Google – King of the Wireless World

There is no doubt that Google is the giant when it comes to search engines but the company is also well-known for making moves in other areas of the technology business. In the past few years, one of the major areas of development has been Google’s involvement in the wireless sector. With the release of the Android platform, the development of applications for the mobile web and the company’s interest in mobile advertising, Google is poised to play a major role in wireless communications in the years to come. Despite this, it is unlikely that Google will ever be considered specifically a wireless company.

Google’s Android

Google acquired Android back in 2005 and rumors immediately began flying that the search engine giant was about to become a mobile phone provider. It wasn’t until two years later that Google’s intentions in this area became clearer. That’s when Google announced the Android open-source platform on which developers can create a variety of different features for mobile phones. They also announced the creation of the Open Handset Alliance, an alliance committed to maintaining this open source mobile phone model for future phone development.

2008 is a year for serious development of the Android platform. At the Mobile World Congress in February, at least three different prototypes were unveiled revealing various interpretations of the Android as a functional phone. Companies including LG and Samsung are expected to release Android-based phones to the market at some point during this year.

Many people believe that this marks a shift in the way that we view mobile phones. Traditionally, we have had to buy whatever phones were made available by phone developers. While that will remain the case to some extent, the Android platform allows for more innovation in design by manufacturers and opens up the market to more choice for consumers. Although Google is not solely responsible for this shift, the company has gained a lot of credit in the tech industry for the efforts it has made to get people thinking about mobile phones in a new way.

Google Applications on Other Mobile Phones

Google’s Android is an important cornerstone of the company’s developments in the mobile world but it’s hardly the only area where they’ve achieved recognition. In fact, some of their best efforts in recent years have been in the modification of their applications to suit a more mobile world. Many of their applications are now suited for use on smartphones and are beginning to also be used on less powerful phones.

Some of Google’s applications which are increasingly popular on mobile phones include:

• Gmail. Email is the Google application which is most commonly accessed on mobile phones. It can be accessed on any mobile phone that is Java-enabled and on some non-Java-enabled phones that are able to run fast web apps. It is increasingly used by Blackberry and iPhone consumers as a way to get email from anywhere.
• Google Calendar. Like with Gmail, this application is accessible on most phones, allowing people to keep their appointments updated and review that appointment information when they’re on the go.
• Google Docs. People are increasingly interested in being able to access their documents from anywhere that they can get Internet access. As a result, many people are storing their documents on Google Docs. For those people with smartphones (as well as some other mobile phone models), it is possible to access these documents through a mobile connection.
• Google Talk. People who use a BlackBerry smartphone can also access their Google Talk application which functions as an instant messenger for all of their Google contacts.

These are the major applications that we are seeing used on mobile phones today. However, an increasing number of Google’s services are drawing attention on cell phones as more and more people start using mobile broadband. Google Maps can be accessed on mobile phones in order to get location information while you’re on the go. YouTube videos can be watched on phones that have the power to watch online video. In short, Google dominates many aspects of the Internet and we’re starting to see that shift to a wireless world as the mobile web becomes more popular.

Google’s Mobile Advertising

There is another major area through which we could see Google taking over our mobile phones: cell phone advertising. Google has really gained a name for itself in the area of online advertising, making its money off of search engine ads. While online advertising remains important, the new focus in marketing is on mobile phone advertising. In order to keep up with the times, Google has to look at ways to take advantage of the potential revenue of the cell phone advertising niche.

There are two different areas that Google needs to address in developing this part of the mobile phone business. First off, it needs to address the fact that the mobile web differs from the standard web and that its traditional method of online advertising may need to be altered for the mobile phone. And secondly, Google needs to find creative methods of gaining ground in the race to develop a standard for mobile phone advertising.

In the first area, the issue is the fact that Google’s traditional online advertising isn’t going to look the same on mobile phones. When you look at the search engine on a PC, you see a lot of room where Google can place its ads. When you’re looking at a mobile phone, that space just isn’t there. Google has to work on finding ways to fit just as many ads into a smaller screen space. Many people believe that this is part of the reason that Google was so interested in Android; a new platform allows for different software that can change the interface of the mobile web and essentially create the room that Google needs to run its ads.

In the second area, Google will have to push forward with development of novel ideas for marketing on the mobile phone. It has the benefit of having so many different applications and services that are becoming available on mobile phones so the company is in a good position to make this move. For example, the proliferation of Google Maps makes the company well-suited to GPS-targeted marketing efforts. However, the mobile phone advertising world is still young so Google will have to weigh all options and attempt to make the right moves (something it has traditionally done well thus far).

Google Isn’t a Wireless Company

Despite gaining a strong percentage of the mobile phone market through these various efforts, Google is not to be considered a wireless company. This makes sense when you think about Google on the traditional computer. Although Google is everywhere online (from email to instant message to spreadsheet storage to video provider), Google is not itself the Internet. Similarly, Google may end up everywhere on your mobile phone (including as the platform for the handset itself) but that doesn’t mean that it’s a mobile phone company.

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