So I am sitting here tonight watching The Bachelo...I mean Monday Night Football and reading up on the announcement surrounding Google's potential entrance into the mobile phone market.  There is sufficient debate around whether Google would simply develop applications to be loaded onto future phones or take the plunge into the handset market.

At this point I think any serious contention as to the direction Google will take is simply moot rhetoric.  The good news is senseless musings are my specialty.  If you haven't followed the various developments over the past several months let me catch you up. 

• Google has been on a strategic acquisition tear  for technologies that could easily be adapted to the mobile industry. 
• Although denying interest in 2006, CEO Eric Schmidt has expressed his intent to bid in the 700MHz auction. 
• Most interesting is their concept of the wireless service of the future: which offers free phones and likely service to customers in exchange for streaming ads onto the mobile device. 

Now I would have thought this was the most ridiculous concept because of the extent the average American will go to avoid SPAM via phone, snail mail, or e-mail.  Then I was shown the light by a company that let's you drive a billboard and get paid for it.  Apparently some Americans love free more than they hate annoying.

However, in my opinion the decision is less about what Google wants and likely has nothing to do with customers.  If Google's phone and service concepts stay united, the timing and expense of infastructure to build a network would place Google about three years late in an already saturated and competitive industry.  Ultimately the mobile carriers (i.e. Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, etc) may well decide for Schmidt and team... and their vote will be to develop mobile versions of Goggle Maps, YouTube, Gmail, and other innovative apps that will drive greater revenue from users. 

Until the day I can call everyone for free with limited commerical interuptions I guess I will just have to drive around my AQ Chicken-mobile to pay my wireless phone bill.