Nokia, the world’s largest handset maker, said on Feb. 11 that it will use Microsoft’s Windows Phone software as its primary mobile-phone platform, replacing its own Symbian software. Intel and Nokia had jointly developed an alternative operating system called MeeGo, an attempt by both companies to break into the market for smartphones, which is dominated by Google Inc.’s Android and Apple Inc.’s iPhone.

Holy crap. I’ve been stupid busy and I mostly missed this. What I did hear I thought I heard wrong, but no…Simbian is dead. Wow, a lot.

Last year, after two full days of hacking, only one web browser emerged from Pwn2Own unscathed: Google Chrome. IE8, Safari 4, Firefox 3, and even Safari on iOS actually all fell after just one day, but no one could seem to penetrate Chrome. In fact, despite a $10,000 bounty to crack their “sandbox”, no one even tried, likely figuring it was futile. And so this year, Pwn2Own wasn’t even going to invite Chrome back. Then Google stepped in with wads of cash.

While the lineup for Pwn2Own 2011 was announced a few days ago, Google took the time today to give a bit more details about their role in the event. Of note, they write: “Chrome wasn’t originally going to be included as a target browser in the competition, but Google volunteered to sponsor Chrome’s participation by contributing monetary rewards for Chrome exploits.”

In other words: bring it, hackers.

Exciting.

Google is building Android not so they can make great mobile devices and sell them to consumers. Rather, they are making them for these two simple reasons: (1) to disrupt Apple’s growing dominance of mobile devices, both so Google doesn’t have to rely on Apple for access to their users and to eliminate their paid-for application model; and (2) so Google can control the mobile industry and thus secure advertising from it.

This helps explain some puzzling moves by Google. For example, Android’s market may not be terrible in comparison to Apple’s App Store for paid applications just because Google hasn’t yet finished it; rather, discouraging paid applications on the Android platform is in Google’s interest. If users won’t pay for applications, what will developers use to make money from their applications? Advertising. And Google conveniently owns one of the largest mobile advertising providers, Admob.

Android isn’t an attempt to build the best mobile platform and sell it on its merits; it’s a play to control the vast majority of the mobile market, secure eyeballs for Google advertising and eliminate any threat to Google.

Interesting analysis on Google’s motives in the mobile space.

I actually disagree with the phrasing of the last statement, though. It’s true that they’re there to attack their competitors, but I’d say it’s also true that this leads them toward making the best mobile offering “on its merits”. They aren’t mutually exclusive.

OMFG. So sick.

But Apple’s and Google’s war for the phone in our pockets is the biggest clash since Apple V Microsoft for the space on our desktops. By the end of 2011 smartphones will outsell ordinary phones, and by 2012 they will outsell PCs. Cloud computing may well replace the system whereby our photos, songs, documents and everything else lived on our own personal devices. At the same time, some observers expect search-based revenues to peak soon. One of those observers is Jobs, who says flatly that “on a mobile device, search hasn’t happened. Search is not where it’s at.” This leaves smartphone apps as the crucial gateway to the cloud —and Apple and Google chasing each other’s revenues by filling every corner of our lives with their working, browsing, listening, viewing and networking options.

Their approaches are clearly distinct. And while competition may make both better, it is hard to see both succeeding equally, the world evenly split between the perfectionist, sleek and controlling approach of Apple, and the experimental, fast-moving and open ways of Google—the small choice of flawless devices made by Apple, and the vast array of Android phones guided by Google. Will the Facebook generation, oblivious to privacy concerns, give the win to Google? Will those who have grown up expecting devices that just work tilt the field for Apple? In the answer lie not just billions of dollars, but the way we experience the world around us. 

A great read, all the way through.

If you only install one Chrome extension, this should be it. With it you can simply download any YouTube video.

Have a go; it’s excellent.

Well, shit.

This complicates things. Do I move to Google eBooks now or stick with Amazon?

What are you guys going to do?