Is anyone sick of hearing about all of these trumped up so called iPhone killers like the GPhone? I mean we hear new rumors about the GPhone everyday now. We have not seen any official action, all that we hear are rumors and a blurry picture of a neat looking Google app’d phone. So my question for the day is does the so called Google Phone have a place with the other all in one devices?

I honestly think it does, I am only basing this decision on rumors though. If I was to believe the rumor mill then it would lead me to believe that the Google phone would really compete with the iPhone and other large contenders. This device could only be three things though, a business tool or a device aimed at the younger generation like the Sidekick series. But it could very easily be both. Google has the younger generation tuned in, and the business world is always following Google’s every move. The only way I see them releasing this to the business world is if they start making some traction with Google Docs & Spreadsheets and Gmail. In the past when we first heard the rumors of the GPhone I thought Google was the type of company to leave the OS open to the 3rd party vendors, but as days go on I am starting to think that they would not allow it. They are all about control now, and I really think that would hurt this device if that was the case.

But I want to break it down with what will hurt this device if released with out these options.

A. Google does not have an official “Media Player”.
B. Google Docs & Spreadsheet’s are limited, not very big in the business world (So far).
C. Google has no media marketplace anymore.
D. You can POP Gmail but their is no easy push features for Gmail, yet.

If Google does not have of these options and software resolved or fixed then in no way will it be competitive with any market. If it has no true media player or marketplace it won’t compete with the iPhone. If it has no true business application support it will not compete with Windows Mobile device or Palm. If it cannot build up an infrastructure like RIM for push then it won’t compete with the Blackberry devices. If it wants to compete with all of them then it really needs to be strong in all of those categories. Or does it?

Maybe Google will go back to the good old days before they were a publicly traded company, by leaving everything open! It could be revolutionary. Have it not tied to any carrier or any type of network. All that they would release is an OS and a slick piece of hardware. Load it with open office mobile, and an open source media player like Helix. They would supply preferred apps, but leave everything else open to anything. It would change the game, and Apple and Microsoft would be forced to fill that middle road. Where Microsoft messed up with the whole consumer base OS and phones, but they had great success with the business world. Apple has great success with the consumer market with the iPhone and does not have a great business backing due to the limited business software compatibility.

Now the new Palm Centro, Treo 800, Gandolf, Frodo phone or whatever Palm is calling it nowadays is soon to be released as well. Can we compare it to the GPhone on simple rumor base? The answer is simply a loud no! But if we did I would honestly say the GPhone would be more a Palm Centro device, aimed at a youth market with a $99-$150 price point before the carriers get a hold of it.

Honestly none of us even know what the GPhone is, no specs, no official info of any kind, it’s probably not even going to be named the GPhone. So why do we all get excited? Would it run proprietary software not compatible with most business/client side applications (Exchange, Outlook, Domino, Notes) or would they play nice? No one knows.

I do not understand what Google’s advantage would be to have a phone. I don’t even know what type of a company Google is anymore? I personally think they are moving to fast, and I pray and hope they don’t invest a lot of money into this project. I will most likely be shot in the foot again; just like what happened to me over the whole iPhone unlocking debacle (the masses still don’t have their paws on the software though. I’m still right!). I actually hope I am wrong about the Gphone though, it would be interesting to see what Google comes up with, but to me it just seems like they are trying everything to generate more revenue, when they should be concentrating on their meat and potatoes. Granted Google makes some great software, and we all know that the software makes or breaks a device.

So I ask this last question to anyone that will listen. If Google releases this phone is their a real spot in the vast marketplace of smart phones for another contender?

For me my answer is in two parts, if they can fill that middle ground where Microsoft and Apple cant, then my answer is yes. If they go it alone, then my answer is no.

I wish good luck to Google.

Well maybe not. I know everyone is sick of hearing about the Jesus phone, I know I most certainly am. But I wanted to touch on a topic that is driving me insane. I see new articles about it everyday. Its driving me crazy. Now all of you are saying, “What is driving you crazy?”, all the articles about people finally UNLOCKING THE iPhone! I have read hundreds of claims that people have unlocked the iPhone. But the thing is that is all we ever hear are claims. I know some people have actually done it, but to what extent are you prepared to go to unlock that ironclad device. In the end you might find yourself spending more on unlocking it then actually ponying up the cash for AT&T.

I understand the people that don’t want to give into the system, and that’s neat and all. But really why waste your time, energy, and hard earned money on simply unlocking a phone that might or might not work with your carrier. Plus what happens when your phone dies, or has a malfunction. Do you take it back to Apple? I don’t think that will really work. Granted most of the people that are trying to unlock these things are pretty savy with the gadgets, so I assume they would probably be able to fix most issues on their own, and that’s the rub, not everyone is savy with the gadgets. Its a glass half full type of situation.

Now some people are claiming they unlocked the phone monkeying around with the internal hardware, and some claim the TurboSim card unlocks the phone via blocking it from getting any AT&T info, and a recent one I heard today about people doing it via a firmware hack. Once again I reiterate that this is not a bad thing. This is how people discover things about technology and how innovations are created in the marketplace, simply by taking a device apart and seeing how it works. That’s how technology evolves, which is a great thing. But as these shenanigans keep on progressing I really do not see one true process to unlock these devious devices. So I say this once and once only, that the Apple iPhone is the most secure smart-phone to date. If the Apple iPhone was a building it would be Fort Knox, but I think it would be even more secure then Fort Knox. You see Fort Knox is not open to the public, which the iPhone is, and if Fort Knox was open to the public for 2 months people would have already found a way into the safes. But their are many claims of partially unlocked iPhones as well (Thats like partially stealing the gold then getting shot on the way out by the tower guards).

When I say secure, I don’t mean secure software, or secure from software exploits, I mean it is locked down to the mother-ship and the tractor beam is strong. Their are thousands of some of the best PDA/Smart-phone crackers in the world working on this, and no one has came out with a true unlock method for the masses. The funny thing is that whenever if ever their is one Golden Key to unlock the palace, Apple and AT&T will sit and watch as people start unlocking the phones. Now this is the painful part, they will watch, but they wont be upset. They will be sitting over a tech’s pc telling him to deploy the new firmware that will brick every single one. ONE KEYSTROKE. Then the process begins all over again.

My point to all of this is that the masses will not go along. Once they have touched that glassy interface they will not be able to go back to any other smart-phone. So they will eventually cough up the cash for the AT&T service, and it will come with another rush of profits for the two companies.

Like I wrote about last week, these companies thrive off control. They want to control the influx of information, they want to control your hardware and software. Frustrating at best, but what can we do? Except not buy there hardware and software. This is why I have taken a stand. I would love to have that gorgeous phone, but it does not work with my carrier. So I am waiting for the revised version of the HTC Touch.  To me its as close to an iPhone as any other device.

I guess I have not been struck with the Jesus phone syndrome yet?

Here are some examples of the claims I have been talking about:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I think ten example are enough, I could link to different stories all day.

Chairman of the FCC Kevin Martin

Eh…. Not really. Wow that was by far the longest title yet. Well so it happened today, we all new it was going to happen, the 700mhz frequency was approved today by the FCC . The 700mhzland has been long sought after frequency for the great distances it can reach. Since Google wants to melt there doughy little hands into every aspect of every market they said, “Hey lets buy a Radio frequency”. Don’t quote them on that, they probably said something a lot more sophisticated and in-depth.
Now all in all this approval really isn’t that bad, but only if the FCC keeps to its “Open Access” plan. But the FCC being a part of our government we never know who’s hand might get greased to push a vote or favor through. A total of 60 megahertz will be auctioned off, with twenty-two of them “open,” and another 10 set aside for a “national public safety” network. The auctioning off of the frequency is expected to raise as much as $15 billion for the federal treasury.

The auction begins sometime early next year, and so it begins…..

I wanted to give a little info out about Chairman Kevin Martin, and who he has worked for, and what he did in the past. Here is the excerpt about him from the official FCC website:

“Chairman Martin was nominated by President George W. Bush to a Republican seat on the Commission, and was sworn in on July 3, 2001. He was designated chairman by President Bush on March 18, 2005. Chairman Martin was re-nominated for a second term as commissioner and chairman by President George W. Bush on April 25, 2006.

Before joining the FCC, Martin was a Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. He served on the Bush-Cheney Transition Team and was Deputy General Counsel for the Bush campaign. Prior to joining the campaign, Martin was an advisor to FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth. He has also served in the Office of the Independent Counsel and worked as an associate at the Washington, DC law firm of Wiley, Rein & Fielding. Before joining Wiley, Rein & Fielding, Martin was a judicial clerk for U.S. District Court Judge William M. Hoeveler, Miami, FL.

Martin received a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Masters in Public Policy from Duke University, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the Federal Communications Bar Association.”

Now Chairman Martin is no virgin when it comes to ethic scandals, does anyone remember the Bellsouth & AT&T merger?

I never try to mix politics with technology but sometimes they just mix , and a lot of the time it ends up in a negative manner. So that is why I am so skeptical of this “Open Access” plan. Now I am not saying Google even has the cash flow to play the game, if it stays open I hope they have the cash on hand. I just hope the FCC plays nice with everyone and does not play favors.

Can anyone give me a reason to not think like this?

According to Engadget - there is a delay in the upcoming 2nd Generation Zune devices. There’s more to the story with lots of unofficial information, codenames, etc… but… How he HELL can there be a flippin’ delay in something that hasn’t been officially announced by Microsoft? Just because something accidentally leaks hardly categorizes as a delay in my opinion. For all we know, those codenames refer to new Zune headphones or perhaps a better Zune cloth case that isn’t so much like a condom.

Both The Geek and I are Zune users so you can bet we’re watching the Zune news carefully.