Coincidence?

Is it just a coincidence that Sprint willingly as part of a lawsuit settlement offers to unlock it’s network and then a couple of weeks later Google announces it’s big mobile strategy? Add this one to “I told you so.” There are too many things happening here to be ignored. The Wall Street Journal claims that Google and TMobile USA “…it has the most traction with Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile USA.” But is this really the case? Which carrier has publicly announced a partnership with Google? I don’t think it was T. I believe it is Sprint per the press release from July 26, 2007 that announced “Sprint and Google to Collaborate on WiMAX Mobile Internet Services”

Here’s a great blog post by David Ingram.

InformationWeek writer Richard Martin has a good article that pulls a lot of the speculation together also. “Google Unplugged: gPhone Or Not, Google's Going Mobile”

This is the start of an evolution in the U.S. wireless industry. The unlocking of phones to be used across networks is the just the start. Google Mobile platform and devices will be on the next wave. Will we see devices launched with GSM, CDMA, HSDPA, and Wi-MAX? Why not. Verizon Wireless and Sprint both have world phones/pdas/blackberrys that will work on GSM, why not allow access to T-Mobile USA and AT&T Mobility in the U.S. via these devices? What about the MID (Mobile Internet Device) a user could avoid the use of a traditional wireless voice network all together and use VoIP over a mobile broadband connection and pay once and get everything said user could need. Instead of having a broadband aircard and a separate wired broadband at home a user would have one broadband service that is with them wherever they roam. This will also push voice response software systems to be employed in vehicles or mobile devices so the user can respond to email while spending those two and half or three hours in their vehicle either on the way to or home from the office. This should also usher in video calls so do people really even need to go in to the office? Can’t they work from home office, den, vehicle, or kitchen table? For those that work too much as it is this may be even worse, since there will be no down time or time when broadband service is not available. Instead of “crackberry’s” we’ll have crackMIDs. This could reverse the way a user utilizes a “docking station.” Instead of docking a mobile device to a wired connection it could be the mobile device providing the connectivity. Could these things really come about due to an open source device or device category? The writer believes it will. Let’s just see what Google announces in the next 90 days and then see what the world of gadgets and broadband looks like in a year. The future is bright!