just the rental/usage fee for the tower *each year*. It doesn't include maintenance, power, upgrades, etc.
    • hoppdawg, on 11/01/2007, -0/+4Just because shares of the company are highly valued doesn't mean they will dilute ownership and issue more stock to bye cell towers.
  • Gloony, on 11/01/2007, -8/+2Absolutely silly. It seems that all anyone has to do these days for a story to get credence is mention the iPhone - the idea that a hardware product or two and a new network on a new spectrum could revolutionise the mobile phone industry is stupid. It's not the products or services that are the cause of the idiotic mobile phone situation in the US, it's the regulations.
  • fugazi, on 11/01/2007, -10/+3Oh yes because Microsoft is doing so bad...
  • JasonCox, on 11/03/2007, -20/+12"Are Google and Apple outsmarting everyone else?"
    I'm sure I'm going to get dugg down, but no, they arent.

    Google wasnt the first to have an awesome search engine and a few out there *now* are alot better than Google, the thing is Google has brand recognition, we all just 'Google it'. Google's products seem to be in a never-ending beta, GoogleTalk for example, its an awesome light-weight client but give me a week, some Red Bull and a decent IDE & database and I can out-do it. It's been a long time since I saw innovation, a feature that just made me say 'Wow', come out of Mountain View. Google's products today are lackluster and the other big 3 search engines return more accurate results then Google does. Google's money is in advertising and while they have some awesome sideprojects these days, they arent taking the time to develop them into fully featured products that can be consumed by the masses. Personally I think Google needs to take a hint from Microsoft Research, whether you like Microsoft or not you have to admit there have been some awesome things coming out of MSR lately.

    Apple, god save me from the fanboys, wasnt the first to offer an all-in-one PC. They werent the first to make a cell phone let along a cell phone with a touch screen. They werent the first to make an MP3 player. As with Google, they definently arent the best in most of what they do, but when kids think MP3 players, they think iPod. When people think sexy computers, they think Mac. Apple, for all I could say has done one thing well, they've shown us how powerfull marketing and branding can be. Apple is a consumer electronics company now, they're popular and they're going to continue making boat loads of money but they sure as hell arent outsmarting anyone.
    • luchid, on 11/01/2007, -0/+16Nobody said Apple was the first to make a cellphone, let alone an mp3 player. They just made a prettier, more intuitive and polished one. Blending good software with nice designs tends to drive customers to your brand.
    • frostmonkey, on 11/02/2007, -10/+1I dont know why in the ***** people are digging you down. You hit it right on. Dugg.
      • pauleric, on 11/02/2007, -0/+6"...and they're going to continue making boat loads of money but they sure as hell arent outsmarting anyone." Making money is what running a business is all about. He says he could write a better GoogleTalk in a week, so why doesn't he? Probably because Google and Apple are outsmarting him. And me too, for that matter, but I'm not claiming to be a good businessman.
    • JrGhoull, on 11/01/2007, -1/+2i agree with u on the brand recognition, and simplicity. google is well known, and very ***** free. go onto ask.com though...alot prettier with a lot of neat stuff on it. i wont say whether or not ask is better or worse than google (have not done any sort of testing) but my point is that i agree with u that google is not the end all/be all search engine.
    • rockets, on 11/02/2007, -11/+2Dugg you also. Go away Apple fanboys, you iDiots
    • xkhaozx, on 11/02/2007, -0/+8Why the ***** does it matter whether they've done it first? That doesn't mean *****, the fact remains that they've done it better. Google is the most popular search engine. The iPod controls the vast majority of the music player market.

      So you argument is that because google and apple were not the first to make those products/services, they are not smarter than everyone else in their respectable area's, even if they've created the most popular products/services in that area? Yeah that makes a lot of sense.
      • Monkeywithacold, on 11/02/2007, -0/+4Its like saying "Because Michael Jordan wasn't the first basketball player....He obviously couldn't have been the best"
        ...idk, something like that.
  • Galactabung, on 11/01/2007, -7/+2In a word. Yes.
  • bbq2007, on 11/02/2007, -2/+26Will the gPhone and iPhone be combined to some sort of hPhone? Who can tell? we can all speculate, and blah blah blah.
    • highPhone, on 11/02/2007, -0/+6hmmmm..... a hydrogen powered phone.....
      You're right! I'm sick of paying high gas prices just to use my phone to and from work!

      /points to al gore
  • hollyminkowski, on 11/01/2007, -2/+6The 700mhz spectrum is the key thing for Google.
    That is indeed prime rf real estate.
    700mhz would be ideal for a plane borne WiFi network.
    Just put equipment on a large number of domestic flights and you have an instant coast to coast network.
    The range of rf gear at 30,000+ ft is staggering....just a few planes in the air could link from NY to LA.
    • ccheath, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1the planes would have to have a highspeed uplink to the internet for your idea to work...
      we just barely got wifi for the 200 passengers on the plane... you'd need the equivalent of a few fiber connections for your idea ... nice thought though
  • pengas, on 11/02/2007, -7/+7This is some great fiction here..
  • TeatimeGrommit, on 11/01/2007, -5/+4Google is going to change things. The Apple thing is just the oddest throw-in to the article. Google wants to buy 700mhz bandwidth but with changed rules so that they don't have to build towers. They'll be able to sell routers on that spectrum to ordinary homes and businesses. iPhone can come along or not. Google doesn't care. Apple isn't really part of this plan. Apple just happens to have a popular phone (that doesn't speak 700mhz). Will Apple join Google? Probably. But Apple isn't calling these shots. It's Google's gamble that they can do this.
    • 68024, on 11/01/2007, -1/+8And that Google CEO on Apple's board of directors... also meaningless. /sarcasm
  • eminem213486, on 11/01/2007, -0/+4im all in it for google, they surelly have the 2 billion needed for the towers, and i think the current tv ones work too.
    How's google on the IPTV wagon? :p
  • vwvan, on 11/01/2007, -2/+7Google knows that 700 MHz pierces the ionosphere. Google has an alien on their board. I know they buried a chip in my back molar. Why do you think they get to park their jet on the NASA-Ames Apron? When the aliens hear us talking on our phones instead of sending them Hawaii Five-O reruns, they will drink more space beer. Then, when they run out of beer the cosmic balance will be upset. They will fly down here in their UFO's and toast our pink asses so we will just shut up. "It's a setup Dano". 700 MHz. Give me a break. Its skynet.
  • JrGhoull, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1the article seems pretty believable and well thought out....i buy it. he seemed to attach everything to 5 years from now, and it all added up...unless there was something he missed and/or nelglected to mention...i guess there is a good chance that this will happen sometime between 2012 to 2013 (providing nothing happens that slows or even messes up the whole thing)

    hahah the only good news is that by then we will all hopefully have decent internet everywhere we go!
  • jstowell, on 11/01/2007, -0/+0I think that it makes a great deal of sense. Google will likely win the spectrum because it seems that they will spend whatever it takes. If Google wins it they could charge companies, not just apple, to use the spectrum for connectivity. This would mean that consumers get low monthly costs as well as great reception due to the possibilities that 700Mhz allows.
  • mal1964, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1General Electric, gets paid from smart and dumb companies
  • inkswamp, on 11/02/2007, -1/+5> If Google and Apple weren't so close, I honestly believe the former would have
    > released a cell phone that could compete on the same level as the iPhone.

    Wow, talk about reaching. This writer is really stretching things. In order for that statement to have any credibility, two things must be true. A) Google would have to have a proven track record in creating hardware (which they do not, and in fact, the attempts they've made at producing hardware have been utter failures) and B) Google would have to have some technical expertise marrying software to said hardware. That's not exactly a no-brainer.

    I think this article is interesting, but it makes some terrible leaps in logic.
  • Steaminx, on 11/01/2007, -0/+5Apple Goo.
  • bob7, on 11/01/2007, -0/+2They're definitely out-somethining everyone else.
  • iburl, on 11/01/2007, -1/+2I agree with inkswamp! I enjoyed this article and it provides some fun food for thought. However, I disagree with the notion that Google could release a cell phone that could compete on the same level as the iPhone if they just decided they wanted to. Google wasn't even a url when Apple was starting the projects that resulted in the iPhone. I know Google has tons of money and all, but it's not that easy to just decide to make an iPhone when you have never seen one to Monday morning quarterback about. Apple is cutting edge hardware design company that is constantly pushing the computer industry with their (eventually profitable) demands. Google has no place in the hardware design game.
    • rassoodock, on 11/02/2007, -0/+2Exactly, and how many failures and internal turmoil did Apple go through before releasing the iPod and iPhone. Google is just a baby, yet untouched by the trials and tribulations of the real world.
  • kidcodea, on 11/02/2007, -0/+7the article is great except for the fact it made absolutely no sense.
    • iburl, on 11/01/2007, -0/+6Also, there is no such thing as a gPhone. I love this wikipedia reference:

      Muchmore, Michael W. - ExtremeTech.com: "GPhone to Appear in Two Weeks?" (August 24, 2007)
  • arunarun2000, on 11/01/2007, -2/+2kinda funny article...gphone and iphone are going to be competitors i believe...
  • bingobongony, on 11/01/2007, -2/+1MAke the GPhone dominant? You mean like Gmail, Google Talk, Google Video, Orkut...etc? Just DOMINATING their markets, right?
    • psykiv, on 11/01/2007, -0/+4Just about everyone I know has a gmail account. Last I checked Youtube is also pretty damn popular too.
      • bingobongony, on 11/01/2007, -2/+2Gmail's market share is TINY compared to Yahoo and Hotmail. And you may have noticed that Google BOUGHT YouTube...because their own one gots its ass kicked by it
        So, unless Google is planning on buying out an existing cell phone company, chances are it will be insignificant. The fact reamins that the only two things Google has ever done that have been successful and profitable to them are search and ads. Everything else has lost them money. Many have been spectacular failures.
        • Zaneris, on 11/01/2007, -0/+2Hey there's an idea, they'll probably buy a cell phone company. It's not like they don't have the money...
        • zoom1928, on 11/02/2007, -0/+5Tiny? I've compared the number of matches for gmail.com versus hotmail.com or yahoo.com in my spool for 1,900 users, and gmail.com appears to be by far the most popular web-based mail system. Do you have any actual real data or are you yet another Microsoft-shill on Digg?
  • endus, on 11/02/2007, -9/+0OMG OMG I HOPE SO...THEN FINALLY STEVE JOBS WILL BE RECOGNIZED AS THE GENIUS HE IS AND APPLE WILL BE ABLE TO FINALLY AFFORD TO PAY US ALL TO FELLATE HIM 24/7/365!!!!

    So yea, according to the article like 3 above this one (Verizon and Google in talks), Im gonna go with "no".
    • endus, on 11/01/2007, -0/+0And, really, what a fantastic ad Apple did back then. People STILL have this vision of them as this free and open company despite the fact that they ran on proprietary hardware and tried to keep you from opening the case for YEARS before finally admitting that was a mistake.

      Not saying they haven't done some good stuff (I have an iPod too) but damn...I cant take the fanboys anymore.
    • bingobongony, on 11/01/2007, -2/+1You are talking to Digg. They would pay HIM to let them fellate him. Many probably have made the offer.
  • paradoxy, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1well, if they werent planning on this before, they are now....and with a better plan/counterplans/contingency plans, since everybody knows about it and the big companies can prepare for it.

    but, there is the chance that they cant, so congrats, you might've just ruined their 5 year meticulously-implemented plan
  • cl0n3x, on 11/01/2007, -0/+2One word: openmoko
  • CIAVT, on 11/01/2007, -0/+10If Google starts collecting underpants, buy stock no matter what the price... They are the only people possibly capable of figuring out step 2.
  • thebrawl, on 11/01/2007, -0/+5Obviously Google would like free WiFi for the US, they're not secretive about that. All the Apple stuff is nonsense. If Google gets 700Mhz, EVERYbody's cell phone will have WiFi service. And that's the last thing the FCC wants.
    • jstowell, on 11/01/2007, -0/+2Why exactly is that the last thing the FCC wants. I don't really see a reason that the FCC would care.
  • VCAT, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1Theres no collusion. Both companies realize the next paradigm shift in the "information revolution" is mobile, just like Microsoft realized in the 90's the next shift was the internet and hastily developed/bundled IE. The concept of the telecoms as gatekeepers to mobile is going to be challenged by Google, and really for the benefit of all. Do you really trust the vision-less bean counters in the telecom industry to pioneer anything? except maybe deceptive marketing pushes. Go Google!
  • itseffinkasey, on 11/01/2007, -6/+2Here I'll help you out...
    IS Google and Apple outsmarting everyone else.
  • tomis, on 11/01/2007, -0/+2Well if Google pulls it off it will be a big hit. And for Apple to ignore that and stick with AT&T at that point would be suicide. But then again, Apple choose to lock themselves to one carrier in the first place. So maybe they're already doomed.
  • Kila, on 11/01/2007, -3/+0Steps to break the Telcos

    #1. Pretend your getting in bed with them iPhone AT&T gPhone Verizon check
    #2. Sweaten the deal but gain a tactically insurmountable advantage gPhone 700mhz spectrum iPhone iPod itunes crack phone
    #3. Strike such a sweat deal that the Telcos pay for their own destrcution Apple AT&T deal done check, gPhone Verizon ad supported revenue check
    #4. Slowly over 3 or 4 years Revolutionalize the publics thinking about Traditional cellphones and how you pay for them iPhone check gPhone check
    #5. Adopt home Activation of phones instead of instore check
    #6. Refuse Carrier specific branding on your phones to taunt them to their faces no AT&T brand on iPhone no Verizon brand on gPhone check
    #7. Divide and conquer tactically Apple takes GSM whiles Google attacks CDMA Verizon check
    #8. Leave Microsoft sitting on the fences saying the are still dominant and they are. While Windows Mobile tries to catch up to iPhone
    #9. Attack both segments of the market High Priced Luxury iPhone while the gPhone is a lower price point with cheaper Ad supported plans very cheap. But they have 700mhz spectrum so very powerfull.

    #10 Head fake Verizon with the iPhone let them turn it down so they think they are in control of your destiny when in reality thats what you wanted them to do.

    They are playing right into your hands and they don't even realize it until its way too late


    With Apples iPhone AT&T deal AT&T is basically paving the way for its own destruction and financially payving to fund its own demise. Tactically Apple pretends to be in Bed with AT&T or the time being by supporting Contracts and SIM Locking. gPhone will no doubt bring 700mhz spectrum to Verizon and some ad supported revenue.

    This 4 to 5 year divide and conquer plan of attack could not be more clear. Apple revolutionize cell phones and Music and movie industry distribution. Google revolutionize web access and onlines ads they are the gate keepers to all.
    • xcecatalina, on 11/02/2007, -0/+2I would hope they would want to strike a "sweet" deal...not a "sweat" one...
  • peterinjapan, on 11/01/2007, -1/+3And me, holding Microsoft stock. What a schmuck I am.
    • MAnt, on 11/01/2007, -0/+1P, isn't that up 33% for the year? I sold my MSFT while it was still flat. BTW I love the Jlist.
  • blackmage439, on 11/01/2007, -1/+1While I'm not usually a supporter of trading one monopoly for another, I would gladly see an Apple/Google conglomerate come to power.
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