After Google's Android, a gPod?
There might be all kinds of fascinating self-protective reasons why Google is launching the Android phone in conjunction with T-Mobile. However, at least as interesting a development this past week is the company's entry into Interbrand's list of the top 10 brands in the world.
Google's sudden appearance at No. 10 represents a jump of 10 places and puts the company at a, for some, surprising 14 places above Apple. And a few thousand places above Bear Stearns.
Directly above Google is Disney and one rung below you'll find Mercedes. Much further down you'll find Nike, eBay, Starbucks and, something that shows a peculiar lack of taste among the judges, Prada.
It's clear that the Google brand has enormous equity. And, now that the company is beginning to associate itself with tangible objects rather than just fungible words, a thought comes to mind: what objects would you buy from Google?
I ask because perhaps the last brand that carried with it as much young, positive emotional equity was Virgin.
Virgin represented an intuitive understanding of youth--not just young boys, but the positive emotions that come from being young, free, and just slightly different. It also enjoyed a product that was clearly better than its rivals and senior management that was as happy to express its uniqueness by flying around in balloons as Google's bosses are to disclose their personal DNA.
Virgin thought it could use its brand equity to sell, amongst other things, cosmetics, clothes, financial services, flowers, and space flights. And, um, vodka. Oh, and health clubs, bridal wear, cell phones, cola, and video games. And stem cell storage. All with varying degrees of success.
But what if Google got together with some other incredibly talented (and young, naturally) folks and launched, dare one even suggest it, a gPod?
What about Google Health Farms, specifically created for those suffering laptop-induced repetitive strain syndrome and general brain freeze? What about Google Gear, specially engineered for the Cool-But-Not-Really look?
Given that Google's management seems to be fairly proficient at making money, might you one day be inclined to trust a Google Bank (a bank with a heart? a Democratic Bank?)? Or what if they launched some Odwalla-style healthy drinks that were originally created to enhance the brainpower of the company's staff?
If Philippe Starck is trusted enough to design a chair, an apartment, a toothbrush, and a house (oh, and a wind turbine), might the Google brand be successfully attached to anything that was clearly the product of an abnormal abundance of brains? Like an insanely green car, a revolutionary laptop, or an intelligent city council?
I know that brands are supposed to stay close to their core competence. But it would seem a shame if so much brainpower were merely concentrated on, well, selling advertising.
So I am secretly hoping that this Android experiment will merely be a taste of one of the world's top 10 brands contributing to the deep, abundant, and sensual pleasure we all get from various inanimate objects.
Chris Matyszczyk is an award-winning creative director who advises major corporations on content creation and marketing. He brings an irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic voice to the tech world. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. 
Chris
Sorry to write this, but Steve Jobs is repeating the mistakes of his past. He locked the phone to his vision of perfection. Treating customers like little babies that can't make choices of their own. This fatherly "I know what's best" attitude is exactly what will ultimately hurt Apple yet again.
Software quality is the key however. I don't how great a phone is if the software on that phone lacks. Right now, the software on the iPhone is by far superior to that of phones from RIM, TREO, and Windows Mobile. But each of those phones has something the iPhone does not. Maturity. Still, it is clear the iPhone is a whole new generation in terms of software capability. It's simply not realized yet as the product is so new.
But if the Android phones offer both the high quality and the generational leap that the iPhone has, but without the dictator telling us what we can and cannot buy, or who we can choose as a carrier, then that will represent an even better opportunity for customers.
So I hope Android becomes a big success. Like the PC itself, it's superior because of it represents choice. If the platform is equal, then choice is the clear winner.
Good luck Google / Android. I'll be watching, and I'll be hoping.
Alex Alexzander
Google = OPEN
Crapple = Clo$ed
What would make you switch? Is it at all possible?
Chris
Raw feature-set, the iPod wins. But let me tell you where the Zune wins. You get to explore all the music you can fit on the Zune itself. There is nothing like that kind of fredom to explore and it it truly works. I have had Yahoo, Napster, and Rhapsody. All of them are poor excuses for a music store. I have owned a Sansa, whcih I gave away for free I hated it so much. And I still own a Creative Zen V+. I like that little player. And in some ways I like it better than the iPod.
But Zune with 3.0 and Audible support, plus all you can eat music, which are truly the two most important things to me, the Zune wins. With Apple and the iPhone and/or iPod I find I spend a ton of money just for a modest amount of music. But with the Zune, I have all teh music I could want and teh bill is never out of control. It's always just the $14.95 a month. I don't need to own every song. Songs that I like come and go. What is my favorite today will likely be something that just needs to be deleted in a few months. So for me, subscription with the option to own those few that are indeed timeless is the best choice.
The problem with iTunes is, you have no choice. You either own it or not. With Zune, you can own it, or just rent it. Just like I don't need to own every movie I watch, I also do not need to own ever track I wish to listen to.
Give the zune a real honest try, and I think you'll be surprised at how good it is. Don't let the Microsoft name sour you. Thy did their homework and created a real solid competitor in the Zune platform.
Alex Alexzander
That's one of the better Microsoft ads I've ever read.
Thank you for commenting.
Chris
Im hoping there will be better google apps/android integration, and if i see that, i will switch to android.
to my opinion a smartphone is useless on its own, it has to seamessly connect/sync with online apps.
If you jailbreak your iPhone, you can use nemussync to sync with Google Calendar over the air. Works very well, and even supports multiple google calendars within a gmail account.
For all of Windows Mobile's flaws, I do think we're going to see it improve. But Android most of all gives me a sense of wanting an open system and that holds great promise. I think Google is on the right track. The question truly is, will developers, business people, and consumers adopt it. I want to, but I need the software to be there.
Alex
REALLY? Lets be a little more EXPLANATIVE...
"After Google's Andriod, a portable media device?"
Crapple = CLO$ED
Go Google! Suk it $teve Job$!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFjAdgwqtfU
So I will be a iPhone 3G user, and I will welcome very happily the GPhone Android. Hope have a lot of success and maybe if Apple (after a year) does not change some of the iPhone policy I will buy myself a google Phone.
- by professionaladventurer September 22, 2008 9:32 AM PDT
- Going upstream I predict low to mediocre sales of the Android. Sure the geek crowd is looking froward, but ask a few normal people, and they say "huh"? You "geeks" all forget there are already two really popular smart phone brands that normals covet, the Black Berry with years in the market and the super cool iPhone.
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(26 Comments)I was getting a new tattoo yesterday and I pulled out my iphone (yeah, it's ok and works for me, bla, bla) everybody in the place went nuts wanting to check it out. One tattooed skell/meth-head went to so as to say if I wanted to sell it, he would take it off my hands for $200 and pulled out a wad of $20's. MAYBE in the big city where you live everybody and their mom's know about the Android, but I travel between Alaska and Hawaii and the Blackberry and iPhone firmly rule the hearts and minds and at the airports it's those two in the hands of the business travelers and the college and pin-up girls stick with their Razors.