In case you didn’t know yet, telecommunications companies are briskly working on taking over the world. Or at least hijacking every moment of your life at any location. Their latest step? Making sure you choose them for your mobile web usage.
Last month, we let you in on one of Google’s ongoing projects: Android. Last November, Google and the Open Handset Alliance, a coalition of over 30 technology and mobile companies, announced that the release of the first open and free mobile Internet platform would occur some time in the second half of 2008. Not that we’re midway through the year, Google has bad news: Android won’t hit the markets until the fourth quarter… at the earliest.
The delay is due in part by the mobile phone manufacturers. Some of the those in the coalition are behind schedule. Sprint Nextel Corp., for example, would have a device ready only in late 2008, while China Mobile, “the largest wireless carrier with nearly 400 million subscribers,” may not be ready until as late as 2009.
Google itself is also responsible for the holdup. Android itself is still being tweaked, and with every new development and update, Google has to test the software and then adjust it for the mobile devices.
More bad news for Google: Nokia has bought over 50% of Symbian’s shares and announced buying out the rest. Symbian is a mobile operating system whose nonprofit foundation announced that it would be a “royalty free” platform for mobile devices. It has established itself in Europe, but it has yet to make a splash in the United States. With Nokia’s leadership, though, analysts are already predicting a mobile platform war between Google and Nokia.
Finally, in related news, it was revealed this week that the new 3G iPhone costs $173 to make, surprising since it will sell for only $199. Apparently, Apple will make more than this $26 difference due to AT&T, which has exclusive carrier rights. ISuppli estimates that AT&T will “subsidize” each iPhone sold by $300 and then earn its profits by monthly service fees. Some consumers who resent AT&T service were puzzled by Apple’s decision to grant exclusive rights, but it all makes sense now, doesn’t it?
