A Google phone. So why the fuss ?

Tracking tech companies these days is like tracking movie stars and other celebrity. Will she marry that handsome dude she has been seeing of late ? Does that mean she has fallen out with that gorgeous hunk she was seen with last week at the Ritz ? And by the way, any truth to reports that she had had a silicone implant ?

There is abundant speculation in the mainline newspapers, trade publications and blogs that Google may be bringing out a mobile phone. Surely Google Inc. is loving it, as did Apple Inc. when all that speculative frenzy built up around the iPhone. Folks save them a lot of advertising bucks by doing their work for them. We had pre-announced the iPhone based on crumbs Apple fed us, and we are now trying to pre-announce the Google phone – whether it is a real phone or only software.

If Google brings to market a phone, that is nice. It is also nice every time Nokia Corp. or Motorola Inc. bring out a phone with some new feature. But it is nothing to get into a paroxysm about.

Yes, the PC changed the world in many ways, but another mobile phone will not.

In fact the mobile service providers will ensure that the phone does not go very far. Mobile service providers want control, and they will want control over everything that goes into that phone. Apple wrested control from AT&T by offering it exclusivity, but, despite the popularity of the product, remember it runs on only one network in the US.

The only way Google can play this game to its advantage is to buy wireless spectrum, and allocate it to buddies who will invest in mobile communications companies. There are reports they are going to do just that. But getting into the service provider business to make sure its content and applications is on the phone, is akin to starting up a PC company that ships only Google apps. Google does not seem to know what to do with its cash just now.

I am more inclined to take the view that Google like Microsoft Corp. may emerge as a provider of software and reference design to mobile phone makers like Nokia and Motorola. Miguel Helft at the New York Times is one of a number who are coming around to this view.

Microsoft hasn’t been very successful in this market because cell phone makers have always been wary of large companies invading their turf. That is the reason Nokia has invested in Symbian, a developer of software for phones. Google too will be seen as an upstart by entrenched phone makers.

Besides, if folks like Nokia use the Google software, they will still be required to tweak it for the operator, who may decide he wants Yahoo’s application, rather than Google’s.

But all this hasn’t answered my question. Why is everyone going ga-ga over Google’s new phone/phone software ? Are we so starved for excitement ?

New Zune players to compete with iPod

Microsoft Corp. unveiled three new models of its Zune player, including two versions with flash, which will ship November for the holiday season.

The company has also launched an online music community called Zune Social. Taking a leaf from Apple Inc.’s iTunes and Amazon.com’s new digital music store, it is also offering more than 1 million songs on its Zune Marketplace that are not protected by DRM (digital rights management).

Microsoft however has an uphill task battling against the iPod. The company has reported sales of 1.2 million Zune devices since November last year. That is a lot less than a total of 100 million iPods sold from 2001 to April this year.

The company announced three new models of the Zune portable digital media players: a black Zune 80GB hard-drive model with an estimated retail price of US$249.99; an ultraportable Zune 4GB which is expected to retail at $149.99; and a Zune 8GB, costing $199.99. The last two models are flash models.

The new Zune devices feature the Zune Pad navigation button, with its touch-sensitive surface, Microsoft said in a statement late Tuesday.

Consumers can flick their thumbs over the pad to fly through lists of songs or albums or to fast-forward through picture slide shows or videos, it said. For those who need to pause, advance or adjust the volume on the device without looking, they can also navigate the Zune Pad using physical cues by pressing on the four sides or the center of the button to adjust the volume or choose the next track, according to Microsoft.

The new devices also offer wireless synchronization over the home wireless network, and new software that automatically imports broadcast content recorded on Microsoft Windows Media Center for Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate, so consumers can sync them onto their Zune media player and watch them on the bus, in their car or wherever they want when they’re out and about, Microsoft said.

Existing Zune owners will automatically receive new software features, the redesigned PC and device software and access to the new Zune Marketplace when the products and software are released to the public in mid-November.

The new Zune players have some nice new additions, but is not a dramatic makeover from the earlier Zune devices, according to analysts. Zune also does not have as strong a brand as the iPod.

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iPod and the end of conversation

Amazon.com gets onto MP3 music bandwagon

Amazon.com Inc. has launched Public Beta of Amazon MP3, a digital music store, signaling competition for Apple Inc.’s iTunes, and eMusic, the two big players in the digital music downloads business.

While iTunes predominantly uses a proprietary DRM (digital rights management) for its music downloads, eMusic offers music downloads in the MP3 format, without DRM protection. Downloads without DRM come without copy restrictions and controls, and can be played on any audio device supporting the popular MP3 format.

Amazon MP3 has over 2 million songs from more than 180,000 artists represented by over 20,000 major and independent labels, the company said in a statement. The downloaded files can be played on any audio device, Amazon said on Tuesday.

Most songs are priced from 89 cents to 99 cents, with more than 1 million of the 2 million songs priced at 89 cents, the company said. Songs on Amazon MP3 are encoded at 256 kilobits per second, which gives customers high audio quality at a manageable file size, according to Amazon.com.

Most large music labels have shied away from MP3 downloads, which is the reason why eMusic sells mainly music from independent labels. To make headway in this market, Amazon.com will have to introduce music guides and expert reviews to help users choose good quality music. The term independent labels has often come to mean amateurish music generated by out-of-garage operations, a problem many users encounter currently on eMusic.

Only Universal Music Group and EMI Music Publishing, among the big labels, are currently offering music at the Amazon.com store.

Amazon.com announced in May that it would open an online digital music store later this year, and also said that the music would be free of DRM controls. The company also invested in August in a music download firm called Amie Street Inc.

The MP3 music can be downloaded from Amazon here.

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Germany too will get iPhone on Nov. 9

As part of Apple Inc.’s marketing thrust into Europe ahead of the Christmas buying season, the company said on Wednesday it has partnered with network operator T-Mobile to introduce the iPhone in Germany on Nov. 9, the same date scheduled for the launch of the iPhone in the UK.

T-Mobile is a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG. Apple announced Tuesday that O2 (UK) Ltd., a wireless carrier operator in the UK had been selected to offer the iPhone in the country.

As in the US, where it has an exclusive deal with AT&T Inc., Apple has also fixed exclusive deals in the UK and Germany. The popularity of the iPhone gives Apple the bargaining power to get around the insistence of service providers on controlling what software and hardware goes into consumer mobile devices.

The iPhone will however be more expensive in Europe than in the US. The phone will cost €399 (about US$558) in Germany and £269 ($538) in the U.K., with service contracts, ranging from 18 to 24 months thrown In the U.S., the price of the phone was brought down to $399, down from $599 at launch.

Apple is also expected to announce this week that the contract for France has gone to Orange, a mobile phone and Internet access business of France Télécom SA.

A number of hackers have tweaked with the iPhone's software to make it usable with the networks of other operators. These moves don't sit well with Apple's carrier partners who pay whopping fees for their exclusivity in each country. The higher prices of the iPhone, announced in Europe so far, coupled with expensive tariff plans, may provide an incentive to import these phones from the US, and unlock them for use on other networks, some analysts said.

The iPhone will also not be able to take advantage of faster third-generation (3G) mobile networks in Europe because 3G chip sets hog power, The New York Times reported, quoting Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs. By late next year, the iPhone may be able to take advantage of these networks, though in the meantime it could use Wi-Fi, a wireless local area network (LAN) standard, for high-speed Internet.

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Apple iPhone will be available in the UK through O2

iPod and the end of conversation

Apple iPhone will be available in the UK through O2

Apple Inc. ended weeks of speculation, by announcing Tuesday that it has selected O2, a leading wireless carrier in the UK, to exclusively offer the iPhone in the UK. The iPhone will debut in the UK on November 9, and comes bundled with unlimited free Wi-Fi access.

Apple sold its one millionth iPhone 74 days after it went on sale in the US on June 29, the company said. In the US, the company has an exclusive tie-up with AT&T for the iPhone.

By appointing exclusive carriers for each country for the much coveted iPhone, Apple is able to get better deals with the operator including better commercial terms, according to analysts.

AT&T, which in the past has demanded control over what software and applications go into end-user devices, had had to concede ground to Apple. In that sense Apple has shifted the balance of power in the mobile carrier market.

iPhone users in the UK will be able to activate their new iPhones using Apple's iTunes software running on a PC or Mac computer, without having to wait in a store while their phone is activated. Once iPhone is activated, users can then easily sync all of their phone numbers and other contact information, calendars, email accounts, web browser bookmarks, music, photos, podcasts and TV shows just like they do when they sync their iPods with iTunes, Apple said.

iPhone will be sold exclusively in the UK through Apple's retail and online stores, O2 and The Carphone Warehouse's retail and online stores. iPhone will be available in an 8GB model for 269 pounds sterling (inc VAT) and will work with either a PC or Mac. Three iPhone tariffs plans will be available from O2 starting at 35 pounds, which all include unlimited anytime, anywhere mobile data usage and free unlimited use of the Wi-Fi network, Apple said.

O2 UK is part of Telefonica O2 Europe which comprises mobile network operators in the UK, Ireland and Slovakia along with integrated fixed and mobile businesses in Germany and the Czech Republic. Telefonica O2 Europe also owns 50 percent of the Tesco Mobile and Tchibo Mobilfunk joint venture businesses in the UK and Germany respectively as well as having 100 percent ownership of Be, a leading UK fixed broadband provider. It is not clear at this point whether O2 will be the carrier as Apple expands in other European markets.

With the November 9 launch, Apple is in good time for Christmas shopping in the UK, where, if the experience in the US is any pointer, the iPhone will figure in a number of Santa's lists.

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eMusic’s foray into audiobooks may help aspiring writers

eMusic’s entry into the audiobooks market may help aspiring writers get an audience, though most of the top book publishing houses may stay away from the digital download site.

Starting September 18, audiobooks will be available from eMusic at a price of US$9.99, which is lower than the price for audiobooks at competitor Audible Inc. The music download site will likely try to further offer bargain prices on its audiobooks as it has done with its music downloads.

As eMusic uses the MP3 format and does not support DRM (digital rights management), it will very probably not have support from most of the big publishing companies, a problem that it faced with most of the large music labels, which shied away from offering their music on its site.

eMusic’s strategy around MP3 and DRM did not hurt the company. It is now the second largest vendor of online music downloads after Apple’s iTunes. That was because eMusic focused on small labels and aspiring musicians who were ready to trade DRM for an opportunity to feature on a popular site. Its low price also attracted a large number of users.

Apple Computer Inc. and Audible Inc., which is a large online site for downloading audiobooks, both use DRM technology. The DRM in downloads from iTunes blocks their use in devices other than the iPOD or iPhone.

Opposed for ideological reasons by a large section of Internet users, DRM is also found to be cumbersome by many who would like to rip CDs as often as they need to, and play the downloads on a variety of devices. Music companies, in particular, are seen to be using the online download route to curb the misuse of purchased music. Some of these restrictions are a far cry from the freedom still available to users to rip and mix, and copy to various devices tracks from traditional music CDs.

eMusic may hence be planning a re-run of its strategy with music. They are likely to aim at smaller publishers or aspiring authors some of whom may to start with just focus on audiobooks, rather than more expensive print editions of their books. eMusic has emerged as a filter for people looking for music, and now audiobooks, beyond what is sold by the big brands.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, while promoting lesser known artists, and now authors, eMusic will have to do a much better job than it is doing now in selecting talent, making its recommendations, and generally playing as a mentor to its customers.

eMusic will offer more than a thousand audiobooks from major audiobook publishers including Blackstone Audio, Hachette, Naxos Audiobooks, Penguin and Random House, with hundreds more to be added each week, it said in a statement. Subscribers will find regular reviews of the books by critics from top newspapers and magazines, it added.

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iPod and the end of conversation

I am walking down a busy street, when I hear someone say “you jerk are coming in my way”. I turn around ready to do battle, only to be terribly disappointed to find that this lone man is busy talking on his mobile phone. I enter the local MacDonald’s and there is a couple with three kids. The man and his wife each engrossed in conversation, not with each other, but on their mobile phones.

Funny we talk so much to folks at a distance, without a word for those around us.

Can’t blame folks for this. There is so much you can do with your handheld devices that you have to prioritize your time. Do I plug in my earphones to hear music or a an audio download, or listen to the wife whining endlessly about household problems. Or do I pick up the BlackBerry and catch up with my email, or do I call up a friend about the car he wanted to sell, or the latest videos in the mall, or…….

The options are limitless. And Apple Computer Inc. just added to those possibilities of cutting out socializing by adding video games to its new line of iPod Nano devices. The new Nano, available in five colors, features a 2.5-inch, or 6.4-centimeter, screen for watching movies and playing games like a Sudoko program developed by Electronic Arts, said the International Herald Tribune in a report on Wednesday.

Can’t blame Apple for putting out attractive new products in the market. It is not the job of companies to worry about your wife and children and friends getting cut out of your new electronic life. The popular wisdom is that they have to be driven by the profit motive, even if that means us walking around wired with a variety of gadgets exchanging information with one another and with gadgets around the world on wireless technologies like Wi-Fi or cellular.

Time to tame the beast ? You will have to find the answer. I have got to run and watch this super movie I downloaded on my Nano, after I have grabbed it from my four-year old daughter. Get off the BlackBerry son, I am expecting a call !