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It’s a slow news day so we’ll just enter into the realm of ‘what ifs’ and ‘maybe, kinda, sortas’ for a minute and imagine a world without barriers. Sounds nice doesn’t it? Imagine a place where you would be able to have the best possible smart phone device for you personally regardless of who your carrier is or is not partnered with. Imagine there’s no dropped calls …. it’s easy of you try. I think I may be channeling John Lennon …… Anyway, what I am imagining based on a report from All Things D is the ability to possibly have an iPhone even though I am a Verizon customer for the foreseeable future. That’s an interesting prospect for sure but one I will have to do a ‘wait and see’ on. Apple has a lot to gain by ending iPhone carrier exclusivity in the U.S. and signing up Verizon as a second carrier partner. ….such a deal could more than double U.S. iPhone sales in the near term. That said, it does have some noteworthy downsides, top among them, the end of the estimated $450-per-iPhone carrier subsidy AT&T (T) has been paying. That’s the word from Broadpoint AmTech analyst Brian Marshall, who believes Apple (AAPL) will bring the iPhone to Verizon (VZ) in the second half of 2010 and forfeit AT&T’s “sweetheart” carrier subsidy as a result. With the number of iPhone apps growing at the current rate of ‘really fast’ and the B to B marketing crowd seeing the value of building apps for branding purposes this is a great bit of speculation that I hope comes to fruition. While I have thought that going “droid’ may allow for me to have the best of both worlds I have to admit that having two devices now (BB Storm or phone, e-mail etc and iPod Touch for music, apps etc.) is a pain. I am not so convinced now that having a droid device and the iPhone is a good thing because carrying two separate devices is just not a good thing. As this plays out marketers are going to have to make some hard choices as to which platforms they tie their marketing budgets to. While many look at the number of devices that Apple will sell if they were out from under the AT&T deal as weighed against the smaller subsidy the real money is in the apps. If twice as many people have an iPhone then the app sales go through the roof and Apple has a license to print money. Well, one thing this whole aura of uncertainly has created is one less droid device sale. I’m holding out to see if this Verizon and iPhone thing happens. Until then I’ll just suffer. Actually, I can’t seem to make up my mind on this one. Maybe I’m channeling Brett Favre ……

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Verizon and iPhone in 2010?

Google Wave, an instantaneous/asychronous communication app (Okay, it’s IM+email) has been in beta testing for nearly a month . In that time, we’ve seen a couple “apps” developed for it (although they were really just stripped down browsers that helped Wave to run a little faster). But these pseudo apps were so well received, apparently, that Google is ready to talk about an app store for Google Wave at the Google Wave Google Technology User Group in London yesterday. What kind of apps would they add to email+IM? Says TheNextWeb: Already, independent software developers have built and tested Wave applications that handle such tasks as teleconferencing, videoconferencing, and multiplayer gaming, but while the Apple App Store sells software only for the iPhone and Touch, a Wave marketplace could stock in-Wave applications, along with desktop applications, browser extensions and a world of devices, from laptops, phones, tablets and more with built in Wave support. Earlier this month, Wave co-creator Lars Rasmussen told Business Week , “We’ll almost certainly do a store.” That’s been upgraded to “definitely.” The Wave API has long be available, but support for a store would help developers make money off their efforts. (In the same BW article, Rasmussen mentioned revenue sharing with developers.) TheNextWeb is very excited about Google’s prospects with apps in both Wave and Android, going so far as to say, “Despite Apple’s success, it is undoubtedly Android who will win on numbers, with developers swayed by Google’s open source values and the openness of the platform as a whole. With an app store specifically for Google Wave however, the potential for something as great, if not greater then than the iPhone App Store is a distinct possibility.” It’s a possibility, of course, but as things stand now, that’s going to take some time. ComputerWorld says Android devices currently make up 2% of the smartphone market, with Nokia’s Symbian OS running on about half of all smartphones. The iPhone is currently #3 in the market, after Nokia and Blackberry. These issues of scale are currently not enough to entice most of the iPhone developers I know to learn yet another programming language. By 2012, however, they may change their tune—ComputerWorld says the iPhone will slip—oh, wait, no, remain at the #3 OS slot. Symbian will slip to 39% dominance and all of the various Android devices will just edge out Apple for the #2 slot—by 0.8% of the smartphone market share. That’s awfully precise for a 2012 prediction. (Should we pull out our “Year of the Mobile” sign again?) Considering that right now the iPhone has over 100,000 apps and Android . . . well, doesn’t, perhaps it’s a bit soon to be calling the iPhone out of the game. Who knows what Apple will do next? What do you think? Is the iPhone on the way out, and is a Google Wave App store evidence of that? What apps would you like to see for Google Wave?

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Google Wave to Get App Store, Kill the iPhone?

While Apple is making waves about the latest and greatest gadgets they are rolling out to the waiting public Google has made a little announcement of its own: It’s a phone! The word on TheStreet.com is that Google is planning on entering the hardware arena with the new Android offerings. It seems as if the expansion / experimentation of Google isn’t likely to end any time soon is it? Beore we go any further just remember that this a rumor so that has to be taken into consideration. RIght after you forget that fact though you can say whatever you want. In what is likely to be seen as disruptive to the wireless status quo, Google is working with a smartphone manufacturer to have a Google-branded phone available this year through retailers and not through telcos, according to Northeast Securities analyst Ashok Kumar, who has talked to Google’s design partners about the plan. It is likely that this rumor will set off a firestorm of pundit poison toward Google and their apparent desire to have everyone’s cake and eat it all as well as belch on the rest of us. I say so what? As long as Google is ready to put something on the market that is competitive and it’s not a hack job (which is unlikely but always possible) then bring it on! TheStreet.com continues If talk of the Google phone plan is true, the entrance of an unlocked, low-cost, Web-friendly touchscreen device will probably undercut other Android phone efforts by players like Motorola, Samsung and Dell. Motorola’s entire turnaround strategy is based on the Android operating system. The company is expected to announce a ultra-thin Droid phone at Verizon next month. Both Verizon and Motorola expect the Sholes/Droid phone to be a significant challenger to Apple’s iPhone. So at this point this is just talk so caveat readertor (I know that is not a real phrase but saying “Let the reader beware was kinda boring). Makes sense though that Google would take this direction. It doesn’t come without its risks though. First, Google would be taking aim at the phone service providers like Verizon that have worked on getting the Android system to the point that ads now appear every 5 seconds during any sporting event. But Google has never been shy about making sure search is still king of the hill If Google goes through with the plan, it would point to how eager the Internet ad giant is to get Android in as many hands as possible so it can extend its search business beyond desktop computers to mobile devices. Going around phone companies to reach consumers is a bold move, but Google no doubt sees the wireless Internet market as a land-grab race with Apple, Nokia and Microsoft So let’s just remember that this is one of those rumors that was started by an analyst who has an inside track to someone but also has an agenda to make a name for him or herself. So if there is no Google Android phone in your stocking for Christmas don’t be disappointed. It’ll happen soon enough. It’s Google, remember?

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Google to Offer Branded Android Phone?