Apple announced today that Google Chief Executive, Eric E Schmidt, was stepping down from its board because of “potential conflicts of interest”. Well gee.. you think?

Once long time allies, Google and Apple have been competing more directly as Google ventures past its core competency in search and into areas such as operating systems and mobile devices.

Some of the areas where the two companies directly compete include mobile operating systems (Google Android vs Apple’s OS X), computer OS’s (Google’s just announced Chrome OS vs Apple’s OS X), web browsers (Google Chrome browser vs Apple Safari), and of course, the Internet application suite (Google Apps vs Apple Mobile Me).

With so many overlapping services and products, Mr. Schmidt’s role within Apple would have been severely diminished anyhow as he would need to recuse himself from many meetings involving competing services.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Apple, Eric Schmidt, Google

In a posting on their official blog site, Sundar Pichai (VP of Product Management) and Linus Upson (Engineering Director) announced that Chrome OS would be “fast and lightweight”, have a minimal user interface that’s designed to “stay out of your way”, and a redesigned security architecture (a.k.a. no more viruses, software updates, malware etc).

Chrome OS will be running within a new windowing system built on top of a Linux kernel. It will support both x86 and ARM processors and it will initially be available for netbook systems in the second half of 2010. Chrome OS will also go open-source later this year and Google is actively talking with partners now about the OS.

It’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out down the road. Netbooks have certainly created an opening for Google to enter into the OS space. WIth netbooks, consumers generally want long battery life, fast boot times, and easy access to content and web applications online – all perfect elements for Chrome OS to succeed with.

[Check it out via NetbookTech.com]

Technorati Tags: Google, Google Chrome OS

Just a little news note – looks like Gmail is having issues again. I tried to access my mail account some time ago and received an HTTP 500 temporary error instead.  A quick check on twitter (via Twitscoop) revealed similar issues all over the net. What’s up Google? Gmail’s been problematic recently!!

BTW – not a great week for email eh? BlackBerry outage a few days ago and now this. Bet you that Google will never reveal why Gmail went down.

Read this in Chinese Simplified and in French

Technorati Tags: gmail outage

Here’s a little bit of hilarity for your Friday.  Go to Google and type:

“I am extremely”

Don’t press enter or click on any button. Just look at the suggestions provided by Google – especially the last one.

via http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/fail-owned-suggest-fail.jpg

Technorati Tags: Google, I am extremely, Google Search Suggestions

While we’re not physically at the Mobile World Congress being held in Barcelona, it’s not hard to notice the lack of real news coming from the Google Android camp. About the only really exciting piece of news came yesterday when Vodafone and HTC formally unveiled the HTC Magic – basically a slimmed down version of the Dream without the built-in keyboard.

The Magic will be available exclusively to Vodafone customers initially in the UK, Spain, Germany, and France and non-exclusively in Italy.

While we think the device is certainly attractive enough, there’s little in the way of the WOW factor here (stealing a page out of Simon Cowell on American Idol). This is really just a shrunken down version of the Dream (or G1 here in the U.S.).

According to Vodafone, the Magic will be available in white (pictured here) in the UK, Spain, and France, and black in Germany. Italy will have access to both colors (what’s up with the color segregation anyhow??)

Here’s what we know spec wise for the Magic:

• 3.2 inch QVGA touch-screen display
• Built-in navigation trackball
• Navigational buttons for quick easy access
• Email options including Google Mail, POP3, and IMAP
• Google Talk support

There’s no exact word on pricing or availability at this time – expect to hear about this from the local Vodafone markets.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Google, Vodafone, HTC Magic, HTC, Android

The folks at Gizmodo have managed to get pictures of what looks to be the next Android phone for T-Mobile – the T-Mobile G2 by HTC. The phone is apparently thinner thanks to the fact that it no longer has a built-in QWERTY keyboard. No word on specs but thanks to the back of the phone we know it has at least a 3.2 megapixel camera (I know.. we’re geniuses here). Gizmodo’s source claims the phone should be coming out in the middle of May.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: T-Mobile G2, Android, Google, HTC,

Here are the reported specs:

• Touch-screen display – no keyboard
• Trackball at the bottom
• Enterprise support
• Wi-Fi support
• 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash
• EDGE and GPRS support
• 3G networking
• Memory card slot
• VGA secondary camera for supposed video calling

[CellPhone Signal, Boy Genius Report via CNET]

Technorati Tags: Android, T-Mobile G2, Smartphone

T-Mobile has officially announced the nationwide availability of the T-Mobile G1 handset powered by Google’s Android OS. The G1 as you know is the first Google Android phone to be made commercially available and is manufactured by HTC. The reviews thus far have been fairly positive though the G1 does have its quirks. However, for a version one handset, the G1 isn’t bad at all.

Anyone can now purchase the G1 at select retail stores around the country or at the G1 website at http://www.t-mobileg1.com. To support the launch of the G1, T-Mobile has done the following:

• Established an online forum for the G1 at http://forums.t-mobile.com/tmbl/
• All T-Mobile retail stores will be open at 8am today (or later today that is)
• T-Mobile G1 experts will be on hand to demo the phone.

For new T-Mobile customers, the G1 is available for $179.99 along with a new T-Mobile plan. The phone is normally sold for $399.99. 

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: T-Mobile G1, Android, Google Android, HTC

According to various reports on the net, it appears T-Mobile has begun shipping the T-Mobile G1 Android phone to customers who pre-ordered the phone. Some of you might get the phone as early as the 17th which would be ahead of schedule for T-Mobile.

In the meantime, the reviews of the G1 have begun to hit the web – here are some of them for your reading pleasure.

New York Times – A Look at Google’s First Phone:

So there’s your G1 report card: software, A-. Phone, B-. Network, C.

But get psyched. Although the ungainly T-Mobile G1 is the first Android phone, it won’t be the last; Android phones will soon come in all shapes and sizes, and on all kinds of networks.

Venture Beat – HTC’s T-Mobile G1 Android phone up close: A nice touchable gadget

All in all, it’s a good phone. It’s smaller than an iPhone (only 0.62 inches thick) and so fits more easily into a shirt pocket. It feels solid. If you threw it at something, it would leave a considerable dent. But you’re not going to want to throw this phone. It’s got cachet, a cool look, and a lot of useful features. HTC, T-Mobile and Google have come up with a winner. I’d say more, but I didn’t get to keep it.

Mobile Burn – Review of T-Mobile’s Google Android Powered Smartphone

Even though we love the new OS and are pleased that there are no real deal breakers in the G1, there are enough small issues and 1.0 type features that keep us from giving the G1 our highest rating. But with that said, the G1 is certainly a device that deserves your consideration, especially if you are in the market for a mobile internet device that also happens to be a very solid phone.

Boy Genius Report – T-Mobile G1 Review

In the meantime, we think the up-and-coming mobile consumer/prosumer will love the G1 as long as they know what it is. It’s not a BlackBerry, it’s not a Sidekick. You could think of it as the adult Sidekick though, and that, my friends, is what people have been waiting for, for a very long time.

Gizmodo – T-Mobile G1 Google Android Phone Review

This isn’t something you’re going to give your mom for Christmas, but if you’re an adventuresome gadget guy with some money to spend ($179) on a totally new, pretty exciting venture, then why not?

Engadget – T-Mobile G1 review

When you put the G1 up against, say, a Sidekick LX, it seems like a no-brainer for T-Mobile customers looking for a powerful QWERTY device — especially at $20 less. You don’t need to be a cutting-edge mobile geek or a pundit to do that math. When facing off with platforms like the iPhone and Windows Mobile devices, it holds its own, but has a lot of ground to cover before it’s really making the competition sweat.

Technorati Tags: T-Mobile G1, Android Phone, Google, HTC, Review

[Check it out via Mobile Burn]

Technorati Tags: T-Mobile, Google, Android, G1

If you’re anxiously waiting to try out the upcoming T-Mobile G1 handset powered by Google’s Android platform then you should head on over to http://tmobile.modeaondemand.com/htc/g1/ where you can virtually try out the handset and some of the features through an online emulator. Truth is – I really haven’t been all that impressed with the G1 and after using the emulator, I’m still not at all impressed. Maybe you’ll think otherwise..

Thanks to screwdriver for the linky.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: T-Moble G1, Android, Emulator

“Sorry! Due to the overwhelming popularity of the new T-Mobile G1, upgrades are temporarily unavailable. Please try again later”.

However, it appears everything is back up again. (This was probably a system outage than a pre-order outage). In any event if you’re contemplating getting the G1, then you might want to consider pre-ordering it now.

[Check it out via News.com]

Technorati Tags: T-Mobile G1, Google, Android

OK, let’s talk about the feature set. First off, the G1 has both a touch-based user interface as well as a QWERTY keyboard. The keyboard is hidden behind the screen which rotates out a la SideKick style. Kudos to HTC for developing a phone with multiple input options. As much as I love the touch interface of the iPhone, I still long for a real physical keyboard at times. Other features of the G1 include a 3 megapixel camera with auto-focus capabilities (a bit better than the paltry 2 megapixel iPhone cam), Quad-band GSM and 3G support (along with dual-band UMTS support), multimedia messaging, e-mail support (Gmail of course as well as POP3 and IMAP support), a full web browser, GPS functionality, a built-in music player along with integrated support for the Amazon MP3 store, Bluetooth wireless, and of course, a slew of Google Apps including Search, Maps, YouTube, Calendar, and Talk. The screen is completely customizable thanks to drag and drop support for applications, photos, and folders. There’s even a built-in compass which will be extremely useful when working with Google Maps. There’s of course much more to get into but those are the major points for now.

Continuing the application side of things, Google announced their new Android Market (think iPhone App Store) where you’ll find third party applications for Android devices. The G1 will of course support the Android Market. The companies, of course, touted the open platform that is the Android system but it remains to be seen whether this will translate to quality applications for the handset. Sure, anyone can write applications for an Android device.. but if the apps suck.. who will care? I’d rather have 10 quality apps than 100 crappy ones.. don’t you agree? But hey.. maybe I’ll be wrong and maybe the Market will totally surprise me. This will definitely be a wait and see thing for me.

But then again.. this applies as a whole to the Android Platform.  Having the Android Platform in the mobile handset mix certainly changes the landscape for smartphones and will hopefully continue to spur innovation across all vendors. I’m sure there are many of you out there who will be excited about the prospects of a Google-based mobile phone. Heck.. it’ll be somewhat cool to say that you have a Google phone (though somehow.. this isn’t as cool to me as saying, “I have an iPhone”.. sorry Apple still wins the coolness factor here). But let’s not forget one thing.. Google is still a business.. and it’s still about making money. Sure the company is pushing Android as an “open” alternative for customers and device manufacturers… but it’s the most convenient method for making sure Google is relevant in the mobile platform. A Google phone in your pocket means potentially more money for Google as you continue to use their services in every facet of your life.  But hey.. if Google isn’t doing it.. then someone else will right?

In the meantime, I’ll stick with my iPhone 3G.. even if the 3G sucks

Here are some useful links from around the web..

• CNET Crave T-Mobile G1 details, price, and launch date revealed
• PC Magazine – Google, T-Mobile Launch “Gaming Changing” G1 Phone
• Gizmodo – Hands on with the T-Mobile G1 (lots of pics)
• Engadget – T-Mobile G1 Video hands-on
• Gizmodo – G1 Price and Feature Comparison
• Gizmodo – Android and G1’s Five Most Obnoxious Flaws
• MobileBurn – T-Mobile unveils the G1
• PhoneScoop – T-Mobile G1 Launch Event

Technorati Tags: T-Mobile, Google, HTC, Android, G1

It’s still a few hours from T-Mobile’s G1 with Google Press Conference in NYC (which occurs at 10:30am EST) but plenty of snapshots have already appeared on the web (thanks to BGR). Plus, the official T-Mobile G1 website has officially gone live (though you won’t be able to do much right now). If you’re interested in following the live event, you’ll be able to do so on the website starting at 10:30am. In the meantime, enjoy the three snapshots of the G1. Certainly an interesting looking smartphone.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: T-Mobile G1 with Google

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: T-Mobile, HTC, Google Android OS, Smartphone

The N.Y.Times is reporting that T-Mobile will be the first carrier to carry a handset running Google’s Android platform. This phone is being developed and manufactured by HTC and will be coming out before Christmas – possibly even as early as October. The phone, which folks on the net have been calling the “Dream”, will have a touch-screen display and a full slide-out keyboard. A video of a supposed HTC dream handset appeared on YouTube recently – and sources to the NYTimes have confirmed this is indeed the phone coming out for T-Mobile.

Android based handsets (or smartphones) will directly compete against handsets such as the Apple iPhone, Windows Mobile handsets, and Research in Motion BlackBerry devices. Google is making the Android OS free to all companies part of the Open Handset Alliance as it hopes that Android will accelerate its penetration into the mobile market.

T-Mobile’s HTC phone is expected to be the only Android phone available in the U.S. this year. Sprint is also working closely with Google in developing an Android-based handset.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: T-Mobile, HTC Dream, N.Y.Times, Google Android

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: TiVo, YouTube, Series3, TiVo HD

Does this spell trouble for Google’s mobile efforts? Not at all – many of the delays can be traced back to one of a few things including the upcoming launch of the iPhone 3G mobile phone, the fact that Android itself isn’t finished, and the sheer fact that developers have to deal with a whole new platform SDK. The real question won’t be whether handset manufacturers and carriers support Android – it’ll be whether consumers and business adopt Android based handsets.

[Check it out via News.com]

Technorati Tags: Google, Android, delays

Pictured above is a screen shot of the Google Android mobile phone software as shown at Google’s I/O Conference on Wednesday in SF. You can see a slew of screen shots over at CNET.com. Android is due to ship as open source software and the first phones to utilize Android are due to come out later this year.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Google Android

A flurry of activity happened over the last day or so but you can see a quick summary of it all over at News.com. Here’s the short end of it all.

1. Yahoo! announced that they were going to use Google for paid-search ads (which I find so damn ironic given Yahoo’s purchase of Overture.com several years ago – the ones who made paid-search work in the first place).

2. This was followed by reports that Yahoo! and Time Warner were doing the dirty dance.. and perhaps Yahoo! absorbing the AOL unit from Time Warner and TW receiving a 20 percent stake in Yahoo!

3. But wait.. there’s more! Now there’s word that Microsoft might be teaming up in a joint bid to purchase Yahoo!. The deal would supposedly bring together Microsoft’s MSN unit, Fox’s Interactive Media Unit and of course Yahoo!. Consider the possibilities there folks. MSN + MySpace + Yahoo! .. now that would be interesting eh?

While all of these combinations could definitely come to fruition.. I can’t imagine the sum of these parts being better than the original individual units. Microsoft, News Corp, and Yahoo! is a totally mish-mash of cultures. Imagine integrating the units? Combine folks in Los Angeles, San Jose, and Seattle into a cohesive unit.. oh yes.. have two different companies be the partners managing the unit. Yeah – that’s recipe for a working scenario eh? I don’t think so.

But what about Yahoo and AOL with a little help from Time Warner? Let’s be honest now. What does AOL really bring for Yahoo!?  As the years go by, AOL becomes less and less of a player and more of a has-been. Sure there are still millions of AOL subscribers now but it’s not a growing subscriber base. A synergy with Time Warner might be interesting from a content perspective for Yahoo but.. wait.. isn’t that what they’ve been saying for YEARS now with AOL and Time Warner? How is this different? Plus with Yahoo! trimming itself down by ridding itself of business units that didn’t make money – does it make sense to offer media services like this again?

IMHO – the best way to fight Google to be like Google. Be innovative. All of these companies are simply trying to play “catch-up” to Google and guess what? They can keep on trying and Google will keep on running ahead of them. Combing Yahoo! Search and MSN Search won’t create a bigger search property than Google Search. Combining the user communities of Yahoo and MSN won’t necessarily create a business that competes well with Google.

First and foremost, the companies need a singular vision of execution on the Internet. They need to make consistent service offerings, consistent product offerings, easy integration paths, and most of all – be innovative.

It’s clear that it’s possible to usurp a leader if you execute correctly. Having said all of this, I do believe that a Microsoft and Yahoo! combination COULD work. That deal makes sense because Yahoo! executes fairly well on the Internet (though not great obviously) while Microsoft’s MSN properties have been third rate for years. If the acquisition were to happen, the key to success would be execution and innovation. The ability to come out with compelling solutions – not just “me too” solutions, and the ability to execute on delivering them.

Ok.. I’ve said my peace. ha

Technorati Tags: Yahoo!, Microsoft, Google, News Corp, AOL, Time Warner