Google’s widening wireless world

In case you hadn’t heard, Google is going mobile.
The Wall Street Journal last week trumpeted the Internet giant’s efforts to build handsets in a page-one story that quickly echoed throughout the blogosphere and the trade press. London’s Telegraph stoked the rumor mill a few days later, reporting that Google services including search, e-mail and maps would be embedded on Google-branded phones.Google, for its part, only increased the buzz by remaining coyly mum.
But is any of this news to anyone?
Google first dipped its toe in the mobile waters in 2000 with a search service for Web-enabled phones, and the company has moved aggressively into the space ever since. And while much of the developer’ s work has been done behind closed doors, a quick glance at the firm’s Web site showcases its wireless offerings, from the venerable SMS search to an application that allows mobile users to share video clips on YouTube.
Just as importantly, Google has struck key deals in mobile even as it makes strides on its own. Vodafone Group plc has integrated a Google-branded search box with its Vodafone live! service, T-Mobile tapped Google for its “web ‘n’ walk” mobile Internet offering, and Motorola Inc. struck a deal to install a Google-branded hard key on phones.
Most recently, Google’s fixation with mobile was underscored by the company’s push for new rules for the Federal Communication Commission’s planned auction of 700 MHz spectrum.
And just as Google’s wireless moves are no surprise, the response of some operators is predictable. Verizon Wireless claims Google wants too big a cut, according to the Journal, and has opted not to closely integrate the developer’s search technology in an effort to stake out ad dollars for itself.
Such a response is understandable, to a degree. Google has become a powerful brand in its own right, and is seen by many as the premier developer of consumer-facing Internet applications. Carriers face a difficult task in “owning the customer,” who increasingly uses the mobile phone as a way to move off the deck and into the broader Internet.
But as the success of Apple Inc.’s iPhone indicates, outsiders will capitalize where mobile falls short. While phone manufacturers have stubbornly adhered to the decades-old 12-key model, the iPhone has captured the imagination of consumers with a revolutionary user interface.
The strength of Google-like many of its Internet brethren-is its ability to develop cutting edge-applications, generate traffic, deliver ads and monetize inventory. Unlike Apple, the company has virtually no experience designing hardware. While a Google-branded phone is likely, it may prove a difficult sell to both carriers and consumers.
Network operators face a growing threat, though, as the lines continue to blur between the traditional Internet and wireless. The clock is ticking for carriers to make the mobile Web more user-friendly-either by themselves or through partners-then cash in on those eyeballs.
Because if they don’t, Google will. And so will countless others.