Why the Gphone may be an anticlimax
Updated on 04 September 2007
The Googlephone is coming soon according to the internet buzz. But will it be worth having? Up to a point, predicts our technology correspondent.
The idea that Google is tolaunch a mobile telephone has been around for some time but the latest rumours have been fuelled by the recent publication of a patent filed by the search engine giant for a mobile payment system.
The theory goes like this - if Google is going to launch a mobile phone, they're going to want to monetise the handset through a payment system.
The patent is for:
"...a computer-implemented method of effectuating an electronic online payment includes receiving at a computer server system a text message from a payor [customer] containing a payment request representing a payment amount sent by a payor device operating independently of the computer server system, determining a payment amount associated with the text message and debiting a payor account for an amount corresponding to the amount of the payment request, and crediting an account of a payee that is independent of the computer server system."
In English? A payment system based on a customer sending a text message to Google to pay a third party for a service. That amount is then debited from the customer's mobile phone account or directly from their bank account.
In the States, using mobiles to pay for goods or services is practically unknown.
While this has got the blogs incredibly excited, the technology doesn't at first glance seem like anything particularly new.
Here in Britain, mobile users have been able to purchase ring tones and mobile content via shortcode text messages for some time.
And now all parking metres in the City of Westminster in London now only accept payment by either text message or phone call.
On Monday, the five major mobile operators came together to launch Payforit, a universal payment system that will eventually turn a mobile phone into a digital wallet.
At present, the key use of Payforit is the sale of digital content. But over the next couple of months, the operators expect train companies to sell tickets of under £10 in value via text message. Meanwhile, some big high street retailers will also allow consumers to put their shopping on their mobile phone bill.
So really how unique is the Google patent? It's not very in terms of Britain (or indeed continental Europe), but the United States still lags behind in terms of mobile penetration and the use of mobiles.
In the States, using mobiles to pay for goods or services is practically unknown.
Being a mobile that connects directly to the internet would of course raise the possibility that the phone will have Google Talk, the company's rival to Skype, to allow users to make calls using voice over internet (VOIP).
There is another possibility, that Google could bypass the existing mobile networks completely and operate soley over the wireless internet.
That of course would mean lower call revenues for whichever network were to offer the Gphone. So perhaps, Google could launch its own 'virtual network', rather like Virgin in the UK, one that piggy backs on an existing mobile network.
They could then offset the loss in call charges with the revenue gained from the payment system and of course the advertising revenue from having the Google search engine which would be built in by default to any handset.
There is another possibility, that Google could bypass the existing mobile networks completely and operate soley over the wireless internet (wi-fi). Google has reportedly expressed an interest in a $4.6bn (£2.3bn) license for a large wi-fi network in the States.
Even without that - which would take some time to negotiate and install equipment - a Google internet-only phone would work in places like San Francisco and New York where wi-fi is quite well spread.
And obviously, there is the more likely possibility that the Gphone would be a hybrid device allowing users to switch between wi-fi and the traditional mobile networks.
But as yet, these are all rumours and speculation, Google never comments on speculation or possible product launches.
