Will Google Voice conquer the (mobile) phone service markets?
Ralf Haller
March 14th, 2009
This week Google announced Google Voice or at least prepared the public that it is coming soon as the service right now is only available for existing Grand Central users. Grand Central was acquired by Google in 2007.
Most comments in blogs and news portals missed to report about the potential that lies in Google Voice though. So far practically all of Google’s apps lacked the potential to create any - sizable - income stream next to their search ad business but I think Google Voice could actually be the base for lots of additional business - if they want to use it that way. We are talking here about unifying voice and data and controlling both for the masses. The idea is not new and there are many business solutions available already that offer this but no mass market one that I would know of. If I would be a company in one of the following areas I would be nervous right now: SMS web clients, voice mail, VoIP (ala Skype), IP video conferencing. These are the obvious ones. But what about these here: ringtone downloads, mobile app downloads or e.g. any voice recognition enabled applications? And of course the Google mobile phone platform Android will profit from it too it can be assumed.
Google Voice could become the platform for all that, I don’t see why not. If there is anything that Google knows best then it is scalability so that won’t be an issue. Of course operators - mostly - don’t like Google and here is the challenge for them. Maybe at the end it will be the same as with all their other new things though. They become irrelevant by themself and serve only one purpose: to help bind more folks to Google search. In that case noone has to become nervous but simply better and maybe cheaper too. And if not? Well then it is up to everyone to think how much do we want Google to know about what we do on the web and with our phones.
Tags: Google Voice, Grand Central