This excerpt from the Cnet column captures the essence of Google's likely plan for the mobile phone business.
"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 one 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.'
Some believe that another major goal of the phone project is to loosen the control of carriers over the software and services that are available on their networks. 'Google's agenda is to disaggregate carriers,' said Dan Olschwang, the chief executive of JumpTap, a start-up that provides search and advertising services to several mobile-phone operators.
Google declined to comment on any specifics of its mobile-phone initiative. But its chief executive, Eric E. Schmidt, has said several times that the cell phone market presented the largest growth opportunity for Google. "We have a large investment in mobile phones and mobile-phone platform applications," Schmidt said in an interview this year.
If anyone can pull it off, they are most likely to do it.
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