Last week there were a ton of articles written on the G1 phone manufactured by HTC and sporting the Google Android mobile platform. Most people roundly agreed that the hardware was nothing special and that the most interesting thing about the G1 is the software. At the same time, there were articles being written on the iPhone and all the applications that are being sold for it through the iPhone Store. Of course the reason people are interested in the G1 with the Android platform is that Android is an open source platform, so many of the applications that will be written for it will be free, and the underlying operating system will not be so much controlled by Google, as managed by them. All of this chatter has made me step back to put some context to what is going on today with our audio communications through devices.

In the beginning, there was a phone on the wall at my house with a 10 foot stretched-out coil cord. It had a rotary dial and a clanging bell that rang on an incoming call. You had to stand in the kitchen to talk, and when you were on the phone, no one else could call in or out. We kept the calls short and only called when there was something important to say, or ask. When I go home to visit my 68 year old mother in the house I grew up in, the phone is still there, it now has push buttons, but everything else is the same. Back then, the hardware was all that mattered and your only choice was the black phone or the beige one, or maybe the wall mount or the desktop version. Today, the hardware is quickly becoming much less important than the software we use to provide all the ancillary services about the whole calling process. I suspect this is still the middle point in the trend and that we will soon get to where the hardware is not at all the consideration. In other words, all devices will have about the same functionality and look, and the only difference will be the software. That suits me fine because I am tired of the hardware devices being tied to certain phone networks and version of operations systems. It is frustrating that Apple has anchored people to AT&T, and that the Blackberry only runs one operating system. I look forward to the day that I can pick whatever device I want, know that I can run any software combination on it, and pick whatever cellular service suits me. I also look forward to the day that the software has progressed to the point where it is not a huge drama to move from phone to phone and actually carry my contacts, and setup from device to device. Of course all of this will happen because it is all dependent on software improvements and those come fast. The reality is that what we now call a “phone” is really a small computer that must be in sync with our larger device in order for our life to be organized and we have a ways to go before both of our computers are seamlessly replicated. We still struggle today with moving contacts from one phone the next when we upgrade. The future of our phone is clear however, and it will be heavily tied to software, and whatever company emerges as the leader in providing the software for our mobile device will have powerful control over a very important choke point of communications.

Speaking of spooky software capabilities, I recently bought an HDTV and got the HD box from Cox to make it all work. I happen to have my home telephone service from Cox as well. The other day someone called my home phone (this almost never happens) and up on my television screen pops a window with the caller ID in it. Kind of cool, but unexpected because I never asked for that. At any rate, an interesting example of what happens when phone calls become software empowered.

The long and short of all this is to say that the world of the cell/telephone has become dominated by software. We are quickly going to become bored with the devices and will only care about what software functionality we have. Which is why so many early reviewers of the G1 said that they were not blown away with the handset, but thought it would be worth getting a G1 because of Google and their ability to deliver interesting software. They are thought to be the only company that really might be able to compete with Apple and the iPhone. Isn’t it sad and interesting that AT&T and all the Bell companies do not really figure in the software debate at all. They hung their hats on the hardware and the transmission, and have missed out on the place that concerns people the most.

Scott Klososky
Scott@klososky.com