InvestorsHub Logo
Followers 3
Posts 446
Boards Moderated 0
Alias Born 12/03/2004

Re: None

Saturday, 01/07/2006 1:58:46 PM

Saturday, January 07, 2006 1:58:46 PM

Post# of 326354
DD - Connetcing Dots to Google.

Okay this is the trail... that got me going...

NTP sues RIM (Blackberry) for patent infringement for mobile email...

"NTP’s patents cover a system for distributing wireless e-mail to mobile devices. A jury and appeals court have found that RIM’s BlackBerry devices and software infringe on those patents, and the final hearings in the case are looming before a Virginia judge who is expected to reimpose an injunction that would stop BlackBerry users from receiving their e-mail in the U.S."

======================================================

If Blackberry users are shut out, where would they go?

======================================================


Now... GOOGLE buys REGWIRELESS

http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/060106-225330

Canadian Wireless Software Development Company Now Part of Google

With so much attention on Google's new video service and the Google Pack today, little atttention to the fact that Google has acquired Reqwireless based in Waterloo, Ontario.

According to the National Post article: Waterloo gets Googled, Google acquired Reqwirless last summer but was disclosed yesterday. The article also says Google will, "staff up a recently established research and development facility." I was unaware of this facility but have blogged about an Open Text research initiative at the university.

The acquisition of Reqwireless once again reaffirms Google's interest in the wireless marketplace. The company develops wireless web browsers (Opera is a big player in this space) and wireless email tools. Products listed on their web site include:
+ Reqwireless Web
+ Email Viewer
+ Hot Viewer

In August, we learned that Google acquired Android Inc., another developer of mobile phone software.

Waterloo, Ontario is also home to Research In Motion (BlackBerry), OpenText, and the University of Waterloo which is well-known for the high quality engineers it turns out. According to the article, Google has been recruiting at UoW for years.[b/]

Google, which has recruited University of Waterloo graduates to work in Silicon Valley for several years, recently placed a job posting on its Web site looking for a mobile wireless application developer based in the southern Ontario city. "Google is hiring engineers to bring our wireless products to the next level," the company says in the posting
Gary Will, the editor of Waterloo Tech Digest, has comments and background about the acquisitin on his blog.

Sun's Tim Bray has strong ties to the Waterloo area and the Univ of Waterloo. It's there he worked on the New Oxford English Dictionary and then founded Open Text (remember the Open Text web engine?) and Antarctica Systems. Of course, Bray is also one of the original developers/editors of XML.

A current student at the University of Waterloo and well-known for creating useful web search tools is Michael Fagan. Mike's the developer of FaganFinder, URLInfo, and the very useful Translation Wizard. I also see his introduction to RSS and syndication linked to fromn many sites and articles. He's also the developer of UWHub, a search tool for University of Waterloo info.

Thanks to Michel for the news tip

=======================================================

This blogger appears to have extensive knowledge of REGWIRELESS...(from the article above)

http://www.garywill.com/blog/2006/01/comments-on-reqwireless-and-google.html

Comments on Reqwireless and Google
I don't intend for this blog to be focused on the day's events, but since the "Google acquired Reqwireless" story unfolded and broke here, I've received a few requests for comments. To save myself some time ... here they are.

I've known the principals behind Reqwireless since 2003 and Google got some excellent people with this deal. The core team was very small, but they did a great job in building Reqwireless and developing their software. I'll now be able to say that the first Waterloo company that I brought in a Toronto VC to meet with ended up being acquired by Google.

What the deal will mean to the community remains to be seen, but it's cool to have Google in town. We don't get many $125 billion companies dropping by ... certainly not with Google's cachet. They haven't announced yet what the plans are for the local site. Adobe -- which is bigger than RIM -- been here for years and hardly anyone knows about it. We had Cisco and AOL and HP here in the past, so it's too early to speculate on what this might mean long-term.

Some background: Reqwireless was founded in 2001. The principals are UW grads. The company's WebViewer and EmailViewer had become -- partly by accident -- very popular applications in the Java-based mobile device market, which was just beginning to take off. It had raised about $400,000 in seed funding by mid-2003. The company didn't intend to be in the business of selling applications in a retail market, but people around the world were willing to pay for the products and Reqwireless ... for a while ... was happy to accept their money. By mid-2004 it was looking at either bringing in more investment or being acquired. By the end of the year, there were some offers on the table. The deal with Google was made a few months later but not announced. The July edition of the Waterloo Tech Digest reported that Reqwireless had been acquired.

Google was tight-lipped about the deal, and only made its presence in Waterloo known officially a few days before Christmas. There had been speculation for months -- about both Google and Reqwireless, although not necessarily together.

==============================================================

Notice in the article they also previously acquired ANDROID, INC...

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2005/tc20050817_0949_tc024.htm

Google Buys Android for Its Mobile Arsenal
The search giant quietly acquires the startup, netting possibly a key player in its push into wireless, "the next frontier in search"

In what could be a key move in its nascent wireless strategy, Google (GOOG ) has quietly acquired startup Android Inc., BusinessWeek Online has learned. The 22-month-old startup, based in Palo Alto, Calif., brings to Google a wealth of talent, including co-founder Andy Rubin, who previously started mobile-device maker Danger Inc.
Advertisement


Android (www.android.com) has operated under a cloak of secrecy, so little is known about its work. Rubin & Co. have sparingly described the outfit as making software for mobile phones, providing little more detail than that. One source familiar with the company says Android had at one point been working on a software operating system for cell phones.

SEEKING A MOBILE EDGE. In a 2003 interview with BusinessWeek, just two months before incorporating Android, Rubin said there wastremendous potential in developing smarter mobile devices that are more aware of its owner's location and preferences. "If people are smart, that information starts getting aggregated into consumer products," said Rubin.

Rubin declined to comment on Android or its sale to Google. A spokesperson for the search giant would not elaborate on the deal, only stating: "We acquired Android because of the talented engineers and great technology. We're thrilled to have them here."

Google has been toiling to make its services more appealing to people who access the Net over cell phones and other mobile devices. In April, the company uncorked local-flavored search for mobile users. Also in April, it announced Google Short Message Service (SMS), which sends text-based information to mobile users seeking everything from driving directions to weather forecasts.

WELL-KNOWN TALENT. In May, Google acquired Dodgeball, a mobile social-networking service. Using a wireless device, users can send a text message to their circle of friends, announcing that they will be at a certain coffee shop or hangout. In addition, users can be notified if friends-of-friends are within a certain vicinity. Google has not disclosed how it will incorporate the Dodgeball offering into its services.

Google bought Android in July for an undisclosed sum. The upstart adds to Google's collection of talent and technology that it hopes to apply to this critical segment. "Wireless is the next frontier in search," says Scott Ellison, analyst at research outfit IDC.

Rubin isn't the only well-known Silicon Valley veteran joining Google via Android. Others coming over include Andy McFadden, who worked with Rubin at WebTV before helping develop the all-in-one set-top box for Moxi Digital; Richard Miner, former vice-president of technology and innovation at telecom outfit Orange before joining Android; and Chris White, who spearheaded the design and interface for WebTV in the late 1990s, before helping to found Android.

YOUTH APPEAL. Danger, Rubin's previous company, launched the mobile Hiptop device to considerable buzz in 2002. Shortly afterwards, he handed over the CEO title, staying on as president and chief strategy officer. The company's devices continue to be popular among the younger demographic, particularly for text messaging, but it has struggled to extend its reach beyond key partner T-Mobile, a wireless service provider.

With Google's acquisition of Android, it will be interesting to see what new wireless products emerge from the joining.


Additional reporting by Cliff Edwards, a BusinessWeek correspondent in Silicon Valley
Elgin is a correspondent with BusinessWeek in Silicon Valley

=============================================================

Then on Friday....

=============================================================

Daily SearchCast, Jan. 6, 2006: Motorola Calls Google For Mobile Search ; Yahoo Go(es) Into Your TV, Phone & PC; Search Converges With Devices; Microsoft Complains Of Google Honeymoon But Has Had Its Own & More!

read about it here..

http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/060106-083301

Google Gets Into Motorola Cell Phones With Mobile Search

Motorola and Google Align for Mobile Search is the official word from Google and Motorola that they are teaming up in a mobile search partnership. Motorola is to insert a Google button into "internet-optimized" phones beginning by the end of March 2006, worldwide. The button will take users to Google search services.

The BBC reports that eventually, Motorola will incorporate a Google link into all of its phones. Google has a variety of mobile search services, and Search Engine Watch members can read up on them via the Google: Mobile category in Search Topics.

Recently, Google released a special local search application for Java-enabled phones. It also maintains web and image search designed for mobile phones, including a more restricted index of mobile-friendly pages, along with SMS search features.

As for other mobile partnerships, Google has one with T-Mobile and way back in 2001 partnered with Sprint, though that might not still be going. I'm checking up on others and will postscript as appropriate.

Postscript: Here's another mobile phone/web partnership. Sprint and Yahoo began offering an enhanced client for Yahoo Mail last June.

Posted by Danny Sullivan on Jan. 6, 2006 | Permalink

===========================================================

ALSO ON FRIDAY, AT CES - GOOGLE previews products...

including GOOGLE LOCAL MOBILE

==========================================================

read about it here...

http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/06/live-coverage-of-the-google-keynote/

"Seriously we have a lot of things to show you ... we had a project with VW to do a prototype Google dashboard ... This is Daniel, he's going to give a quick demo of going from Las Vegas to the Strip ... you can see restaurants and gas stations ... you can also see a birds-eye view ... this is all live (unlike earlier demo)

Larry demos a phone version, Google Local Mobile. There's a Blackberry version you can download now."

-------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------

To sum up:

To compete with (and against) Blackberry, et al. GOOGLE acquires ANDROID in August of last year for mobile location based search...

While everyone is distracted with CES (and APD, etc.), GOOGLE quitely acquires a competitor to Blackberry for mobile search/email... REGWIRELESS

Google signs deal with MOTOROLA to provide one button search...

Google previews GPS based service for driving/maps (ads? talk to billboards???)

They are putting the peices of the puzzle together to own mobile search/email/phone...

Okay, what is the missing piece in this GOOGLE onslaught of the mobile search space...? I think we all know the answer...

Any comments, thoughts?