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Open Handset Alliance Profile: Noser

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Company Name: Noser Engineering

How the OHA site classifies them: Commercialization Company

What the OHA site says about them: Noser Engineering Inc. – core contributor of the Android Platform is your integrator and customization partner.

What they do: Okay, let’s get this out of the way first off before we continue. Yes, this company is called Noser, which to a North American native English speaker is completely ridiculous. Well, this company is Swiss, and you laughing at their funny Swiss name is ignorant and ethnocentric, and does not reflect well on you. Really, I’m ashamed.

Besides, I’m sure that there are many foreigners who laugh at the name Google, which is inherently silly, really.

Noser is a technical jack-of-all-trades company. They bill themselves as a ‘technology engineering firm’, and kinda do a little of everything: Linux support, service management, embedded and real-time systems, machine control, telco and mobile stuff, production data capture, RFID, software and system testing. There’s a heavy business systems bent here: custom solutions to enable business processes, management, etc. They’re a Microsoft Gold Partner and their site indicates that most of their development is done using .Net.

There’s actually not a lot out there about these guys. They do business solutions, they do mobile, but I can’t find much in the way of detail. They’re kinda the oddest duck among the odd ducks in the OHA, simply because on the surface there’s no reason that this relatively unknown business solution provider with an anatomical name from Switzerland should merit inclusion.

What they bring to OHA and Android:

Here’s a clue. Check out this quote from Geri Moll, Noser’s CEO, on the OHA member quotes page:

Noser Engineering Inc. is a Swiss software engineering company that specializes in both embedded and mobile solutions. Working in close collaboration with the Open Handset Alliance, Noser contributed core functionality to the Android platform. This platform will revolutionize the mobile industry, and it will be an ideal ‘open’ development platform for the delivery of solutions to various industries. Noser’s experience with the Android platform allows us to better support operators, handset manufacturers and ISVs who plan to ship devices and services based on this platform.

I’ll repeat the important bit here, ’cause it helps pad out the length on this article: “Noser contributed core functionality to the Android platform. Core functionality. Wonder what that could be? Smell-o-vision?

Noser’s site plays up their customization and support services for Android: app development, training, integration, etc. That’s great. We need this kind of service ready-to-rock when Android goes live. But it gives us no clue as to what ‘core functionality’ Noser contributed.

A clue might lie in the in the former URL advertised for Noser on the OHA site. Currently, the link points to www.noser.com/oha. And then the trail ends. I can find no other indication of what “symphonie” refers to. No clue. I’m open to conjecture and wild flights of fancy, however.

The story goes like this: Noser Engineering creates a groundbreaking mobile technology called Symphonie with Swiss expertise. It could be something like a Business Intelligence Dashboard or a sophisticated cross-platform email/calendar integration for business. Google, possibly through a connection with Andy Rubin from Danger, shows interest in Symphonie for Android. They might acquire it from Noser and offer Noser membership in the Open Handset Alliance as a commercialization partner. The name Symphonie briefly appears on the OHA page on Noser’s website, but this mistake is later fixed.

I’m making this all up, of course. Don’t believe any of it. .

I’m interested in any information anybody might have, however. Any Android or Noser insiders out there with the goods that want to, anonymously, give me the goods? What was Noser’s contribution? What is symphonie?

Open Handset Alliance Profile: Motorola

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Company Name: Motorola Inc.

How the OHA site classifies them: Handset Manufacturer

What the OHA site says about them: Motorola is known around the world for innovation and leadership in wireless and broadband communications.

What they do: According to Wikipedia, The name Motorola was conceived when the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation started making car radios. It was supposed to represent sound in motion; you know, motor and ola. Seventy-some-odd years on, the company is still trying to sell us its products with marketing pushes based on nonsense words like KRAZR or MOTOMAJX(!?). The only evolution here has been the adoption of all-caps and bizarre spelling, like someone with a rare speech impediment is YELLING REALLY LOUDLY IN YOUR EAR, DAMMIT!

Motorola mostly builds communications stuff. Radios, walkie-talkies (I love walkie-talkies), home networking stuff, Bluetooth headsets. They also do some other electronic bits like digital video recorders, cameras, and stuff, but I’ve never eactually seen any of these other products and probably wouldn’t recommend that anyone spend money on them.

Motorola has done some great stuff in their time, without doubt. Ever heard of the PowerPC chip? How about the Motorola 68000 chip and its role in the microprocessor revolution? Iridium satellites (a failed concept, but still cool as hell)? Motorola has been around for 75+ years for a reason: they have a history of innovation in a broad spectrum of electronic and engineering domains.

Nowadays they’re mostly known for cell phones, most notably clamshell jobs with buttons on the side that cannot be locked, so if you place the handset in your bag or pocket and it’s bumping up against your keys or mace or whatever then eventually, inevitably, the ringer volume is going to get turned way up and the ringtone will get changed to some dude with a scheisse-video voice uttering the catchphrase “Hello Moto!” If this has happened to you, I share your pain. For the most part their phones are nothing special.

In 2005, however, Motorola released its RAZR high-end device at a mid-market price point and took the handset world by storm. The RAZR was probably the first time that the concept of handset-as-fashion-statement really caught on, and for a while every metrosexual hipster in the world was rocking one. The success was not undeserved; RAZRs were perhaps the prettiest pocket-sized tech that had ever been released. They sold millions of the little buggers, and have kinda been living under that shadow ever since.

In November 2005, Motorola’s chief marketing officer Geoffrey Frost, the man many credited with the RAZR’s success, died suddenly. The bitter buzz from insiders has been that former CEO Ed Zander worked Frost to death, an opinion voiced in a recently-released letter sent to the company’s top execs by Numair Faraz, one of Frost’s advisers; the letter blasts the former and current CEOs for the company’s downfall. That fall has been graphic, with profits beginning to freefall starting final-quarter-2006 and the loss of 10% market share over 2007. Motorola was the second largest handset manufacturer in the world, but is now third and threatening fourth. Even the ROKR couldn’t save it. Throughout the disaster it has kept tossing out RAZR variants, which are uniformly uncool and un-innovative, in a pitiful bid to reclaim the magic.

Just late last month Motorola announced the spin-off of its handset division into a separate entity.

What they bring to OHA and Android:

Depressive self-loathing? A sinking ship mentality? The LOOZR V45pos Mk XIII? With Motorola there’s nothing to be excited about. At this point they are simply to be pitied.

Android adoption can only be a step in the right direction, but I have no sense that Motorola has anything substantial to offer in return. Perhaps a leaner, meaner, handset-only Motorola spin-off will be able to turn its fortunes around, but as yet there’s no real indication that this is the case. They’re kinda dead weight right now.

My advice for Motorola handsets? A new marketing direction, drop the KRZRKRZ crap and the MOTO bit. Don’t be afraid to play up the fact that you’re an American company, which is a rarity in the electronics biz, and try to give that angle a hip spin. Go for a large-touchscreen with number pad form factor with a mid-range price running Android. Focus on looks and mass-market functionality. And cheer up.

Open Handset Alliance Profile: Marvell

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Company Name: Marvell Semiconductor

How the OHA site classifies them: Software Company

What the OHA site says about them: Marvell is a leader in development of storage, communications, and consumer silicon solutions with a diverse product portfolio that powers the entire communications infrastructure from enterprise solutions to mobile consumer devices.

What they do: Honestly, how many fracking semiconductor companies does one game-changing mobile OS initiative require? The OHA, apparently, requires nine of ’em. Nine. That’s ridiculous. One search company, nine semiconductor companies. You can’t do anything these days without inviting along a gaggle of solid-state geekery.

A scan of Marvell’s tech shows something of a focus on networking: Wireless LAN, VOIP, network switching, routers. Their wikipedia page claims they were the first to create merchant Gigabit Ethernet solutions. They also do some storage stuff–serial ATA solution, NAS bits, etc. Their website tagline reads The Market leader in Switching, Transceivers, Wireless, PC Connectivity, Gateways, Communications Controllers, and Storage”. Great.

They seem to be more system infrastructure focused than other semiconductor companies in the OHA who concentrate on the sexy stuff like graphics and CPUs.

In 2006 they purchased the Xscale microprocessor tech from Intel. It’s Xscale, an implementation of the ARM architecture that’s used in Blackberries, Treos, iPaqs, and the iPhone, which really drops Marvell into the center of the mobile handset game.

What they bring to OHA and Android: From what I can tell, its pretty much all about Xscale. Dunno, maybe some Wireless or dedicated VOIP chip stuff. If I was an insider I’d tell you, but I’m not.

The thing with all the semiconductor companies is that the Android developers–and I’m talking the kernel folks here, not the guys building the Twitter clients–need reference hardware and documentation for as much of the variety of existing and upcoming hardware technology as possible, and a contact with the manufacturer when things go tits-up. How do we know if this thing runs on an Xscale? We try running it on an Xscale. If it doesn’t run quite right on that Xscale, we’d better talk with Marvell about what the problem might be and how to deal with it.

It is therefore in Google’s interest to get these folks involved –  Qualcomm, Broadcom, Texas Instruments, Marvell, etc., etc. Get ’em on board, offer ’em membership in your exclusive new club, give ’em an early-in on what may be a revolutionary product.

From the hardware manufacturer standpoint its a no-brainer. The investment is relatively small: some sample chips and a schematic or two. The payoff is potentially big: if Android goes huge your chip is attractive to a handset manufacturer because, as one of the reference hardware providers, Android on your tech is a solid bet; if Android doesn’t go huge, you haven’t lost anything. You get to associate your name with the Open Source, free-phone, blah-blah propaganda and get another excuse to issue a press release. All good.

What I’m saying is that a semiconductor company’s involvement does not necessarily mean that Marvell, for example, is working in the bowels of the Googleplex with the search giant’s top engineers developing the next gen of VOIP chips custom designed to work with Android and Google’s newly-purchased Skype (rumour!) network. We don’t need to suppose that Marvell has some cutting edge technology that Google got a whiff of and decided it needed, the semiconductor maker just has an established chip design that is widely adopted in the industry and Google needs to make sure its new OS will play nice.

This stuff is a lot more boring than I thought it was gonna be.

Open Handset Alliance Profile: LivingImage

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Name: LivingImage Ltd.

How the OHA site classifies them: Software Company

What the OHA site says about them: A unique company that consists of renowned engineering, marketing and creative experts in the audio visual arena.

What they do: Have a cruise by their website and you’re greeted by a flash intro proclaiming LivingImage Ltd. will participate in Open Handset Alliance. It’s mysterious, suspenseful, and the lack of the definite article gives it the flavour of the Far east. Follow the link for more information and the mystery deepens:

LivingImage strives to provide technology which will provide visual literacy to everyone with the concept of playing images or image playing. By participating in this new initiative, we believe that many people could actively get in touch with images and make their lives more fruitful.

Kinda cool, kinda Zen, kinda Engrish. And, kinda unintelligible. Image-playing? What the hell are these people talking about?

The About Living Image section is equally enjoyable and cryptic:

Incorporated in 2007, LivingImage Ltd. consists of professionals working in creative fields, engineering, and marketing. To integrate these three seemingly separate entities, we became a team since 2003 and started to work together. By proposing our editless technology, we create a world where everyone could experience professional visual literacy.

Editless technology? What is editless technology? The OHA press release mentions editless technology which allows you to play images. By packaging professional editing technology, the general public can enjoy their images as if produced by professionals. I just don’t get it. I think the whole damned thing is some kind of Koan.

The about us page gives three brief bios: Yu Maruno, Creative Director, who among other things has a history as a VJ; Chitose Obata, Marketing Producer, a radio host and disc jockey who went on to study marketing and has worked with, among others, Nike; and Takeo Yatabe, a sound producer and marketing dude who hosts a TV show based on visuals and music for the future and has also worked with Nike. Wow. I mean, umm, wow. And they’re a software company?

What they bring to OHA and Android: I have no frigging clue, but this is actually kind of interesting.

Take Takeo Yatabe, for example. Check out this YouTube video of an audiovisual installation he did for fellow OHA-ers KDDI. There’s an Akihabara-chic, art-in-electronics vibe there that’s pretty stimulating. Or witness this video of his work with Drum ‘n Bass outfit ES9 (I assume it’s the same guy). I’m thinking this dude has more cool in him than the executives of all the rest of the OHA members combined.

Or this fella Yu Maruno, who, as a VJ, goes by the handle Glamoove, and is one of the best in the world. Now, in this case, when I say VJ I don’t mean some coiffed poseur on MTV slinging bad Boyz II Men videos. These VJs create live video performances to go along with DJs at a club, employing video mixers and other high-tech goodies to blend, mix, and superimpose images in real time. I was unable to find any video of what he does live, but check out this video of the tune Heavenly Star by Genki Rockets which Glamoove put together (I could do without the song, but the video’s pretty trippy in a rainbows-and-happy-joy-joy-Care Bears-and-unicorns kinda way.)

And, here’s the really interesting part: a couple of years back Yu Maruno was involved with semiconductor manufacturers NuCORE Technology in developing eVJ software for cellphones, designed to allow production of ultimedia slideshows right on the handset without needing an external PC. NuCORE CTO Ichiro Watanabe is quoted in this article as saying Maruno san’s artistic elegance enables an MTV-like production to be easily created with the camera using your own personal pictures.

So, what we have here is a partnership of cooler-than-you Japanese multimedia and marketing folks–one of whom has worked previously in developing multimedia production software for handsets and another who has created audiovisual installations for wireless provider KDDI–listed on the OHA site as a software company, who go off on their website about editless technology, visual literacy, and image-playing. What does it all mean? I have no clue. But it’s all somehow very tantalizing. I have a feeling that whatever these folks come up with is gonna at least be interesting, and perhaps even mind-blowing.

It may even make my life more fruitful.

Open Handset Alliance Profile: LG

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Company Name: LG Electronics

How the OHA site classifies them: Handset Manufacturer

What the OHA site says about them: LG, the brand that is Delightfully Smart, is a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, home appliances and mobile communications. LG’s vision is to supply top-of-the-range innovative digital products and services and ensure customer satisfaction.

What they do: They’re a South Korean super company that makes all kinds of electronics stuff and then employs cute little Korean girls to have their photos taken with that stuff in order to convince males that if you buy the stuff you might be able to sleep with a cute Korean girl. And they make lots of money doing this (according to Wikipedia, revenue is currently somewhere around $70 billion US dollars per year), because building the electronic devices and paying the Korean girls does not cost as much as guys are willing to pay to own the electronics and dream of sleeping with the Korean girls.

Of course, not all the credit should go to the Korean girls, no matter how cute they are; all indications are that LG makes pretty good electronic stuff. They sure do make a variety of electronic stuff: microwaves, TVs, monitors, USB memory, Home Theater systems, DVD players, computers, MP3 players, karaoke, etc., etc., etc.

Oh, and they make mobile handsets, too. Some very desirable handsets: Chocolate, Prada, Shine. Phones nearly as pretty as the Korean girls that market them. This site has some figures showing LG to be the fifth largest handset manufacturer in the world, which ain’t too bad.

LG is an abbreviation for the literal English translation of the company’s name, Lucky-Goldstar (which sounds more like a brand of cigarettes than an electronics company), the amalgamation of the names of two companies that merged: Lucky, a chemical company, and GoldStar, an appliance manufacturer. They might try to convince you that it stands for Life’s Good (life is good, given a sufficient supply of Korean girls), but don’t believe them.

The girls and the electronics have made LG one of the world’s top brands, part of a shift in recent years that has seen Korean companies ascend to a position rivaling those of Japan as a mark of quality in electronics.

What they bring to OHA and Android:

I was having a look at my HTC Windows Mobile handset, and a thought struck me: what this handset really needs more of is cute Korean girls. Built in cute Korean girls; I mean, I could go out and download some Korean girls off the internet and have them everywhere if I wanted, but the convenience of Korean girls straight out of the box cannot be denied. Google and the OHA know this, which is the main reason why LG and their largest Korean girls competitor Samsung are both members. Everyone wins: LG gets the hottest, flashiest new mobile OS on their phones, Android gets an infusion of Korean girls, and the consumer gets both.

Who can deny the appeal of a Korean girl: they look nice, they dress well, they probably smell good (I once tried to confirm this supposition, and experience for myself the pleasant smell of a Korean girl, but all I got for my trouble was a handbag in the face and a restraining order placed against me.) Furthermore, Korean girls speak Korean, and I would imagine a good portion of them have Tae Kwon Do skills, as well, both handy to have on your side during the forthcoming Dark Times.

The three biggie handset manufacturers in the OHA–Samsung, Motorola, and represent sales figures that rival those of Nokia; Nokia and its little puppy Symbian are the monster badass in the mobile world that Android must go up against. Furthermore, LG specifically seems to have the design chops necessary to pull eyes away from the oh-so-beautiful-though-oh-so-locked-down iPhone (the Shine, anyone?).

LG has indicated that it will release its first Android handset in late 2008 or early 2009. Korean girls included.

Open Handset Alliance Profile: Intel

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Company Name: Intel Corporation

Okay, so the alphabetical order is messed. Last week I did KDDI, this week I do Intel. This is not alphabetical order, this is blogger-who’s-gimped-in-the-head order. I missed one, I can admit it, I’m person enough; and now, I’m doubling back to correct my error.

How the OHA site classifies them: Semiconductor Company

What the OHA site says about them: Intel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live.

What they do: They’re frickin’ Intel, that’s what they do. They hang around making semiconductors, toppling foreign governments, inventing x86s, controlling minds, sabotaging not-for-profit educational laptop makers, screwing with AMD, confounding the properties of matter, and formulating laws of computing.

They make network cards and cheap-ass video chipsets and motherboard chipsets and stuff. Mainly, though, they’re known for their processors. Very well known, in fact; since the Pentium chips came along in the early nineties and the company launched the Intel Inside advertising campaign, they’re about the only semiconductor manufacturer that most people know by name. Qualcomm, Broadcom, Via, Transmeta, and even AMD are largely unknown outside the tech world, but Intel as a brand is nearly as recognizable as Microsoft, an immense achievement given that 90% of people will probably never lay eyes on, never mind handle, the CPU in their PC.

However, for my money the most interesting thing about Intel is not what they have done before, but rather what they have not done (at least for the most part): mess with cell phones. Just what are they doing in the OHA?

What they bring to OHA and Android:

Intel is savvy. They know what’s going on. They can see the future of personal computing as surely as you or I: smaller, more personal, pocket-sized computing platforms. They know where the action is.

Intel also has a history of chip designs intended for more mobile platforms. Names like Centrino, Pentium M, and Santa Rosa are the marketing front ends for a number of low-power-consumption processor and/or mainboard and/or video chipset combinations intended for use in laptops. My current laptop runs a Santa Rosa platform (even the video card, which was a little bit of a mistake, but I was attracted by Intel’s healthy open-source driver support; unfortunately just because a driver is open-source doesn’t mean it’s good open source).

Intel was a part of the initiative that gifted us with the UMPC (which stands for Uber-Mini PC or something) devices, many of which use the chip maker’s low-voltage processors. Now, I’ve never actually seen one of these in the wild, although I know manufacturers keep revealing new models, hoping someone will bite. They look like a neat concept on paper: take a laptop, make it really, really, small, add some dedicated-function buttons, make it almost as powerful as a full-sized notebook, and sell it for business use. Problem is, they’re pretty expensive for something that is too small for full-time use but too large to fit in a pocket, and I think they’re getting squeezed out by Blackberries and smartphones on one end and low-cost ultra-portables (like the EEE PC) on the other end.

Intel seems to have some to a similar conclusion, and is now behind an initiative to re-purpose UMPCs for the Internet-browsing media-viewing consumer crowd. They’re calling this new class of device the MID, or Mobile Internet Device, and basically it’s a UMPC minus office apps with a couple of inches shaved off. In other words, it’s even closer to a smartphone. Intel has indicated that these devices will run Linux; they’ve even partnered with the Ubuntu folks to create an Ubuntu for MIDs distro.

There’s also a new chip spec coming down the pipe for these things: the Intel Atom. Tiny little ultra-low-power 45nm x86 jobs in the 1.6-1.8ghz-ish range, intended for MIDs and, wait for it… mobile phones.

So Intel is in the middle of a push to own the chips-for-handheld-computing market, and its involvement with the OHA and Android is one piece of that movement. This is why the link on the OHA site under the Intel blurb points to the MDI-specific Intel page, not just the main company site.

And I say bring ’em on; my current phone has a 200mhz processor, but Intel’s talking close to 2ghz for the Atom processors, literally an order of magnitude more powerful. I realize that the picture is more complicated than simply a question of hertz, but you can’t tell me an Atom processor wouldn’t whip my little OMAP’s ass. And that’s cool.

What to Expect From Android

Scott Webster
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A lot of the hype around Android comes from developers and their geeky community. The main reason for this is because they “get it”. They understand just how groundbreaking an open-source operating system is, especially for mobile devices. But what about the average guy with no idea what Android is or how it could benefit them? That’s where I come in. I’m here to help you, the typical AndroidGuys visitor, gain an understanding as to what Android truly is and how it will change your life.

Forecasting the Future Using History

The easiest way for me to illustrate my points is by comparing how Firefox changed your internet experience with how Android will change your mobile experience.

Remember a few years ago when Mozilla was a relatively unknown, untested company who dropped an alternative web browser on us? Do you recall how at the time, pretty much everyone using the internet was using Microsoft’s Internet Explorer? We had been told time and again that it was the best experience we could get from a browser. But was it? We soon found out that not only was Firefox capable of a better experience, but it was also more secure, lighter, and more scalable. The long and short of it was this: It took less to run and held more promise for updates and implementing features. This is the exact situation Android is in right now. The requirements needed to handle Android are minimal by today’s device standards, but the long-term capability is considerably more far-reaching.

Think about all of the add-ons available for you today. With over 2,000 to choose from, you could download and install features to enhance rss feeds, weather, chat, tracking stocks, sports, etc. Need something to organize your bookmarks more efficiently? You got it. How about a better way to manage your downloads and/or uploads? Go get it. For free.

So Tell Me What it Does Already!

The same thing will apply for Android. Even if you solely base Android around GPS and mapping capabilities, you’re in for some real treats. Wonder what restaurants nearby serve sushi? Pull out your phone and look! Not only will you find the restaurants along with their address and phone number, but you’ll also be able to see who is actually open and who is closed. Using the map, you can get turn by turn directions.

Why not install a utility to locate all of the Fifth Third banks around the world so you’ll always know where the nearest ATM is? If you have a fantasy baseball team, plug your players into the tracking program so you can see how well they are performing. We’re talking about real time stats pushed to your device, not pulled. Forget logging on to see how LeBron and the Cavs are doing. Just watch the scrolling ESPN ticker you installed at the bottom of your phone.

Like Firefox, you’ll also be able to dress your phone up in any way you want. Instead of looking at the address book that comes with it, perhaps you want to use the most recent pictures from your MySpace friends. How about a nice weather program or traffic utility that gives you an idea as to how early to leave for work today? You can bet that someone out there is already working on this.

It Will Take Time

Now, it may take a few years before the true Android experience hits its stride. Firefox did not turn into the preferred browser overnight. And even though Mozilla’s program doesn’t have the same market share as the blue ‘e’ next door, everyone knows it’s a better interface. Why is it? because it’s open-source, that’s why. I’ve always been of the opinion that the hive mind is the way to go when working on projects. It’s what drives the web 2.0 phenomenon we’re in the midst of. Run through some of the most popular web sites today and you’ll see the impact. Digg, Wikipedia, Flickr, etc. These are programs and utilities that work best when you have as many hands in the pot as you can.

Who has their hands in the Android pot? On the hardware side, you have names like Intel, Texas Instruments, and nVidia. These guys are helping shape the cutting edge phones due out from HTC, LG and Samsung. And who is going to provide access to these devices? Why, T-Mobile, Sprint Nextel, China Mobile, and NTT DoCoMo of course! What, you haven’t heard of the Open Handset Alliance?

Open Handset Alliance Profile: KDDI

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Company Name: KDDI Coporation

How the OHA site classifies them: Mobile Operator

What the OHA site says about them: KDDI is a telecommunication operator that provides wide-ranging services from mobile to fixed in Japan.

What they do: KDDI Corp. is a Japanese telecom company, formed after the merger of DDI Corp., KDD Corp., and IDO Corp. (I’m not making this up) in 2000. They offer ISP services, ADSL broadband, land-line telephone, and mobile services. In America they operate as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator on the Sprint network under the KDDI Mobile brand, offering packages designed to meet the needs of Japanese people living in the US, including calls to Japan.

They offer a suite of services known as Ezweb, which is a horrible name to a native English speaker, but I’m sure sounds fine to the Japanese. Ezweb includes eznavigation (location-based services), ezmovie (movie clip delivery), ezappi (BREW) and Chaku-Uta-Full (!!! — a music download service). Much of this stuff was introduced by KDDI back in a time when the average North American handset was still struggling with color displays.

Basically, they’re just another carrier. Not much to see here. Except for one thing: about a month before the OHA and Android announcement, KDDI issued a press release that opened with this paragraph…

KDDI (TSE: 9433), Japan’s only comprehensive communications service provider from fixed to mobile, has announced the fall introduction of an advanced behavioral targeting advertisement system, which analyzes … cellphone users’ website logs and visit frequency to provide them with advertisements tailored to their needs…

What they bring to OHA and Android: Most of the Mobile Carrier stuff is boring as hell, so I’m gonna skip any further discussion of it here.

That bit about the ads however, is extremely interesting. Advanced behavioral targeting is how SkyNet started out, don’t ya know. And, it sounds very similar to what we hear Google is looking to do with Android.

The system will initially cover mobile websites on “au one” only, but KDDI and its partners plan to utilize other types of data, excluding personally identifiable information, to provide behavioral targeting advertisement solutions beneficial to both customers and advertisers…

Of course, we don’t know if KDDI is sharing its targeted ad tech with Google, and I’m sure Google has the resources to R&D its own mobile ad systems, but it sounds like an awfully nice fit. Google and KDDI have a history together; in 2006, KDDI signed a deal to incorporate Google search into EZweb, and later decided to use Google Mail as the foundation for its own mobile mail offering. Does the relationship extend further? What exactly do KDDI’s system and Google’s eventual system have to each other. Is Google looking to the KDDI example as a test case? Will the two systems share algorithms? If I wanted to start a rumor, and drive traffic to this site, is this a good basis for wild conjecture?

Or is it coincidence? There are other carriers in the OHA, presumably involved simply because it looks like a good bet for the future of mobile; is KDDI just another forward-thinking mobile service provider? You be the judge.

Additional Link: KDDI on Wikipedia

Could Google Learn from App Store Business Model?

Scott Webster
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If you’re a prospective developer for Google’s Android platform and trying to figure out the best way to distribute your application, you might be intrigued by how Apple is handling their App Store. Announced last week with the Software Developer Kit (SDK), it offers a different approach to distribution. As a developer, you can pick your price and allow Apple to provide the one-stop shopping for iPhone and iPod Touch programs. The rub is that they take 30% off the top.

It works on one hand as consumers will know specifically where to go to look for new applications. There’s going to be a built-in audience chomping at the bit when the doors open. On the other hand, pretty much all applications available for other platforms (Windows Mobile, Symbian, etc) are readily available through many channels. You can get a program at the developer’s web page, Handango (or similar store), or even at physical stores. I’ve never heard one person complain to me “Gee, I wish there was one place I could go to get all the WinMo apps I want. There’s just too many choices out here.”

Perhaps Google could offer a trusted site where people can go to look for programs that have signed certificates. Doing this would put people at ease who are weary of quality control issues. Sure, you can still get an application at the developer’s personal blog or corporate website, but by being officially given the “all clear”, end users can be assure that there will no compatibility issues. Creating an online superstore where anyone can submit their offerings would also give the developer peace of mind knowing that there is definite exposure opportunity. Raise the bar just set by Apple (again) and allow the developers the right to take home 100% of the money.

It wouldn’t be the first time Google offered things for free.

Some Thoughts on Apple

Scott Webster
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First a little preface because I’ve got to give credit where it’s due. Steve Jobs and Apple have done a tremendous job of selling people over the last few years. Be it, the iPod, Macbook, or iPhone, somehow they always seem to get people to buy into their ideas and products no matter what. Even though the new Macbook Air has nowhere near the power or capability as other models in its price range, it’s still selling like hot cakes.

Adopting their own business model, Apple has pretty much done whatever they want. And for those partnered or associated with them? They either play ball or lose out. Much like Wal-Mart, if you don’t do what Apple asks, then you’re just skipped over and left behind. Ask yourself if you’d let them take the iPhone to the next carrier if you were AT&T. The problem that is arising from all of this is that Apple is getting to be a little bit too bossy. Let’s look at the situation with getting Flash on the iPhone and why it’s not likely to happen very soon.

Using the allegory of Goldilocks is the best way to equate what’s going on. The version of Flash that’s currently available is allegedly too weak to run well on the iPhone whereas the full-fledge version commonly used on PC’s and laptops supposedly uses too many resources. Steve and the other Apple cronies are essentially demanding that Adobe create a mama bear version for their device.

With the release of the iPhone SDK happening as I write this, it’s unlikely we’ll see any Flash apps or utilities coming soon. This raises another point – Apple has choked off development before it was even available to other companies. See, if you create an application for the iPhone, Apple gets to decide whether or not it will even make to iPhones or iPod Touches. Let’s just assume they give your program the okay though. The only place for people to access it is through iTunes. That’s right, you can’t pick your price or method of distribution. They’ve become the rude bouncer at your favorite night club. “You wanna get in? You’ll have to come through me.” Of course if you are a part of a larger company, you’ll stand a better chance.

And that is exactly where the freely available open-source developer kit for Google Android shines. The club’s open all night long and the drinks are free.

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