The Google Phone: The Story So Far, Some Launch Details & What's Next
The Wall Street Journal has been reporting on Google's mobile phone efforts and how it is beginning to draw some interest from carriers, especially in the United States. Sprint (S) and Verizon (VZ) are in talks with Google …
Context & Ripple Effects
The rumored Google Phone has moved from gadget-blog speculation into the business pages: GigaOM laid out five claimed facts about the device back in September, and this week the Wall Street Journal's report that carriers are being approached has been picked up widely, including by the Journal itself under a headline emphasizing industry interest.
The new detail is who is listening. Both Sprint and Verizon are reported — though still unconfirmed — to be in talks with Google about its mobile efforts, which would make the story less about whether Google builds a phone and more about whether US carriers are willing to carry it.
First-order effects
- If the talks proceed, Sprint and Verizon would become Google's first US distribution partners, giving the search company a carrier channel it currently lacks for any handset effort.
- For Sprint and Verizon, carrying a Google device means deciding how much control over the software experience they hand to a third party — a question neither has answered publicly.
Second-order effects
- Carrier interest gives Google negotiating leverage with other operators: a rival carrier signing on would pressure holdouts to consider similar terms rather than cede the Google brand to competitors alone.
- The reported talks put pressure on the carriers' existing handset-supply relationships, since adding an outside software-driven device changes what they demand from their current phone vendors.
Third-order effects
- Should carriers accept a Google-built device, the industry moves toward a structure where the operating system and services layer sits above the carrier relationship — weakening the walled-garden model carriers have historically enforced on handsets.
- Because both reports remain rumors, the deeper shift hinges on confirmation: a confirmed carrier deal would mark Google's entry into the access layer of telecom, not just its advertising layer.
The trend: Google is pushing from web services down into the mobile access layer, and the willingness of US carriers like Sprint and Verizon to partner will determine whether it arrives as a hardware vendor or a platform.