Google's cell phone plans delayed
Posted
Jun 23 2008, 12:47 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Google's trying to herd cats with the development of its Android mobile phone platform, and it's no surprise that the project is running into delays. The mobile industry is notoriously slow, and hammering out phone and software agreements with carriers is a laborious process. The Wall Street Journal says that cell phone companies are "struggling" to meet Google's timelines and may end up blowing the deadline altogether.
It doesn't help that Apple's iPhone is king of the industry getting the industry's attention right now, which presents two problems for Google. Software makers are putting the iPhone at the top of priority lists. And second, the iPhone has raised the bar, increasing pressure on Google to create a worthy rival. Google shares are up just slightly to $546.66 at 10:30 a.m. PST.
Not that Android will be much like the iPhone. Apple tightly controls all aspects of the iPhone's development, while Android is intended to be more of a group effort. There may be too many cooks in Android's kitchen right now. Here are some other details from the WSJ article:
- T-Mobile is readying an Android phone for Q4.
- The T-Mobile phone is taking up so much of Google's attention that Sprint had to delay its Android phone until next year.
- China Mobile will delay its Android phone until late 2008 or early 2009.
- Mobile software makers say they can't write programs for Android until Google stops making changes to the software.
It would be a tough scenario for any company, even one with the resources and brain power of Google. The company must work with handset makers, cell phone carriers and software writers, and getting everyone on the same page for each version of an Android phone is a huge task.
But the reward could be well worth it. Google dominates the search business on the PC, making billions in profit every quarter mostly on advertising sales. The cell phone is the next great computing platform, and Google wants to be a major player in that industry. Doing so may be more difficult than Google originally thought.
Here's what others are saying about Google's Android issues today:
Om Malik: "Whimsical wishes of carriers, endless customization, software delays and of course, executive reshuffling -- these are facts of life for mobile start-ups. Welcome to the club, Google."
Digital Daily: "Apparently, a multinational consortium of companies working to develop an open mobile platform -- while a wonderful idea in theory -- is, in practice, a pain in the ass."
The Register: "Of course, no one seriously expects version 1 of Android to be any good. Creating a new mobile platform takes many iterations (if one is not Steve Jobs) as demonstrated by Microsoft, Symbian et al. Google isn't a company known for patience, but changing the world just can't be done in a day. "
Gizmodo: "A lot of has to do with the fact that Android itself is still baking -- it's hard to develop for an OS that isn't totally set and firm to the touch. So, even though Google has lotsa cool prototypes like one "a long touch-screen, similar to the Apple iPhone, a swivel-out full keyboard, and a trackball for navigation similar to the kind on some BlackBerrys," developers are having to constantly rewrite apps because the OS is in flux."
VentureBeat: "Eventually, maybe Google will find it to be in its best interests to make its own phone. At least it could avoid some of these headaches."
Disclosures: I don't own shares of any companies mentioned in this
post. And while Microsoft owns this blog, Microsoft does not control,
censor or otherwise have any editorial influence over what I write.
