Can Google’s G-Phone hit the G-spot

19 March 2007

Can Google’s G-Phone hit the G-spot
iTWire, Australia – Mar 19, 2007

Is there anything Google can’t do? It seems nothing is impossible, and impossible is nothing for the world’s dominant search engine company, who now want to expand into the world of mobile computing, Internet access and telephony with their own branded phone.


What Next For The Google Phone?
VoIP News, CA - Mar 16, 2007

The past two days have seen literally hundreds of rumors swirling about a proposed 'Google Phone' with hypesters seeking to make it out to be a competitor to Apple's iPhone and detractors poo-pooing the very notion.

The rumors were kicked off by an interview with Spanish news site noticias.com where Isabel Aguilera, the top director for Google in Spain and Portugal, said that Google engineers had been working on a mobile phone. The original article is here (in Spanish).


Yahoo preps Chinese version of Flickr
ZDNet - Mar 16, 2007

Yahoo said on Friday that it plans to launch a Chinese-language version of its popular photo-sharing site, Flickr, this year to tap demand from Chinese digital-photo enthusiasts.

The development comes as Sunnyvale, Calif.-headquartered Yahoo tries to localize and expand its services--such as bookmark-sharing site Delicious, Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Groups--that center on user-generated contributions.


Yahoo eyes big picture as Flickr set for new launch
China Daily, China - Mar 17, 2007

Yahoo Inc said yesterday it plans to launch a Chinese-language version of its popular photo-sharing site Flickr.com this year.
The aim is to tap into demand from Chinese digital photo enthusiasts.


The Mad Scramble over VoIP Patents
BusinessWeek - Mar 18, 2007

Anthony Cataldo, chief executive of Internet-calling provider VoIP, Inc. (VOII), closely watched the recent patent dispute between Verizon Communications (VZ) and Vonage Holdings (VG). Upon learning of the Mar. 8 decision by a jury that Vonage infringed on Verizon patents, Cataldo asked lawyers to start proceedings against companies that he says are using his company's technology. "You are going to see a lot of demand letters going out from us," he says.


The VoIP Week in Review
TMC Net, CT - Mar 16, 2007

Welcome to another edition of TMCnet’s VoIP Week in Review. This week, the VoIP industry continued to focus on the “fallout” from last week’s Verizon vs. Vonage (News - Alert) VoIP Patent infringement case. As I’m sure you already know, an eight-member jury decided in federal court last week that Vonage must pay Verizon $58 million in past damages for infringing on several of its patents related to VoIP technology. The jury also declared that Vonage must pay a 5.5 percent royalty rate on any sales going forward. While still a far cry from the $197 million in damages sought by Verizon, Vonage shareholders saw the company’s stock price slip during the past week - so there is very real damage here beyond just the monetary settlement. Last Friday, Vonage issued a statement architected to quell investor jitter (pun intended), stating that it is “not going out of business” and furthermore that customers will not see any changes in their phone service.


Ballmer On Google: Same FUD, Different Day
InformationWeek, NY - Mar 17, 2007

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer yesterday bad-mouthed Google for being successful at only one business (even though it's a business Microsoft has been trying unsuccessfully to break into). But the target doesn't matter. It could have been Linux. Or Apple. I'm just worn out by the repetition. Ballmer's trash-talking is a tired routine. He needs to get a new act.

For a couple of years now Microsoft has been trying to figure out how Google does it -- how the world's premiere search company provides Web-based services and makes its money by selling advertising. Google has done extremely well at both, and its success has made it the darling of Wall Street.


Ballmer Questions Google Business Strategy
PC World - Mar 16, 2007

Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer criticized rival Google Inc., saying it is devoted primarily to ad-supported search while Microsoft has reinvented itself many times over.

In a presentation Thursday at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, Ballmer said a truly entrepreneurial company invents something, builds a business around it and then starts the cycle again. But Google hasn't yet emerged beyond ad-supported search, he said.