Microsoft and Google Battle Over Phones?
There's a hot new rumor that
Google
is prepping a mobile Internet phone. If the rumor isn't just phony-baloney,
then I've got some big questions. Can Google actually build great hardware?
What kinds of software innovations are possible? And what kind of connectivity
can one expect if the Internet is the data source? Does it rely upon wireless
broadband from companies such as Cingular and Verizon?
Meanwhile, Microsoft, whose Smartphone software drives a good many phones,
is moving
into small-business telephony with a new IP-phone system that will be built
by third parties. The key to the system is letting the people in the small or
remote office manage the phones, rather than calling in IT or telecom pros.
This is a godsend when you want to move that backstabbing worker in the office
next to the gas leak.
Posted by Doug Barney on March 20, 2007