That’s not exactly what the myriad of press releases say, but if some random research firm can wildly guess that Google’s Android cell phone operating system will capture 2% of the worldwide market in just a year’s time, I feel I’m entitled to some speculation of my own…

Motorola, Samsung, LG, and HTC already make plenty of crappy phones, desired by three types of customers:

1) Those who can’t afford an iPhone, or the subsequent iTunes bill;
2) Those who can’t afford Blackberry service, or the subsequent divorce; and
3) Those above who just dropped their device in the toilet (while using it ON the toilet), and can’t afford another until next month.

The opposite of the three above are those who already have a functioning iPhone or Blackberry, can’t live without it, and trying to convince the rest of the world they can’t live without one either.

Conclusion

Android goes live, the phone manufacturers spend gazillions integrating it, and it fails miserably. Sprint and T-Mobile die trying to sell the things. We are left with two decent hardware manufacturers with two decent operating systems…that Google can live happily within.

Then again, that’s just a wild guess.

UPDATE: I almost forgot Symbian. Been there, done that with Nokia. Nokia too makes great hardware - actually, I’ll call it utilitarian. Fits the masses well, but just doesn’t create the kind of fervor that would make you carry it with you into the bathroom.

Proving you can’t win ‘em all.

Jeffrey Citron did some revolutionary things for online trading, but the luck isn’t coming for upending landline phone service and the spin isn’t too hot either:

First, Vonage loses their appeal in the Verizon patent case; the company’s weak response follows.

Then they lose another patent case to Sprint. The response is even weaker…they appeal.

I guess you have to give them credit for trying, although the remaining customers would probably benefit most if they just handed the incumbents the keys and called it a day.