Why So Many Are So Wrong on the 'Google Phone'

The nearly hysterical frothing about the "Google Phone" overlooks a whole bunch of existing facts. The T-Mobile G1, after all, was a phone whose software was dictated by Google; it was a "Google Phone." Google has already sold two phones online, unlocked, to developers - the Android Dev Phone 1 (a G1 clone) and the Google Ion (also known as the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G.)

The Motorola Droid/Milestone had its software specced out by Google as well. You can buy that phone unlocked in Europe, as most phones are available without carrier locks in Europe.

Will Google sell an updated developer device that may be called the "Nexus One?" Sure, I can see that, but it wouldn't be a massive consumer play, and it wouldn't "disrupt" the wireless industry.

It's really about the iPhone and AT&T, isn't it?
The barbaric yawp of desire from Twitter for the "Google Phone" really comes down to another hot, trending Twitter topic last week - something called #attfail. The idea that gets everyone hot under the collar is that Google may sell a phone directly, magically compatible with all U.S. carriers, but somehow without the restrictions and bindings that U.S. carriers place on devices.

What this desire really comes from, of course, is Americans' desperate wish (and it is all about Americans; the rest of the world doesn't have this problem) to see the iPhone on a carrier other than AT&T.

Americans have for years felt that their wireless carriers are holding them back. They feel like they can't pick whatever device they want on the best possible network for them. That's true. That's the way our market works. That's unlikely to change before about 2013, even if then. It's frustrating that we can't seem to do anything about it.

Americans feel abandoned by supposedly customer-friendly Apple, who did so much to advance the state of handheld technology but just can't quit AT&T. So now they're looking to Google, whose motto is "don't be evil," to liberate them.

This is unlikely to happen. Let me explain why.

The U.S. uses two incompatible radio standards on three different spectrum bands. It's possible to build a GSM phone that supports T-Mobile and AT&T, sure. But folks who want Sprint and Verizon will still be out in the cold, because the network-based controls on those carriers can actually lock out unapproved phones. Never mind that while you can build a phone that supports 3G on three carriers, I've never seen a chipset that supports all four.

If Google releases an unlocked GSM phone in the U.S., it's unlikely to sell many units, because it will be seen as prohibitively expensive. Americans rely on carrier subsidies to make device prices look palatable. The iPhone actually costs $599, but what most people see is the $199 price after its carrier subsidy. Google could release a truly $199 phone, but they'd lose a huge amount of money on every sale.

I hate America's addiction to phone subsidies, but it's a very uphill battle to try to fight it.

Remember, unlocked smartphones have been available here for years. Nokia has been trying to push them on people for ages. Some of Nokia's phones