So supposedly the gPhone is being announced on monday [wsj]. Below is my 10 minute take/predictions.
What I predict its going to be:
- Its not going to be *a* phone, but really *any* phone with the google mobile OS
- The OS/Software/Platform itself will be FREE
- There will be a search box somewhere (both for internet and on the phone data search)
- All the phone data is going to be fully synchronized with the appropriate applications associated with the users google account (think gmail addressbook which they just revised)
- Capability to brick the phone (wirelessly) in case its lost/stolen, that way there won’t be a market for stolen phones, and I don’t have to freak out that someone can see my email!
- There will be a comprehensive SDK for developers to write applications for gPhone(s) and yes J2ME (and Flash) apps will be able to run out of the box
What I wonder:
- What role is the Google acquisition of grand central going to play ?
- Applications through the browser is compelling, but with slow internet speeds not a great user experience. So will they offer the capability for developers using the GWT to be able to compile gPhone apps out of the Java code they’ve written ?
- How Google will manage their closeness with Apple once they have a potential iPhone rival out there (no wonder we’re not hearing AT&T as one of the potential gPhone partners) ?
What I hope:
- It has support for not only wifi but WiMax too (wishful thinking… but learning that Sprint might be a partner, its only natural that they have discussed that option)
- Google open sources the code for the Operating System
It doesn’t require you to own a Mac/PC. There, I said it.
For years we’ve been forced to own a computer to be able to effectively use mobile devices; back them up, sync data etc. With people experiencing applications from Yahoo! and Google on demand on their phones with unlimited data plans, there is no way they are going to go back to the sync with Mac/PC model. I personally use Google mail/talk/maps on my Blackberry 8800 and don’t feel the need to own a computer at home for these basic tasks. Moreover I spend less time reading blogs (like this one!) online and more time catching up on my offline reading… but thats a topic for another day.
Given the above, I feel the iPhone should only be sold with a unlimited data plan from Cingular (in the USA), otherwise the user experience won’t be up to Apple’s standards.
I’m also hoping that the iPod functionality on the iPhone will not require a computer, but instead be linked permanently with my apple account. I should be able to buy a new iPhone, enter my apple id/password and have all my songs magically appear. Its obviously not possible over the slow Cingular edge data speeds, but the iPhone thankfully has wifi. All my contacts/calendar etc. should also be backed up on .mac or a seamlessly with my Google account.
The iPhone is going to have some worthy competitors in the new Blackberry’s that are coming out. Its giving new life to the product lines from most mobile phone manufacturers and even their stock (at least RIMM).
May 9th, 2007 in
iPhone,
wifi |
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Welcome to the thin client blog! Since this is my first post and this blog is about thin clients (duh!), I thought I’d take this opportunity to define what I (yes I!!) think is a thin client (from this point on referred to as TC). Here’s what Wikipedia and Sun CEO Jonathan Shwartz think.
Is my Blackberry 8800 a TC? Or for that matter the iPhone (we’ll see I guess) or *Phone? Is my firefox browser a TC in and off itself? Would you define your operating system (be it OSX, Linux or Vista) a TC?
The answer to most of the above is a sad maybe. While there is much sadness now, I see a happy future; one where I can recreate my desktop experience on any desktop. A future where I can change mobile phones without thinking about importing/exporting my contacts/calendar/email etc. One where I can change laptops (and operating systems?) and not miss the old one (at least from a functional perspective). I don’t want my data (meta-data too) to be stuck on any device. In this respect this blog is going to be very similar in nature to the Read/Write Web.
Things you can expect to read about on this blog:
- Platforms: Firefox, (Mobile) Operating Systems
- Enablers: GWT, Silverlight, Adobe Apollo
- Must haves (show stoppers): Wifi, WiMax, Intuitive UI’s
- Companies/Brands: Flickr, GYM (Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft), Clearwire
More names will be added to the lists above as time goes on, but the must haves are the ones which will require the most effort and up-front capital expenditure. Topics like net neutrality and where important companies stand on this topic will also closely be watched on this blog.
Here’s wishing everyone a enjoyable (if bumpy) ride, on our way to TC nirvana!!
