From the category archives:
Google has patented a text message payment system that may be used in the Google Phone, according to some reports.
SE Optimse has the details on the patent which details how text messages could be used to pay for goods from vending machines and retailers as well as secure methods for validating larger payment amounts.
With the Google phone tipped to launch this year could a payment system be the killer application that they need?
Thanks (again) to John from wood burning stoves for the tip!
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With all eyes on the Apple iPhone it seems Google is about to pull a nice publicity stunt with the launch of a Google Phone from LG.
To be available in Europe the Google phone is pretty much an LG Chocolate with Google apps integrated.
Google’s strong search services are just one click away with our phone as we put a hot key that directs users to Google services in a fraction of a second,” LG official Choi Je-wook said.
“In addition, the phone provides other Google services such as e-mail (G-Mail) and map-viewing (Google Earth). We hope this will be a grand slam,” Choi said.
Features:
The device sports a red-on-black color scheme not unlike LG’s popular Chocolate phone, but it’s larger, sporting a 2in widescreen LCD, the better to view Google’s web properties, accessed through a fast 3G connection.
The KU-580 has an FM radio and an MP3 player - controlled with dedicated playback keys - along with Bluetooth stereo and 3D sound enhancement. LG even said it has a song-writing app for budding musos. There’s a two-megapixel camera on the back and a smaller snapper on the front for video calls.
Via Reg Hardware
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Speaking to the Seattle Times, AT&T iPhone chief Glenn Lurie has revealed the we might be seeing more Google applications bundled into the iPhone package than everybody first thought.
Lurie commented: “There are other things — you have the widgets, some of the Google applications that are coming — there are just so many things here that the price will not be an issue.”
The interview also revealed a few other interesting iPhone details:
What’s your favorite iPhone feature?
A: I don’t know if I can answer that. It’s a pretty incredible browsing environment. That’s the first part that I think will blow people away. It’s the first widescreen iPod they’ve ever done; it is very, very good, works extremely well.
I think the other thing people haven’t really thought through is that Apple’s so good at simplifying things. That’s just what they’re known for; they’ve really simplified the phone. The standard phone applications are really intuitive, whether it’s receiving a phone call, putting that person on hold, adding another party and bringing a conference call together.
Q: Won’t the full-powered browser hurt AT&T? People won’t need to use its services as much — they’ll just pull things from the Web, instead of calling directory assistance, for example.
A: No, actually it won’t. I think it will be great for us, and here’s why. One of the things with this device — people are going to be asked to have an unlimited package — people are going to have to have a package with us to browse. That’s one good thing for everybody.
I think this is going to create a new way people use handheld devices because the browsing experience is as good as the PC browsing experience. So I think it’s not going to hurt us at all. I’m excited about what it will do for the industry in terms of how people view mobile browsing.
Q: What’s the risk in your deal with Apple? Are there downsides or concerns?
A: Not that I can see. The thing I get asked about a lot is, obviously, that our companies are different cultures. But they have been incredible to work with.
The one thing we found as commonality is our pursuit of customer experience. Whenever we got into discussions, the thing we kept coming back to was this unwavering “what’s the customer experience going to be?” That’s gotten us over the hump every single time.
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According to Michael Arrington of TechCrunch Google is planning to launch a mobile phone network in the UK over the next few weeks.
The story is that Google would partner with O2 to become a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) and sell a small number of mid to low cost Nokia handsets online. The phones would be pre-loaded with Google mobile software such as maps, local search and email applications.
Arrington is basing the information on a single “good source” so the rumour might not turn out to be true. The main problem with launching an MVNO is having enough money and brand equity to build a customer base. With the market share Google has in the UK for search (80%) it would seem like they have the ability to pull this one off. They could probably sell thousands of phones per day just by adding a link from google.co.uk
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A recent Equs poll has indicated that 55% of US consumers would by a mobile phone produced by Google or Yahoo, despite the fact they have shown no previous ability to create mobile devices.
The poll indicates a huge level of trust in the two main search engines as well as a level of dissatisfaction with the current mobile phone search experience. Most consumers will, quite rightly, be hoping that a Google Phone would offer a greatly enhanced user experience.
Equs CEO Al Nazareli said, “In addition to these findings, we also found that 69% of consumers currently use mobile search tools on their mobile phones. Because search functionality is so highly utilized by mobile phone users, Google and Yahoo! are uniquely well-positioned to enter the mobile device market and may have an advantage over other consumer brands looking to enter the space.”
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Gadget website tech.co.uk is somewhat optimistically reporting that the Google Phone might launch tomorrow.
Apparently they have been invited to a “press briefing” tomorrow where Google intends to talk about a “product for mobiles“.
Whilst this is unlikely to be the Google Phone it might still be an interesting new product to add to the growing Google Mobile applications suite.
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An interesting patent application published this week shows a landline phone capable of displaying contextual adverts to users based on a number of parameters.
The patent document, discovered by ZDNet, shows how the Internet Protocol Phone System would be able to display Google Ads as well as other HTML and image adverts downloaded from the internet.
Russell Shaw, ZDNet writer, notes that the device would geotarget adverts depending on user location: “Since the GUIs are downloaded from a server connected to the internet, the pages displayed on the display screen can be varied according to personal preference or according to temporal and/or geographical criteria, e.g. advertisements can be sent depending on the time or day, month or year to telephones depending on their location (houses, apartments, hotels).”
Imagine if your landline phone was subsidised by Google (or a similar advertising company) in return for you viewing targeted adverts based on the people you call and your location? Nobody minds the ads at the side of Gmail and most users would be happy seeing discreet ads on a screen on their landline phone in return for cheaper phone bills.
With reference to FIG. 3, the present invention can also be used in a system that provides interactive advertisements via the internet to the display screen 16 of each telephone 1.
Various advertisers will store their advertisements on one or more centralized servers 31 for transmission to the telephones 1 of end users, wherein the players will interpret the advertisement page and display it on the display screen 16.
The transmitted advertisements can be determined based on the geographical location of the telephones and on temporal criteria. For example, in a urban or suburban community advertisements relating to fast food restaurants will be transmitted in the late afternoon and early evening, while grocery store advertisements will be transmitted in the early morning.
Real estate advertisements can be sent to telephones in apartment buildings 32 or town homes 33, while hardware or home improvement store advertisements will be transmitted only to single family homes 34 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. High end automobile advertisements could be sent to homes 36 on certain streets or areas in which real estate prices are known to be high.
The present invention is particularly suited for use in hotels and hotel chains, in which the advertisements can be tailored to time of day and to specific rooms or groups of rooms, e.g. advertisements for breakfast specials in the hotel restaurant and for local attractions in the morning, advertisements for local fast food restaurants at lunch, and advertisements for local entertainment in the afternoon and evening.
In addition, the processor 12 can be programmed to email a designated person whenever a phone call is initiated or received by a given telephone 1. Moreover, phone messages left in the processor’s memory can also be saved on the server 14 and/or forwarded by e-mail to a designated person, e.g. in MP3 format.
A family’s weekly grocery list can be saved in the memory and displayed on the display screen 16 to enable additions, either by manual entry or by identifying the additional items from a list. The list can then be sent via e-mail, telephone, fax or the internet to a grocery store, where the order would be prepared for pick-up or delivery.
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Despite Google keeping plans for a Google Phone firmly under wraps we have already covered a number of patent documents showing that the forthcoming GPhone will predict your searches and probably be the most useful phone ever made.
It now appears that IBM have exactly the same thinking as Google when it comes to mobile phones:
In five years, however, mobile devices will have the ability to continually learn about and adapt to your preferences and needs.
For example, when a user enters a meeting room with several people, the mobile phone will automatically divert to voice mail. Your favorite pizza joint will know when you’re on your way home after a late night and ping you with a special-price, take-home meal just for you.
Compare this to the comments made by Google in their Google Phone patent application and its clear that the two tech giants are thinking along the same lines.
Expect automated pizza ordering within the next 5 years, courtesy of either Google, IBM or a combination of the two.
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A mobile web usage survey of 1,001 US residents over the age of 16 has revealed interesting statistics on mobile search.
The study indicates that while currently only 30 percent of mobile users access the Internet on their mobile devices, 75 percent of those also conduct searches. In addition, the study finds that users prefer to search via the major search engines rather than via networks mobile platforms.
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Taiwan based manufacturer HTC (High Tech Computer) has apparently begun manufacturing the Google Phone, with a shipment of 1 million units to be ready for delivery late 2007.
Google handsets, supporting Texas Instruments (TI) 3G platform and EDGE (what? no HSDPA?), will not feature GPS functionality but they will feature integrated Gmail and Google search functions.
We understand that the handsets will initially be run on the Orange network and be co-branded as Google / Orange phones.
HTC declined to comment on the report.
We will update this post as soon as more information leaks. I was hoping that the Google Phone would be a HSDPA device and find it hard to believe it will only use EDGE. Google has already patented a LOT of mobile phone technology.
Update: More details here.
Thanks (again) to John from wood burning stoves for the tip!
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