Google Getting into Phones – And It’s Changing The Mobile Internet

Published on: 29 December 2017 Last Updated on: 04 September 2024
Google Getting into Phones

Ever since its incorporation on September 4, 1998 as a privately held company and later (2004) as a public company through an IPO, Google’s main focus has been, search and innovation. The innovation arm has seen tremendous growth thanks to its team of skilled developers. Based on the company’s projections, the innovation frontier has a high potential for opening up products which may point it to a new direction.

Specifically, Google’s foray into phone technology, both hardware, and software, is likely to change the way we interact with our phones, our phone plans and the mobile internet. Recently, the company has made significant developments that may see it offering cheap phone plans, which is a real gamechanger in the telco market.

Project Fi Wireless Network

Since 2015, Google has been operating its own wireless service known as Project Fi. It does this as a mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) which means it relies on other networks (T-Mobile, Sprint, and U.S. Cellular) to offer mobile data directly to its users much like other carriers.

Currently, Project Fi is available only in the US and gives users over a million free and open Wi-Fi hotspots to connect to. Essentially, Project Fi makes Google a go-between for carriers and customers. Your phone network will be supported by the Project Fi partners and you will only deal with Google when it comes to billing and support.

The pricing structure of Project Fi is arguably the most eye-opening and innovative of all phone plans. When you sign up for Project Fi, you get the Fi SIM card installed which allows you to make calls over the cellular network (whichever is stronger among-Mobile, Sprint, and U.S. Cellular) or Wi-Fi if you are in hotspot coverage.

Google charges you $20 flat per month for text, calling, and Wi-Fi tethering. Each Gigabyte of data you spend will cost you $10 on top of your bill. However, you won’t be charged for any data not used. On the other hand, if you use more data than expected, you will only be charged for the extra data and nothing more.

Project Fi also makes it relatively simple and affordable to add people to your plan. As a matter of fact, you save some money per head the more people you add. Instead of being charged $20 flat, you may be charged $15 plus $10 per GB. Google encryption ensures you are secure as you transition between LTE and Wi-Fi on its network. By being more flexible, affordable, and friendly, Project Fi is likely to give the traditional wireless carriers a run for their money.

Read More: Top 5 Digital Wallet Apps For Android

Datally App

If your phone runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop or a newer version, you can download the Datally app from the Google Play store. This app helps you to monitor and control your data usage per hour, daily, weekly, and on a monthly basis.It also gives you recommendations on how you can save on your mobile data. It comes with a Data Saver feature which if turned on, blocks any background data usage. Whenever you are within Wi-Fi coverage, Datally will alert you so that you can shift to the Wi-Fi hotspot and do your heavy lifting there.

Read More: App Development Benefits: Here’s Why You Should Go Mobile

Google Investment in HTC and Pixel Flagship Devices

In September this year, Google announced that it’s signing an agreement with HTC worth $1.1 billion in exchange for part of HTC’s smartphone team. The deal will see approximately 2,000 HTC staffers join Google.

This is the next big purchase by Google after it announced a $12.5 billion Motorola Mobility buyout on August 15, 2011. However, in 2014, it sold off part of Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91 billion comprising stock and cash while retaining most of the patents.

Google Getting into Phones
Image Source: static.pexels.com

Buying HTC stamps the presence of Google in the hardware development business once again by helping it rollout Pixel Devices. It also means that the company will directly take on other Android partners such as Huawei, Samsung, and LG.

Google Embracing SIM Technology

Embedded SIM (eSIM) technology helps subscribers to sign up to and change phone companies without the need to swap physical SIM cards. The eSIM-enabled devices allow users to quickly select their preferred carrier from the settings menu on their phones and download the SIM profile over the air.

Google doesn’t take credit for the development of eSIM technology, however, it has adapted it for its Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL devices sold through Project Fi and Google Store. In addition, the company launched the eSIM manager app which helps users switch between different carrier profiles and plans.

Imagine a future where your Pixel smartphone runs on Project Fi prepaid phone plan, has the Datally app to help you monitor and control your data usage! When you combine this with the possibility of changing your carrier through Google Assistant without swapping your SIM card, it can be truly transformative. The future for Google in the smartphone industry looks bright and if this trajectory progresses, the telco market will experience a real disruption in the coming years.

Sources

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

View all posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related

WBJEE

Procedure To Download West Bengal Join Entrance Examination Admit Card

The WBJEE is the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination which can be conducted for the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations Board. Every year May month the WBJEE can be conducted. The first step the candidates can get the application form in the specified center of the WEBJEE. After getting the application the candidate can fill all the details in the application form. The details are present in the true form if any problem created the candidates are not allowed to attend for the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations. If the candidates fill all the details in the application form and then submit the application form in the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations Board. You can get an alert to your mobile or the email to download the hall ticket on the specified site of the WBJEE. Some of the procedure available to download the hall ticket on the specified site of the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations Board. Every year the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations Board can conduct the WBJEE exam successfully. This will be the main popularity of the exam. The wbjee admit card was released on May 3. You can collect the admit card in the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations Board site. The West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations Board (WBJEEB) was developed in the year 1962. This can be mainly established for the purpose of entrance exam for the UG (Under Graduate) admission. This entrance exam will be common for all the types of UG courses such as the Medical, Dental, Pharmacy, Architecture, Engineering, and Technology. This can be conducted for both the self-financing colleges and the government colleges in the West Bengal. The West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination is conducted in the sensible form. So, the students carefully attend the exam. The West Bengal Join Entrance Examinations Board can send the alert for the online exam on the Internet on December month. You can collect all the details in the exam. The entrance exam is included for all the type of admissions. Every year there are lots of candidates can attend the exams. They can get a better result for the exam. Dates To Be RemindsFor WBJEE Examination: The wbjee admit card can be released on the April 4 and May 5 for every year at the  30 Date of West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination is conducted on 17-05-2016 Date of West Bengal Join Entrance Examination Result Declaration on 05-06-2016 These are the important dates the candidates keep in mind. This will help to attend the West Bengal Join Entrance Examination properly with any kind of problems. Download West Bengal Join Entrance Examination Admit Card: The admit card is the entrance ticket for the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination. If the candidates cannot bring the admit card to the examination, they are not allowed to attend the exam. The candidates can download the hall tickets on the West Bengal Join Entrance Examination Board official site, before the last of downloading the application. Step 1: Visit the official link of the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination Board Step 2: On the home page of the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination Board site can display the hall ticket download option. Step 3: You can click the cursor on the download option. Step 4: Now you can fill the required details to download the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination admit cards such as roll number, password and some of the other type of details. Step 5: You will see the West Bengal Join Entrance Examination admit card in the screen. Step 6: Download the hall tick to take one printout of the admit card. If you can take a soft copy, this can be used for emergency purpose.

READ MOREDetails
Gaming Internet Speed

6 Tips For Improving Gaming Internet Speed For Amazing Performance

Nothing beats quality time gaming on your gaming setup at home. Enjoy the rich graphics, the crisp sound experience, and the amazing multiplayer gameplay. However, when it comes to gaming internet speed, you must ensure solid internet connectivity; otherwise, all will be in vain. That is why you need to guarantee a good gaming internet speed at home and for that, we’re sharing 6 amazing tips to achieve it. Top 6 Ways Of Improving Gaming Internet Speed These tips will make it easier for you to achieve a high level of internet speed without having to compromise on anything. So, let’s get started: 1. Getting A Solid Internet Connection The first thing you need to make sure is that your internet connection is as solid as it claims. Most of the time, people often get internet services; however, their internet provider isn’t as robust as it seems. That is why they end up with poor connectivity; hence, reduced gaming internet speed. To avoid this, always choose a reliable internet provider. We recommend going with Windstream as it offers reliable services with reliable connectivity. You can simply contact Windstream customer service to know more about its internet plans and choose the one that fits best your requirements. 2. Switching To A Gaming Router Another thing that you can do is switch to a gaming router instead of a regular router. Although gaming routers are costly, they do have better functionality compared to regular internet routers. They’re also equipped with better features such as beamforming, MU-MIMO, multiple frequency bands, enhanced coverage, and so much more. Acquiring a gaming router will surely end your hunt for methods for improving gaming internet speed at home. Furthermore, most modern-day gaming routers are excellent in terms of performance and can give Ethernet workability a great competition. So, if you’re not into cables, then choosing a gaming internet router is the best option for you. 3. Making Ethernet Your Friend A good reason why most gamers prefer using Ethernet is that it allows seamless connectivity. Ethernet makes it easier to form a stable internet connection, enjoying top-speed internet without any hassle. Unlike an internet router, it doesn’t face signal disruption, which keeps the speed consistent. Moreover, you can enjoy the superb lag-free performance, which can add to the overall gaming performance that you want. Plus, when you’re using Ethernet, you don’t have to set the location of your internet device since the speed is only affected by the overall connection’s performance. Therefore, it makes it easier for gamers to get top-notch speed with Ethernet connectivity. 4. Optimizing Coverage Of Your Router When it comes to internet speed, the coverage capacity of your internet matters too. If your internet router is placed in a place that doesn’t have ample coverage, then you’ll be experiencing issues with connectivity. In addition to this, you need to make sure that the router’s signals are spreading effectively. For this, ensure that it’s not placed near electrical devices since their electromagnetic interference can ruin signal strength. Moreover, you also need to check for antenna placement and the walls in your house so that signals face minimal interference. Hence, optimize the location of your internet device so that you may enjoy better coverage and signal strength. 5. Clearing Apps In The Background One of the prevailing reasons for your slow internet is the applications running in the background. This happens when you put most of the applications in snooze mode. When this happens the apps are minimized and running in the background, which is why they keep on chugging on the internet speed. Moreover, these apps use resources from the device, which makes your device run slower too. In the end, you don’t have enough to run your gaming experience smoothly. Plus, if you’re running a live stream, these apps will surely minimize the overall performance. Therefore, assimilate which apps you still want to run in the background and which ones can be permanently closed or disabled. Once this is done, you’ll be able to reduce the overall distribution of resources and get better performance for your gaming internet speed. 6. Removing Cache The cache memory is like a refrigerator which you can get quick munch from. It stores frequently used processes and reboots them quickly whenever requested. However, keeping these processes in ready-to-go form takes up space, memory, and internet speed. Your internet browser stores cache too so that it can reload websites visited quickly when requested. Most of the time, the cache gets accumulated with all these processes, which is why it slows down the internet speed. Numerous processes mean more consumption of resources. Even though it increases the processing speed, still, having it on your end will decrease the overall speed for no good reason. Therefore, make sure that you clear cache now and then, from your device as well as your internet browser. Closing Thoughts Well, there you have it! Now you know how you can improve your gaming internet speed at home. Using the abovementioned methods, you’ll surely feel a difference in your internet speed as well as your device’s performance. Just ensure to have a solid internet connection that will provide consistent and reliable connectivity. When that’s achieved, all you have to do is to work these methods out and you’ll be sorted for good. Additionals: Fax Over the Internet 5 Tips to Improve Your Internet Privacy Top Internet Providers in Outer Tri-Cities Washington Internet Defamation Lawsuits: 7 Things You Need To Know

READ MOREDetails
slider-img

Tips to Make a Solid Start with Fiori Development

SAP Fiori, the all-new UX from SAP offered a new opportunity for the SAP developers. Besides allowing unprecedented access to some of the most used SAP processes, this new UX strategy for the first time will allow focus on design more than anything else. When usefulness and user engagement remains to be the primary driving factor for the majority of app development and design processes, this new UX strategy will address both these aspects of the SAP environment. The key value propositions of SAP Fiori are performance and speed, productivity and cost advantage. Before offering some experience-driven tips for SAP Fiori developers let us familiarize ourselves with few of the guiding principles concerning SAP Fiori implementation. Start from business objectives and business process Fiori is delivered by SAP to add simplicity to your business apps and thus to elevate user experience. Thanks to Fiori apps the users can gain deeper access and engage with the business processes more. It is almost a reinvention of the business process with user-friendly apps. That sounds great and quite impressive. But the main challenge remains to implement this UX as a means to add value to the business process. This is why we are focusing here so intently on implementation part. Fiori Development with a 5D Approach 5D approach consisting of Define, Discover, Design, Develop, and Deploy can play a really effective role in SAP Fiori development. Basically, this approach simplifies the entire process and helps to create focus areas. Define: In this step, you can describe the objective, your target audience and desired impact from the app. Discover: In this step, you need to find ways to simplify user experience and user interface to ensure usefulness and user satisfaction. To find out or discover such ways you can take other Fiori apps or case scenarios as the reference. Design: In this step, you need to optimize user experience with design elements. You can create wireframes and introduce visual design elements, mock-ups, etc. You can follow some best app design principles or can consult users to make navigation, layout, typography, color scheme, and content flow look better and useful. Develop: Now this is the execution step involving actual coding. In this step, you need to develop the workable version of the app and then allow integration with the back-end system. Deploy: In this step, you will deploy your Fiori app after going through extensive unit and integration testing. Useful development tips that helps to build robust apps Finally, the journey of a developer with SAP Fiori app projects will invariably have some unique learning scopes. Let us offer below some useful tips from the developer’s point of view. 1) Know SAP Fiori design guidelines Go to the website of SAP Fiori Design Guidelines and read it to understand the design principles that this UX strategy works upon. There are few design-oriented aspects that you need to remember. SAP Fiori design elements are not accidental by any means. All design attributes are deliberate in character. By making use of different design controls, patterns and filters you can achieve your desired design for the app. 2) In-depth knowledge of sap.m and sap.ui library is necessary The Fiori developers of SAP were the first customers of the UI5 toolkit that includes a sap.m library with a range of controls. For the first few Fiori apps, these first batch of SAP internal developers used these controls for app design needs. For building clean and visually engaging apps they took the building blocks from this toolkit. Till date, this toolkit along with its sam.m library and controls offer a robust pool of tools for designing Fiori apps. Besides that, there are other useful libraries like sap.ui.layout. A Fiori app is designed by visual building blocks and they are only available at sap.m library. The letter's’ stands for "mobile", referring to controls for mobile-friendly responsive design. Another extensively used and helpful library is the sap.ui.layout library which offers grid controls to develop simple and engaging app layout. To know about the sap.m library controls go to the Explored app section in the UI5 SDK and the resource will give you a clear idea of how each control works with real app examples. You can also see the codes used in each case. 3) Understanding UI5 toolkit components and routing Obviously, as a Fiori app developer, you would like to include your app in the Fiori Launchpad to allow navigation to your app from other Fiori apps. Without understanding and integrating the UI5 toolkit components and without routing, you cannot do that. UI5 components and routing allow outreach to other Fiori apps. With these two elements, you stand at par and on the same platform with other Fiori apps. 4) Get help through MVC and XML MVC technically speaking is inseparable with Fiori development. There is a wide range of implications of an MVC based development approach and all of them are good. First of all, know how the app structure is built through invisible and some screen-sized controls. Then know-how within the structure various views relate to each other. Most of the lovable SAP Fiori apps used XML for producing definitive views of their apps. Through XML you can create declarative views in a crisp, efficient and clean way. 5) Manipulating both Chrome Developer Tools and UI5 Support Tool In this new arena of SAP Fiori development, both Chrome Developer Tools along with UI5 Support Tool offer an excellent debugging option to ensure glitch-free app performance and speed. Chrome offers the most developer-friendly editing tools. Having this tool will take many of your concerns as far as meticulous monitoring and editing are concerned. Manipulating Chrome Developer tools with support tools of UI5 can ensure superb development and consistent debugging and trace features. 6) Gain expertise in data binding Data binding is the specialty that allows frontend meeting the backend of an app. To master this skill set you need to focus on a few aspects. Let us have a look at them. Know the nuances in an object. Understand property and aggregation bindings. Understand and learn the intricacies of complex embedded binding syntax. Learn to specify factory functions, sorting, filtering, grouping, formatting, etc. 7) Learn from other Fiori apps Finally, it can be revealed to study other Fiori apps and the design practices they adhered to. Though it may sound generic, it actually works as an eye-opener and helps you learn things that you cannot learn otherwise. Learning from existing app instances, you can gain insights on the best practices and the aspects that you still need to master. Often by looking at other people’s code, you come across solutions that were otherwise invisible.

READ MOREDetails