.mobi Google Phone

[Badger]

Dunno if this is good news for .mobi or not -

The head of Google in Spain and Portugal has confirmed that Google is working on a mobile phone. "Some of the time the engineers are dedicated to developing a mobile phone," Isabel Aguilera is quoted as saying on the Spanish news Web site Noticias.com.

Google spokespeople in the US have repeatedly declined to comment on rumours of a Google Phone, but the smoke has been rising lately. Earlier this month, Simeon Simeonov of Polaris Venture Partners wrote in his blog that an inside source told him the Google Phone will be a BlackBerry-like device running C++ at the core with an operating system bootstrap and optimised Java and that it would offer VoIP.

Rumours also circulated that Google and Samsung were building a phone, code-named 'Switch', Simeonov said, and his posting includes what he claims is a leaked photo of the device. That wouldn't be so far fetched as Google and Samsung announced a partnership in January to bundle mobile versions of Google Search, Google Maps and Gmail on certain Samsung phones. Late last year, the rumour was that France Telecom Group's mobile-telephony division Orange was in discussions with Google.

Plus, Google has on its payroll Andy Rubin, the founder of handheld device maker Danger who later started Android, a mobile-software maker that Google bought in 2005. Google also acquired mobile-applications company Reqwireless and it secretly acquired a company called Skia, whose first product is a portable graphics engine that renders 2D graphics on handhelds.

Source - http://news.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/0,39029678,49288564,00.htm

 

[Pred]

ACTUALLY A LINK ON THAT PAGE I FOUND MORE INTERESTING WAS THIS:
http://news.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/0,39029678,49288562,00.htm


London Underground says yes to mobiles
Jo Best
silicon.com

London Underground will no longer be free of annoying ringtones and shouts of 'I'm on the train' -- mobile connectivity is coming to the Waterloo and City line.

Transport for London (TfL) announced on Thursday it has put out a tender notice for a pilot project to put mobile coverage on the Waterloo and City line between Bank and Waterloo stations, including on platforms and in the tunnels.

The experiment will start from April 2008 at the earliest and last for six months, TfL said, and will be used to assess commercial and technical aspects of introducing mobile coverage network-wide. Should it go well, connectivity is likely to be rolled out to other Tube lines.

Mobile is just the start of it. Assuming the pilot is successful, TfL will also investigate introducing DAB digital radio and Wi-Fi coverage. A spokesman for TfL told CNET.co.uk's sister site, silicon.com, the trial will be assessed on customer perception, whether the system will work in the underground environment and the commercial feasibility of the project.

It is not yet known whether mobile connectivity on the Tube will be GSM or 3G.TfL plans to have a private company or consortium install, manage and maintain the mobile system in return for a cut of revenues, and will also decide on whether 3G will be offered.

Richard Parry, London Underground strategy and service development director, said the move came in response to strong customer demand. However, according to TfL's own figures, the public is split on the issue -- with just under half of respondents in a recent survey saying they would use their mobiles on the Tube if coverage was available and 30 per cent opposed or strongly opposed to increased mobile connectivity.

When TfL originally announced its intention to put mobile coverage on the Tube, it said connectivity would only be available on the platforms, ticketing areas and concourses, and not in the tunnels themselves. The organisation said the decision to extend coverage into the tunnels was taken to prevent the network being overloaded by the huge number of travellers' mobiles connecting to it.

The original plans also said mobile connectivity could be available across the entire Tube network from 2008. TfL said it now believes network-wide coverage will not be available until mid-2009 at least.

TfL's spokesman said the delay had occurred following issues raised by initial consultation. "When we put out the first announcement in 2005, we undertook a market consultation and what came clear from that… was everyone who responded identified the issue of space and environmental constraints which needed further clarification," he said. The consultation then led to a feasibility study which delayed plans for any rollout.


That's where we want them surfing .mobi sites
:talk:
when they can't go anywhere else. perfect for surfing. we Brits don't like eyecontact on the tube LOL, so people will be immersed in their mobis :p