This is interesting. I understand Google’s ambitions and its lean-and-mean startup-like market prowess, but sometimes I wonder if Google is really the search engine company it once used to be. Take today, for instance. Google’s CEO said cell phones should be free as long as you are willing to accept targeted advertising in return.

Um, I don’t think so.

I don’t know if he noticed this or not, but a lot of entry level (and even a number of advanced) cell phones are free when you sign the contract, which I personally don’t see a problem with. If all you want to do is make occasional calls, these free alternatives are fine. However, if you are remotely interested in text messaging, browsing, gaming, listening to music and taking advantage of a lot of other multimedia options, you have to pay for a decent cell phone.

Even if we are willing to accept advertising as users, I seriously doubt it’s going to be enough to compensate manufacturers and content providers fairly. We are talking about millions of R&D budgets that advertising must compensate for, and there’s no way ads can do that.

We know you [Google] rely on advertising to survive, and you need to come up with interesting ways to generate more revenue, but this idea is pathetic. Seriously, Google execs really need to watch their mouths before blabbering off random, pathetic solutions to get attention.

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