Last month, contributor Phineas JW published a well-received article on AndroidGuys about Google’s (Not So) Secret Strategy. It was a great read, but I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed toward the end. I expected to read about more than just a killer app from Enkin that would wrap together Google Maps, Street View, and Google’s enormous database of local information into an impressive navigation package.
Don’t get me wrong. Google Maps has been a remarkable journey. When it first launched, its clean, Ajaxy goodness felt like a genuine alternative to Mapquest. Each incremental step since then has shown that Google’s ambition goes well beyond a mapping tool. It’s turning Maps and Earth into the heart of a different kind of search engine: one that can surface every type of available information, both factual and social, about any location on Earth.
The same vision applies to Android. It’s not just about a phone. It’s not even about a single killer app. Google is building the foundation for mobile computing and mobile living in a way we haven’t seen before. Why do you think it’s called Android? What kind of name is that for a phone OS? It suggests they envision the device eventually becoming a personal companion that goes with you everywhere. A single device functioning as your phone, computer, camera, media player, modem, wallet, ID, navigator, calendar, remote control, and whatever else you can imagine.
A Universal Phone
With advances in VoIP, a single device should eventually handle calls everywhere: home, office, travel. The real leap would be seamless voice and messaging over any network, at little or no cost, from any place in the world. Phone numbers as identifiers would give way to email addresses and chat IDs. A combination of Google Talk and Grand Central, combined with interoperability with other IM systems and telephone networks, could deliver that for free. Carriers and long-distance providers would no longer be able to survive on voice revenue alone.
A Wallet
The things we keep in a wallet: money, cards, and identification. Organizations large and small were already working on ways to use cell phones for payments and identity verification. The challenge was ensuring displayed information was authentic, solvable through encrypted authentication between the device and a verification system. By the time banks and agencies agreed on standards, Android would have been ready to take on those functions for years.
A Universal Modem
We were already familiar with phones being used as tethered modems for a single computer. With increasing transmission speeds, it wouldn’t be long before an Android device could serve as a modem for multiple devices at home, including televisions and anything else connected to the network.
A Universal Media Player
Already being done in basic form. The next step would be streaming music and video to any device, including home theater systems and car audio, in HD.
A Universal Remote
A single programmable soft remote capable of controlling any device in the home: TV, music system, video player, computer, lighting, security, garage door, even the front door lock. Research was moving quickly in this direction across large companies and small startups alike.
A Personal Computer
As more computing shifts to the cloud and handsets gain greater processing power and storage, the need for a separate computer shrinks. Place the device in a docking station, connect a screen, keyboard, and mouse, and you have a full-featured desktop in your pocket. The productivity possibilities are limited only by imagination.
Conclusion
These are just a few of the things an Android-powered device could eventually do. The Official Google Blog ran a piece around this same time presenting more possibilities for the future of mobile, and Google pretty much confirmed the direction by describing the phone as a “trusted valet.” That framing felt exactly right.
The technology needed for most of the above was either already here or arriving within a few years. The main bottleneck was the lack of universally accepted standards among vendors and service providers. Patents and fragmentation were slowing things down more than the technology itself warranted. But that’s a subject for a different post.
