Showing posts with label gphone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gphone. Show all posts

06 November 2007

Let a Thousand Mobile Linuxes Bloom

One of the (many) question marks hanging over Google's Open Handset Alliance is how it fits in with the other mobile Linuxes out there - and what they think about it. Well, this is what LiMo says:

“The LiMo Foundation welcomes the news of Google’s mobile initiative. We believe Google’s entry into the mobile industry and the launch of the Open Handset Alliance further validate mobile Linux as the foundation technology enabling convergence within and beyond mobile,” said Morgan Gillis.

But Mandy Rice-Davies doubtless applies.

05 November 2007

GPhone: Microsoft Still Not Picking It Up

So the GPhone has landed, or rather:

“We are not building a GPhone; we are enabling 1,000 people to build a GPhone,” said Andy Rubin, Google’s director of mobile platforms, who led the effort to develop the software.

And, of course, it's how they're enabling those 1,000 companies to create GPhones that's critical:

The software running on the phones may not even display the Google logo. Instead, Google is giving the software away to others who will build the phones. The company invested heavily in the project to ensure that all of its services are available on mobile phones. Its ultimate goal is to cash in on the effort by selling advertisements to mobile phone users, just as it does on Internet-connected computers.

It's a totally different model: you make it as easy as possible for companies to design the phones, you help them sell as many as possible, and then make your money from the user-base. Microsoft's John O’Rourke, of course, still doesn't get it (or maybe just pretends not to):

“They may be delivering one component that is free,” he said. “You have to ask the question, what additional costs come with commercializing that? I can tell you that there are a bunch of phones based on Linux today, and I don’t think anyone would tell you it’s free.”

Sorry, John, that's was "free as in freedom", rather than "free as in beer".

Update 1: Lazy me: here's the original press release. And another thing: note that as well as GNU/Linux, as expected, there is also Java. Now consider what might have happened had Java not be GPL'd....

Update 2: Here's a nice quote from one of the Mr Googles hisself:

Sergey Brin: “As I look at it I reflect, ten years ago I was sitting at a graduate student cubicle. We were able to build incredible things,. There was a set of tools that allowed us to do that. It was all open technologies. It was based on Linux, GNU, Apache. All those pieces and many more allowed us to do great things and distribute it to the world. That is what we are doing today, to allow people to innovate on today’s mobile devices. Today’s mobile devices are more powerful than those computers I was working on just ten years ago. I cannot wait to see what today’s innovators will build.”

RMS will be pleased at the rare call-out for GNU there.

Update 3: Whoops, should've spotted this:

The one I really can’t figure out is this: how did Google (and friends) manage to build a “complete mobile phone software stack” built on the GPL licensed “open Linux Kernel” that’s itself licensed under the “commercial-friendly” Apache v2 license that protects would-be adopters from the “from the ‘viral infection’ problem.” Before you ask, yes that’s a direct quote, and yes I think using it is an exceptionally poor decision. I expected more from you, Google.

Very odd.

02 November 2007

Deconstructing the gPhone

One of the reasons I've been writing about Google's purportedly-imminent gPhone is because of its knock-on effect on the whole GNU/Linux ecosystem. Here's a Forbes feature exploring the same idea:

Industry efforts such as the Mobile Linux Initiative, however, would allow Google to move into mobile without pushing aside some potential partners. Of the three largest handset makers, both Motorola and Samsung have placed big bets on Linux-powered handsets, with Nokia trying out a smaller number of smart phones and tablets. Putting out an open-source collection of software would allow all three to integrate Google's services into its efforts.

This is an important point. When there are several competing systems, the best way to agree on a common standard is to adopt something completely different that offers the same competitive advantage to everyone. That's why companies have been lining up to back GNU/Linux, and junking their own, older Unix flavours (well, everyone except Sun).

08 October 2007

Why the GPhone Will Be an LPhone

Makes sense:

At the core of Google's phone efforts is an operating system for mobile phones that will be based on Linux, the open-source software, according to industry executives familiar with the project.

While Google has built phone prototypes to test its software and show off its technology to manufacturers, the company is not likely to make phones, according to analysts.

In short, Google is not creating a gadget to rival the iPhone, but rather creating software that will be an alternative to Windows Mobile from Microsoft and other operating systems, which are built into phones sold by many manufacturers. And unlike Microsoft, Google is not expected to charge phone makers a licensing fee for the software.

"The essential point is that Google's strategy is to lead the creation of an open-source competitor to Windows Mobile," said an industry executive, who did not want his name used because his company has had contacts with Google. "They will put it in the open-source world and take the economics out of the Windows Mobile business."