The deal, obviously, raises some issues given that it would give Google a hardware business to run in addition to its Android platform. Although Google has said it would run each business separately, there have been some questions raised about how it would effectively do this. Bryan Gonzalez, the Director of Social and Digital Media Technology Labs at the Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California, told us that it would be hard for Google not to encourage Motorola to develop the best mobile phones.

The merger would also give Google Motorola’s patents to help it fend off lawsuits from Apple and Microsoft. While the deal could be very beneficial to Google, the big question is if it will pass regulatory approval. Do you think it will, especially in light of all the scrutiny that the AT&T/T-Mobile deal has gotten?

Rachel Pasqua, Director of Mobile Marketing at iCrossing, characterized apps as the “flavor of the month” during an interview with Mike McDonald at SMX Advanced 2010.  She said that her best recommendation is instead to “start with your site” when trying to attract mobile users.

Pasqua explained, “The vast majority of users out there are accessing social networks . . . via mobile.”  With a proper social media strategy in place, businesses can then lure the users straight to their sites.

Companies simply need to make sure their sites offer a decent mobile experience.  “If your site takes more than 15 seconds to load, users are just going to be bouncing off,” Pasqua pointed out.

Heavy use of Flash should also be avoided, in her opinion.

Business owners might want to follow Pasqua’s advice sooner rather than later.  She observed that the availability of inexpensive Android devices is speeding up the adoption of smartphones, and it may not be long before advanced tech is available for free with a mobile contract.

Martin, the owner of Mobile Martin, which is a mobile SEO consulting service, began by highlighting some of the advantages offered by the HTC EVO 4G. This phone was the fastest Android device at the time of its release, and thanks to its 4G capabilities, offers improved videoconferencing compared to the iPhone 4.

The EVO 4G also has a bigger screen than the latest iPhone, although that can become a drawback since it tends to drain the battery.

Anyway, in terms of what other features Android and iPhone fans have to look forward to, Martin indicated he’s heard rumors about solar charging abilities coming to both platforms.

Then Android users alone may be able to look forward to kinetic charging (in the manner of watch), and Martin expects the Android Market to receive an overhaul when the Gingerbread version of Android is released later this year.

Meanwhile, rumor has it that Apple will at least address the iPhone 4′s reception issues with a hardware fix in the near future.

The application launched with Android around a year ago and is essentially a local search and recommendation service. It lets users discover new places that are relevant to them wherever they are.

According to Nakamura, competitors such as Foursquare and Gowalla are niche platforms around check-ins. WHERE on the other hand, is data-driven in that it tries to aggregate data and display it to individual users through categories.

Ozel points out that WHERE is continuously looking for ways to improve its service. He says it wants to do more integration with applications and providers.

Nakamura also adds that, because Google is pushing for more openness, WHERE would like to open up to the entire ecosystem. He goes on to say that their competitors tend to be very closed.

For more information on WHERE, visit their site.

Before Android came along, Apple’s iPhone was really the only mobile device of its kind. Incidentally, Apple and Google have very different strategies pertaining to mobile.

“Apple’s strategy is so much different… and they just pretty much want to keep everything to themselves… whereas, Google is kind of working with people to try to push the industry forward altogether,” says Jackson.

He goes on to say that Google focuses on the operating system, which sets everything apart. As a result, manufacturers can focus on marketing their phones and carriers can focus on marketing their services.

A few of the Android announcements Google made at I/O include Flash support, tethering, and speed. Although these were expected, Jackson believes it proves that everyone is aware of Android’s needs. While Google TV was somewhat of a surprise, he says it was interesting to see Android not only on a 3″ screen, but also on a 50″ screen. He thinks this indicates that a tablet or other device could be possible as well.

Jackson says developers play a key role in Android because without them, it would not be what it is today.

He explains how Google I/O is very instrumental, not only in building awareness for the mobile platform, but also in encouraging developers. At this year’s event, Google introduced Android’s newest update, Froyo. This update provides speed improvements, SD card storage for applications, support for Flash, and more.

Even though Google made several improvements to the Android platform, there are still multiple challenges involved. The fact that Android is open creates both an advantage and a challenge. On the advantageous side, any developer can build upon Android. On the downside, the rapid development this openness creates somewhat hinders true advancements.

In regards to what could come next with Android, Martin believes that a truly revolutionary Android device would be one that didn’t depend on mobile carriers. Instead, this device would use universal WiFi and white space. He says Apple’s iPhone was a true revolution but hasn’t yet seen one specific Android device that stands out above the rest.

Martin posed his thoughts to Andy Rubin, Google’s mobile chief. Although Rubin did not directly address Martin’s theory, he did say that users could expect many revolutionary features to Android in the future.

As we have previously reported, Adobe announced an update pack to Dreamweaver CS5 for HTML5. Since the announcement was made at Google I/O, Sullivan believes Google wants to publicly show that it embraces the idea of openness that HTML5 is built upon.

“It plays well with Google’s thing, which is… if you can get to everything on the Web, then Google thinks it’s going to win along the way,” says Sullivan.

In regards to Google TV, Sullivan is excited about the innovation but is curious about pricing. He specifically says, “It puts them [Google] into a place where people are spending hours of their day and not getting a chance to see any of Google’s ads…”

He points out that he would like to see Google TV integrated into cable company services.

Despite all the excitement about Google TV, what does it mean for the iPad? Currently, many people use the iPad to look up items as they are watching TV. Google TV, however, could eliminate this need. In addition, Sullivan indicated that Google TV could lead to a greater adoption of Android devices since it runs Android apps.

There have also been many questions since Google has two operating systems: Chrome and Android. Sullivan tried to get Google to clarify the two moving forward but did not receive a definite response. The company hinted that it could unify Android and Chrome at some point in the future, but did not make any commitments that it would.

Although admittedly an avid Android supporter, Kameka tells us that there are several issues with the platform. One of the biggest issues for developers, currently, is the fact that there are so many different versions of Android. As a result, developers are forced to find a balance between keeping the hardware current and appealing to the largest consumer market.

“The problem is Google is innovating faster than other companies can keep up,” says Kameka.

Although some solutions were announced at Google I/O, many challenges remain that impact developers, mobile carriers, and users.

What is your biggest challenge with Android?

First and foremost, this phone operates on the Android platform. Two of the most unique features include Sony Ericsson Timescape and Mediascape. Timescape provides a chronological collection of all communication on your phone in one place. Whether it is emails, Facebook, text messages, or phone calls, users have access to all of them through Timescape.

Mediascape is similar, but it stores all music, videos, and photos in one place. In the photos section, if a user tags one photo, the device will conduct facial recognition that goes back through the entire album and tags other images as long as 75 percent of the face is captured.

The speed of the device is one of the most talked about features and is credited to its 1 GHz Snapdragon processor. Although a release date for the U.S. has yet to be announced, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is expected to hit Canada in Q1 and Q2.

Google has made significant progress with Android phones especially with the Droid and most recently with the Nexus One. Martin is most excited about the Sony Xperia X10, which is also expected be released early this year. He said it is the first phone that “really will out speed the iPhone 3GS.”

In spite of this success, there have been rumors that Google may have something else up its sleeve. Speculation believes the “something” just may be a true Google phone that would be free from any mobile carrier.

Incidentally, Google’s recent actions reveal that there actually could be some truth to the rumors. The search giant recently acquired VoIP service Gizmo5 and last week shared a proposal for White Spaces databases. These actions could be early indicators of a true Google phone.

What do you think Google plans to do in the mobile market?

Numerous factors such as Flash can slow a site down, but Martin told WebProNews that those factors were, “… a micro millisecond difference, but that’s gonna be part of the factors of 2010.”

Incidentally, Android recently celebrated its second birthday. Although no Android device has yet to emerge as the “iPhone Killer,” there have been several Android devices released recently. Droid is probably the most popular and is already on Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile. It is expected to be on AT&T around the first of the year as well.

Martin compares the Android/iPhone battle to the PC/MAC wars and says that it wasn’t very long ago that no one was familiar with Android, but now it’s everywhere. Where will Android go next?

Michael Martin, the SEO director of Internet Marketing Inc, covered some basic facts by pointing out that Android represents an alternative to Apple. It’s open source, and another key difference is that people are more easily able to influence what apps get into and stay in the Android app store.

Cindy Krum, founder and CEO of Rank-Mobile, then added that individuals (and/or businesses) should start developing Android apps now. She thinks that, by the end of 2010, Android phones are liable to have a bigger presence than iPhones.

Martin didn’t exactly disagree. In fact, he even indicated that the Sony Xperia X3, an upcoming, Android-based device, may be able to top the iPhone.

Meanwhile, mobile ads will continue to become more important, too, as Krum point out that spending on them is doubling (and then some) year over year.

The phone manufacturers of Android include HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola, and Huawei. The service providers are T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, Rogers, and Vodaphone. Michael said Sprint would jump on board next year as well.

So, how are Apple and iPhone lovers responding to all this hype? To that question, Michael answered, “That’s a good question!” The primary difference between Android and Apple is that Android is open source and Apple is not. Michael does not believe Apple will relinquish its control and compares the situation to the 1980′s scenario of Mac vs. PC.

What do you think of all this buzz? Are you an iPhone fan or are you anxious to get your hands on Google’s Ion?