A Google and Yahoo wireless tussle (and squishin' da bugz)

In today's IT Blogwatch, we look at the buzz about Google and Yahoo's wireless services. Not to mention how not to optimize debug logging...

More puffing of the chest and "mine's better than yours" from Google and Yahoo. Says Carlo Longino at Techdirt: "The search giants have been increasing their push into the mobile space for several months ... Google unveiled its first mobile application, a J2ME application for its maps and local search services, while Yahoo will team up with its DSL partner SBC to sell a Yahoo-branded Nokia mobile phone. Google's application is pretty much what it says: a J2ME front end for its maps and local search, and while it's simple in nature, it should provide Google with a nice taste of the interoperability problems with various handsets and different operators that plague the mobile world ... Yahoo's news is a little harder to digest. Though the phone will use the Cingular network, the deal isn't with the carrier, but its parent, SBC, which seems like an indicator of just how well SBC thinks Cingular is selling data services. SBC has essentially relegated Cingular to a dumb pipe carrying Yahoo's content, which is precisely what mobile operators have been resisting for quite some time." [Yahoo taking the walled garden approach to the extreme]

» Daily Wireless: "Google's application and service is free, but users will need an Internet data plan from their cellphone provider, which adds $10 to $25 to monthly bills ... [The Yahoo/SBC phone will] have an MP3 player, a 1.3-megapixel camera and a removable memory card ... manufactured by Nokia and is expected to be available early next year for $200 to $300."

» Om Malik:  "To sum it up: this is an announcement of an anti-MVNO; a phone that is most likely to have an interface tied specifically to Yahoo services like email and search; and it will be a device that hawks Yahoo services. With US wireless penetration hitting 61.7% and more focussed MVNOs like Helio, Amp’d and ESPN Phone coming to market, I wonder how much opportunity there is for Yahoo in this space ... In sharp contrast to Yahoo, Google is going to launch a piece of software that can be downloaded over-the-air on most phones that support Java. The software will be a Google Local application, which will allow users to conduct searches for local services and see them on a map. I do find it interesting the divergent strategies of the two fierce competitors. Yahoo is in bed with the carriers, while Google is betting on neutral networks." [Here's a handy definition of MVNO: Mobile Virtual Network Operator]

» Vinu's comment: "Om, I just downloaded a java ME version of google maps or local onto my cell phone Sprint’s LG PM325. here are some screenshots - pretty cool. They have done a good job of the interface! I especially like the part of clicking on the map to get the address.  Just quit working for a company which made traffic maps for ur phone. I should tell you this much that google has cracked the UI completely this time. And I am sure - they can hope to generate some revenue here. Or open up the market and bring the prices for location based services - crashing down to a big 'zero'!!!"  "Its time to wake up everyone … this is the real Web 2.0 convergence of information to your phone"

» Michael Parekh on IT: "What is the common thread here?  They all represent anecdotal examples of what I call the 'Big Bypass Battles' on the infrastructure side.  That's in contrast to the Big Bypass Battles on the content side (media companies, music companies, etc.), a subject for a future post.  They are about the consumer tech industry, lead by companies like Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Apple and AOL trying to provide services and content to hundreds of millions both in the US and abroad increasingly ACROSS not just PCs, but TVs, cellphones, PDAs, and other devices and venues.  I'll call these guys 'The Good Guys' ... But they're confronted  with what I would call the 'Big Bypass Bottlenecks'. These of course are the 'Bad Guys'."

» Clickety Clack: "Content is king. Search is content. More people will use data services on phones to use this content.  Wireless telecom wins.  On the other hand, everyone has a mobile phone.  Everyone will use Yahoo/Google content on this virgin platform.  Potential to add millions of new unique users.   Yahoo/Google wins."

Buffer overflow:

• Schneier on Security: The FBI is Spying on Us
• Ferris Research: Virtual Directories and Metadirectories Will Coexist
• ScuttleMonkey:  1Million WIndows to Mac Converts So Far in 2005
• Educated Guesswork: Security requirements for open wireless networks
• Ars Technica: Grokster goes dark as part of legal settlement
• IT Toolbox: Will IBM continue to support J2EE?
• Good Morning Silicon Valley: Wings of Google
• Techdirt: Class Action Lawsuit On The Way For Sony's Rootkit
• Mitch Betts:  The most military-friendly employers
• Douglas Schweitzer: We’re gonna need more time, Captain!

And finally... Squishin' da Bugz

Richi Jennings is an independent technology and marketing consultant, specializing in email, blogging, Linux, and computer security. A 20 year, cross-functional IT veteran, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. Contact Richi at blogwatch@richi.co.uk. Also contributing to today's post: Judi Dey, our very own Antipodean.