Google Phone - Microsoft and Apple on Notice
Google Phone just unleashed the dogs of war... and if Apple and Microsoft don't have plans in place, then they're just about to get served. I hope for the market's sake that you two have your act together!In just over a year, Google has been able to develop and present a strong front on which to wage their mobile war on Apple and Microsoft. The momentum has built slowly, with the HTC Dream first launching in October of 2008, and early Android-equipped mobile phones receiving a positive, but lukewarm reception. As improvements were made to the platform, and more applications written and loaded to the Android Market (the Android version of the iTunes App store), users have built and extended the base for more promising Android developments.
Through 2009, more and more handsets adopted Android. With almost every major wireless carrier now touting Android devices, the OS began moving off of just phones and into other consumer electronic devices, like media players and ebook readers.
We recently witnessed a major battle joined with Verizon releasing Motorola's Droid bringing Android 2.0 to the enormous Verizon subscriber base. With the potential for one million Droids entering the market before year-end, this creates a mass of momentum that will be hard to dissipate.
And it's only appropriate that the first handset maker to have Android loaded, HTC, now is the standard bearer for Google's homegrown, own-branded phone. HTC is leading the charge by being developer of choice for Google's new device.
Microsoft, with it's somewhat whimper of a Windows Mobile 6.5 update, and Apple, with its long-in-the-tooth iPhone 3GS update, now must marshal their troops and execute on battle plans that are, with luck, well in place. The market will be the ultimate victor or loser, here. We've seen Apple dominate the market for some years now, and no real challenger has been able to pass muster. In that time, customers have had to make due with their iPhones and AT&T, and go without service and a few features that are really standard on mobile devices. Windows Mobile has struggled to get off the ground from a user passion perspective.
We now see a giant emerging in the mobile space through Google. Their shot-over-the-bow is the only opening Apple and Microsoft will have to exploit, so now we wait to see what they can bring forward in the coming months to really join the battle.
P.S. Note how Blackberry is not mentioned above... there's a reason for that. More on that later.
posted by Michael Velasco @ 9:12 AM
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