Posted by Duke on January 24 at 2:57 PM
It seems that Google can’t wait for America’s lack of bandwidth to catch up with their wireless aspirations. Today Google
penned a deal with Japan’s largest wireless operator,
NTT DoCoMo, to offer a myriad of Google technologies on Japan’s 3G network.
This is exciting because now Google can use Japan as a testing ground for application development for their much anticipated, not-yet-released, open source cell-phone OS
announced in November. Until now, the only platform that has allowed Google to somewhat flex its cellular apps arm was the
"Maps" application designed for Apple’s iPhone that uses GPS like tracking via cellular triangulation. A nifty idea, but iPhone is hitched to AT&T's poky EDGE network that yields the application slow and unreliable.
In typical fashion, Google will utilize the benefits of Japan's 3G network's speed not to sell ads, but rather to enhance user experience. Although there are no direct plans for traditional monetization like usage fees, keyword sales or banners, it is likely that the search data, user trends for cellular surfing and market share will prove to be more valuable to the development of the growing cellular webapp market.
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Google has also added demographics to Ad Sense this week. Worthwhile noting as many applications previously not monetized will now be attached to direct advertising.
Posted by Rowland Hobbs on January 28 at 5:48 PM