When Google first mentioned ChromeOS, we figured it was their reaction to launching Android, then seeing Palm come out with webOS, and smacking their heads — they could have done that with V8! (What, too nerdy?)

Lame JavaScript rendering engine jokes aside, the very traditional Android never really seemed like the OS Google should, or even wanted, to give to the world. ChromeOS does. (For those unfamiliar, when I guessed what it would be before the unveiling yesterday — Brin and Page booting Linux which then auto-started the WebKit-based Chrome browser — that wasn’t a joke. It’s really what I — and many others — thought they’d do, and pretty much what they did. Casey at Android Central has a bigger write up on it if you want the details).

Now bear with me because this will be a little bit all over the place (yeah, what else is new, but the future is woven from many seemingly disparate threads). The business reason (and remember Google is a business) makes a lot of sense — booting in 10 seconds and getting into Chrome, and just Chrome, means users only have access to the web, and Google owns the web and most of its advertising revenue. Boot into Windows, Mac, or the *nix OS, and users may waste time in native apps, totally outside Google’s reach. That’s why targeting SSD-only netbooks on hardware approved by Google with mass storage access and (we’re guessing) internet-driven printing gives Google a chance to own ultra-small scale computing. Free as in Google indeed.

And that’s why it makes perfect sense for Mobile handsets in the coming age of ubiquitous connectivity. We’re not there yet but we will be soon. And maybe that’s why TechCrunch is following up their rumours of a branded Google gPhone with even more rumours that it will be a data-only VoIP device. That’s right, no voice plan, just cheap data with Gizmo5-fortified Google Voice and all those other cloud-based Google services like Gmail, navigation, docs, etc.. (It’s also suggested this device would run on AT&T, giving them some glamor back if they lose iPhone exclusivity next year).

Bringing this back to the iPhone, we all remember in 2007 when Steve Jobs announced the first “sweet” iPhone development platform — WebApps, and the resounding thud of that landing on unenthused developers and users alike. But Google isn’t Apple and next year is 2010. ChromeOS is, as Casey says, ambitious in concept if tame in current realization, but for iPhone users, that may not matter.

See, as iPhone users, we’re excited because we’re counting on all those Google ChromeOS WebApps to run just great in our iPhone Safari browsers as well, just like Google’s current cloud-based apps — which is something Android apps won’t do (they only run on Android devices). Microsoft going web-based with Office 2010, which we’re also looking forward to running in iPhone Safari, only makes it “sweeter”. Cheap or “free as in Google” gPhones for those who just want data and browsers, iPhones for those who want all that and more?

Could we be getting the best of all worlds again? Apple and 100,000+ apps native on our iPhone (or Windows, Mac, *nix desktop), Google and Microsoft filling up our cloud along with their own? Yes please.

Let us know what you think!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

On Google ChromeOS, VoIP-only gPhones, and How the iPhone Benefits

Google continues to optimize their websites for the iPhone (and Android, and webOS), this time giving Google News the bump. Says the Google Mobile blog:

This new version provides the same richness and personalization on your phone as Google News provides on desktop. Our new homepage displays more stories, sources, and images while keeping a familiar look and feel. Also, you can now reach your favorite sections, discover new ones, find articles and play videos in fewer clicks. If you are an existing Google News reader on desktop, you will find that all of your personalizations are honored in this mobile version too.

If you read Google News on your iPhone, let us know if you like it, and if you like it better than the regular version you got yesterday.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Google Optimizes Google News for iPhone

Did Apple meet with mobile advertising company, AdMob before Google acquired them last week for $750 million? That’s what “people familiar with the matter” told Bloomberg:

Buying AdMob would have allowed Apple to expand into online advertising, a strategy that Nokia Oyj is pursuing, [IDC analyst Karsten Weide] said. “If a lot of traffic goes through my devices, why can’t I become the middleman that serves ads against that inventory? AdMob would have allowed them to do that quickly.”

Clearly advertising isn’t a core Apple business the way it is for Google, but then again with Google getting into so many of Apple’s core businesses (smartphone OS with Android and now desktop OS with ChromeOS), Apple could be looking to give them a dose of their own expansion. Given that Apple recently filed a patent for an ad-supported version of Mac OS X (something Microsoft explored years ago for Windows), they could also be looking for alternate ways to subsidize the cost of their platforms going forward. Right now carriers like AT&T foot the advance for the iPhone (and theoretically might do the same for an iTablet or 3G-connected MacBook) but the more options to reduce up-front consumer costs, the better — especially in the increasingly competitive landscape.

We’ve said before Apple should have snapped up Grand Central before it became Google Voice, is Cupertino growing slow to react, or is Google just hitting warp speed?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple Approached AdMob Before Google Gobbled Them Up?

When Google opens their wallet, big buyouts follow, and this time it’s iPhone/mobile advertising company AdMob for $750 million, and VoIP startup Gizmo5 for about $30 million.

AdMob is an obvious choice for Google, as it’s built mobile and in-app advertising (especially on the iPhone) into a $100 million a year business, enough to get Brin and Page personally involved in the courtship. Says TechCrunch:

Google is gunning hard to dominate mobile Web advertising and AdMob has an early foothold in the display side. [...] Google’s purchase price tells us it thinks the opportunity for mobile display ads is in the billions of dollars, at the very least.

Gizmo5, rather than advertising, could help round out Google’s services portfolio. Again, TechCrunch has the details:

Google Talk allows voice calls between users but has no PSTN link to allow incoming or outbound calls to real phones. Gizmo5 does this well already. [...] And Google Voice is a great VoIP and phone identity service, but they have no endpoint for calls. Gizmo5, which by the way already integrates with Google Voice, is a soft phone end point for Google phone users.

Of course, Apple will have to stop considering/reverse the rejection of Google Voice, or Google will have to deliver that killer web app version, before iPhone users benefit from that…

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Google Buys AdMob and Gizmo5

Google Dashboard gives you one handy, dandy place to keep track of all your Google stuff. Let’s face it, more than any other device, the iPhone is the mobile internet. Google — well it is the internet. If you’re a big Google user, they know what you search for, the contents of your Gmail, the appointments in your Google Calendar, the data in your Google Docs, your Google Latitude coordinates, and who knows what else…

Well, now you do. Let us know how that works for you.

(NB- No iPhone/Mobile WebKit optimized version yet but it works just fine in Safari).

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Google Dashboard — How Much Do They Know About You?

So while the dust is by no means settling following Google’s bombshell announcement of their free Google Maps Navigation app for Android 2.0, it’s thinning enough that we can start to survey the landscape again.

In terms of the iPhone, Google is saying they’re working with Apple to add the same or similar navigation features to the iPhone’s built in Maps application that Android 2.0 now enjoys. TechCrunch thinks that, in light of the Google Voice situation, Google should make Apple beg for what they say is best car navigation software, with the richest feature set in the space (or at least the US space, since it’s not international yet). They see it as a replay of when Apple had to beg Microsoft to keep Office on the Mac, with the cloud being the modern “killer app” equivalent of productivity software then.

Apple is in a terrible position here because the future of mobile apps are Web apps, and Google excels at making those. Apple needs Google, it’s most dangerous competitor in the mobile Web market, to keep building apps for the iPhone. Google would be foolish not to since the iPhone still has the largest reach of any modern Web phone. But it will no longer be a priority.

However, Google delivering Google services to Android — Google’s own OS — makes sense. Android got native push Gmail before anyone else (something most handsets still don’t enjoy, GoogleSync being the alternative). Likewise, Google Street View was first shown off on the Android during it’s initial unveiling.

For arguments sake then, let’s say Google does indeed work with Apple to bring Google Maps Navigation to the iPhone Maps app and to all those search-happy, high-value iPhone users’ eyeballs — again, for free — where does that leave existing, premium priced, iPhone turn-by-turn software makers?

Navigon, one of the highest grossing apps in the iTunes App Store, told TiPb:

[Google's] app is not available for the iPhone yet and on Android it’s just launching, so we’ll have to see how professional the navigation experience really is and how well the map material supports navigation functionalities. We have over 18 years of experience in the navigation field which lets us develop unique and high quality features not found on other navigation software and we are using maps that were created specifically for this use case. We provide excellent features such as Text-to-speech, Reality View™ Pro and Traffic Live and are convinced that consumers will pay extra dollars for a better, and more premium navigation experience. Besides, their solution is off-board which means that the navigation is interrupted when there is no cell phone signal available while our iPhone app is on-board and therefore works like a traditional navigation device – you will continue to get directions even without cell phone signal. This is particularly relevant in Europe where you have to pay extra roaming fees when using an off-board solution and traveling from one country to another. In addition, we already have navigation solutions for Android as well as WindowsMobile and Symbian smart phones on the market in Europe and are currently evaluating the options for launching some of these in the US as well – including Android. Our iPhone app is currently the top 3 grossing app in the App Store.

TeleNav, which supplies the service behind the subscription-based iPhone’s AT&T Navigator app, had this to say:

It’s premature to assume that this will have any dramatic impact on the industry. We will see how many phones the service launches on, the content and usability, as well as consumer feedback before we make any assumptions or conclusions about any impact on the industry. We know that people value navigation and are willing to pay for a high-quality, differentiated service.

Certainly there are many industries where people are willing to pay a premium price for premium services. Will navigation software for mobile devices be one of them? Or is paid navigation software about to go the way of paid web browsers?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

What Google Navigation Means for iPhone Maps App, and for Turn-by-Turn Competitors

UPDATE 3: As pointed out in the comments, there’s no sign of ad support in Google Maps Navigation (at least not yet). It’s just free as in free.

UPDATE 2: According to Gizmodo, Google:

implied they are working closely with Apple now on [Google Maps Navigation].

iPhone 2.2 saw Google Street View, could iPhone 3.2 see Google Maps Navigation? Let the drooling begin!

UPDATE 1: Replaced video with official version, moved TechCrunch preview below the fold. Enjoy both!

ORIGINAL: Just a few hours ago TiPb posted about the rumors surrounding a free (with ad support, of course) Google Navigation app, and now TechCrunch has the goods — it’s real, and it’s (so far) exclusive to Android 2.0. And we quote:

• Search in plain English. No need to know the address. You can type a business name (e.g. “starbucks”) or even a kind of a business (e.g. “thai restaurant”), just like you would on Google.

• Search by voice. Speak your destination instead of typing (English only): “Navigate to the de Young Museum in San Francisco”.

• Traffic view. An on-screen indicator glows green, yellow, or red based on the current traffic conditions along your route. A single touch on the indicator toggles a traffic view that shows the traffic ahead.

• Search along route. Search for any kind of business along your route, or turn on popular layers such as gas stations, restaurants, or parking.

• Satellite view. View your route overlaid on 3D satellite views with Google’s high-resolution aerial imagery.

• Street View. Visualize turns overlaid on Google’s Street View imagery. Navigation automatically switches to Street View as you approach your destination.

• Car dock mode. For certain devices, placing your phone in a car dock activates a special mode that makes it easy to use your device at arm’s length.

To quote our own editor-in-chief, it looks “bad@$$”, and so far it also looks exclusive to the US, and to Android 2.0, at least for now. But come on Google, you want to give it to everyone outside the US too, right?

[via Chad!]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Updated: Google Maps Navigation [Free as in Just Free] for Android 2.0 — Coming Eventually to iPhone

Google already provides the free Google Maps service (with Street View, pictured above), but could they be planning to step up to full on turn-by-turn navigation? Forbes thinks so:

Google, which generally gives its software away for free and recoups its investment through advertising, would likely sell ads within the navigation application rather than charge users, experts say. The ads could be particularly valuable because the program would know users’ precise locations and destinations, allowing advertisers to pinpoint specific kinds of consumers. Google recently started running sponsored link ads in Apple’s ( AAPL – news – people ) iPhone map application, which it helped build.

Forbes cites competitors who think Google will enter the “small but lucrative” space, and it would be a great value-add to Android, extending Google’s control over the software to an area some carriers still want all to themselves (with the monthly subscription feeds that go with it).

Before international readers get too excited, however, like Google Voice, it might be US-only, especially at first. That, and other factors have potential competitors already getting their shots in:

“Millions of customers use our service because of its reliability, ease of use and additional features,” [Mary Beth Lowell of TeleNav] says. [Steve Andler of Networks in Motion] contends the mobile market is different from the Internet, where “everything’s free and always in beta. People are willing to pay a premium to have something work all the time on their phones.”

Translation: they won’t try to compete with Google on price.

But what about you? Would you let Google monitor your GPS coordinates and activities, and send you targeted ads, in exchange for free navigation?

[via Fierce Mobile Content via Engadget Mobile]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Google Working on Free [Ad Supported] Turn-by-Turn Navigation App?

Lee Williams, executive director at Symbian, sits down with GigaOM’s Om Malik, and gets candid — really candid — about Apple and Google:

“Android is building a perfect storm of fragmentation. I don’t view Apple as evil, just greedy. Google … Come on.”

He claims his opinion is informed by his conversations with large carriers who complain that they have to provide Apple App Store apps to iPhone users yet derive no income from them (we’d point out they made money off the data plans — dumb pipes!), and that Google is taking away their customer interface, “cookie-ing” them (tracking their online activities) via proprietary apps obscured in lip service to “openness” and using that to feed their advertising business.

When asked why companies like HTC, if they know Google is “evil”, aren’t investing in Symbian instead, Williams advises Om to “wait and see”, and thinks those manufacturers might be interested in “very open systems.”

While offering no advice to Apple, he does invite Google to join the Symbian foundation so they can have a voice in that open system. Somehow we doubt he’ll see them take up that offer any time soon.

Harsh words for competitors, but also strangely refreshing to see on camera. As to the iPhone, is the carrier beef legitimate? Should they be getting a cut of App Store profits, or should they be happy with the huge increase in data revenue the iPhone is already bringing them?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Symbian Exec: Google is Fragmented and Evil. Apple, Just Greedy.

Big news round Twitter-way, with Apple adding a few more official Twitter accounts, and Microsoft Bing and Google paying for unrestricted access to real-time search Twitter’s firehose of user status posts.

First up, while Apple’s never been accused of “getting” social media, and it may come as a surprise they’re using Twitter at all, it’s not so surprising that — rather than customer feedback, support, or insight into the iron curtain that shrouds Cupertino — these accounts are just news/marketing updates on when the latest music and media hits the world’s most popular download service. (And some seem less than active at the moment). Baby steps?

You can follow them via: iTunesTrailers, iTunesMusic, iTunesMovies, iTunesTV, and iTunesPodcasts.

Also both Microsoft’s Bing and Google have now announced partnerships with Twitter. Bing says:

Were you as fascinated by the 6-year-old boy floating away in a balloon as we were? Was it a hoax? We know that people are going to twitter more and more for information surrounding all the latest chatter. You can now search for what people are saying all over the web about breaking news topics, your favorite celebrity, hometown sports team, and anything else you use Twitter to stay on top of today.

Google says:

We believe that our search results and user experience will greatly benefit from the inclusion of this up-to-the-minute data, and we look forward to having a product that showcases how tweets can make search better in the coming months. That way, the next time you search for something that can be aided by a real-time observation, say, snow conditions at your favorite ski resort, you’ll find tweets from other users who are there and sharing the latest and greatest information.

Does this hybrid search model appeal to you? Let us know!

[Ballmer photoshop re-used in honor of Windows 7 launch day]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iTunes Gets Twitter Accounts, Bing and Google Get Twitter Real-Time Search