Google's CEO Thinks Cell Phone Will Be Free
November 13, 2006 6:19 PM | Google | Comments (0)
Google's CEO Eric Schmidt stated recently that he sees a future where mobile phones will be free to users who accepts advertising on their handsets. Schmidt stated that as mobile phones become more like handheld computers and consumers spend as much as eight to 10 hours a day talking, texting and using the Web on these devices, advertising becomes a viable form of subsidy. Google is experimenting with delivering text, brand-image and video ads onto small-screen mobile phones. It is enjoying early success in its strategy to win phone network allies in Japan, where TV viewing and shopping on phones is advanced, he said. Google has no plans to directly give away phones itself, nor is he aware of any effort by partners such as phone makers Nokia or Motorola or mobile operators like Vodafone to make such a radical move. |  |
Schmidt mentioned that mobile phones may never become totally free to the consumer. Newspapers are still not completely free a hundred years after they started relying on advertising, but they certainly are inexpensive.
Google is expected to make $10 billion in revenue this year from selling text ads to computer users who use Google to search the Web, however, Google expects mobile phone advertising to match computer based ad revenue over time.
