Google announced yesterday that they have partnered with AOL to allow GMail users to sign in to their AIM accounts in the GMail Talk interface, and chat with them right from there. I decided to try it out, and I have to say, it’s wicked cool. Once you sign in to your GMail account, and are brought to your inbox, you simply go over to the Google Chat buddy list and click Options, then sign in to your AIM account.
Verizon’s recent announcement to open their network to all CDMA handsets, as well as applications, marks a major transition in the mindset of wireless carriers in the U.S. and presents a great opportunity for innovative development. With the option for consumers to use any handset they like with Verizon’s service, manufacturers and developers will have fewer hoops to jump through when it comes to bringing their product into the market mainstream.
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.
