In the early days of social networking (read: 2005) when it was starting to come mainstream, I was a skeptic. A couple of my friends had MySpace accounts & took great pride in customizing them and distributing their MySpace URLs. I thought it was a waste of time, and was still sitting behind the privacy curtain judging MySpace as a place for emo kids & pedophiles to hang out. To be honest, I still maintain that particular opinion about MySpace, but that’s irrelevant.
I just discovered Qik, and it makes me want a phone with a data plan even more. Ever since I got a camera phone that could record video, I’ve wanted to find a way to have live video streams, or ultimately have video calling. Well, Qik has finally answered the call for live video streaming.
Qik is a new service that allows you to stream live video from your phone to viewers around the world via the Internet.
Today Google officially announced that it will be bidding for wireless spectrum in an FCC auction in January. The 700 MHz spectrum is going to be up for auction, and if Google is able to snag a part of it, it could mean a truly open wireless network. It doesn’t seem to be any coincidence that this announcement comes right on the heels of Google’s Android announcement. With the development of a mobile OS created for open development and communication, the ability to back it with an open wireless network would be a huge boost for Android’s success, and make Google even more appealing as a wireless provider.
In the past few days since the official Android announcement, the Internet has been exploding with speculation, debate, and excitement over the new OS’ potential, and its significance in the mobile phone industry. Most people seem to think that it looks cool, and it does: touch screens, 3G support, freedom to create and add whatever apps you want…what’s not to love? Plus, with the backing of more than 30 major technology and telecom companies, it’s sure to get good placement in the market.
