Google Phone Android Won't be an Immediate Game Changer - Google Phone Android: Brand Awareness (
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BRAND AWARENESS
Another problem for Android is how to explain what it is to
consumers. Unlike the iPhone, which came on the back of Apple's hugely
successful iPod music player, Android is an unknown brand, even though
the Google name has plenty of cache.
"People forget these things get to customers through the retail
channel and marketing," said Frank Meehan, the global general manager
for handsets and applications for Hong Kong telecommunications
conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.
"We operators struggle with how to market this phone. There's
nothing really unique about it and we can't say it's a Google phone,"
said Meehan, whose company buys millions of 3G devices year.
Despite the concerns, mobile industry executives say they welcome
Google's entrance as its deep pockets will help meet the increasingly
high expectations of consumers for mobile services.
From a developer's perspective, Android's advantages over the iPhone
or Nokia's Symbian operating system is that it is open source, which
means Google is sharing its software code and making it easier for
third parties to develop compatible applications.
Apple's second-generation iPhone applied the same strategy and
offers more than 3,000 third-party applications through its App Store,
but the company still retains some control.
"Android promises to be the most open platform for building mobile
phone applications that we've seen to date because it's based on very
familiar tools and technologies," said Jason Devitt, co-founder of
Skydeck, a new service that will allow users to manage their cell
phones over the Web.
Others hope that Google's entrance can galvanize mobile advertising, which is still in nascent stages.
"All these devices are resulting in better usage and that's what
advertisers want and they're growing their spend," said Jason Spero,
vice president of marketing at AdMob, a marketplace for mobile
advertisers.
Google is hoping to generate revenue through its existing search
advertising and related services by the addition of mobile to PC.
"Google's power comes from the freedom of choice, in terms of the
component technology and services that can be laid on top," said Cheng
Wu, founder of Azuki Systems, a mobile Web technology company.
"The only thing they want to control is the kernel of the operating
system and the ability to data mine for search and advertising down the
road."
(Additional reporting by Eric Auchard in San Francisco; Editing by Andre Grenon)
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