Although mobile GoogleMaps is good enough already with Satellite and Map views, the StreetView feature will allow users to “see” where they are going in 3D, just like the regular desktop version.
I am actually in the process of upgrading my mobile GoogleMaps on my Blackberry 8830, so will have a video soon.
Today we’re launching a new version of Google Maps for mobile with the same street-level imagery available on desktop. Wondering if the restaurant in your search results is the one you’re thinking of? Just click “Street View” after your search to see the storefront. Unsure about a complicated intersection in your directions? Use Street View to see a photo, so there’s no mistaking your turn. You can also launch Street View from any address where we have photography, or simply by clicking on the map and selecting “Street View”. You can browse Street View overlaid on the map or in full screen, rotate your view to see more of your surroundings, and move along the street.
In a recent article by BusinessWeek, the writer claims that real threat to Google could be mobile phones. Due to the smaller sized screens, Google possibly be facing a lot less advertising space.
This is true if everyone started Googling on their cellphones but I see that is unlikely within the next 5 to 10 years.
Although mobile devices have proven to be more efficient and pretty much everywhere in Asia, the U.S. still has a long way to go because the telecommunication companies don’t want to sell new technology. The biggest scandal in the U.S. is that Sprint, AT&T, and all the other cellular providers are still behind in speed compared to the rest of the world.
In Korea, they’ve had Wi-Max, broadband internet about the speed of Cable DSL here for last 2 years or so. In the U.S., Sprint expects to roll out Wi-Max maybe end of this year, and that’s still a “maybe”.
For U.S. telecommunication companies, they make far more money by selling consumers outdated 3G phones. Why sell new tech when you got $500 million inventory of outdated phones?
So, in final words, no. Google will never have to face any real threat from mobile phones. Instead, they will probably get bigger with viral spread of their new open-source Linux-based mobile operating system, the Android.
With capabilities similar or better than the iPhone, Google’s Anroid will be able to convince the world to use their phone. As for ads? Maybe they will give out free Google phones that have ads on them.
