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So Google has announced that it is buying Motorola Mobility, a spin off of the original Motorola. The main focus of the company is mobile handsets. But with a little extra work, could Google maybe diverse even more into ham radio? Chances are, they wouldn’t, but let’s take a trip to “Fantasy Land” and see what it could be.

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia/Coolcaesar

So, Google decides to move into Ham Radio. Motorola has already been building commercial radios for years. Some of them can be re-tuned for the ham bands. So let’s say they design and build a small “Smart HT”. Using Android, they could offer a ton of great features on it. Maybe like a Software Defined Radio  type of device, with DSP filtering, along with standards like CTCSS. APRS built in and maybe even a D-Star alternative codec, but still have backwards compatibility with the current. Why not Bluetooth and WiFi for Echolink? Use apps to increase functionality? Can it be done? Would you want something like that? How would it look and work? Or am I basically describing an iPod Touch or Google Android Phone?

This is all speculation of course, but could Google build a “Smart HT”? What would be the next generation of HT’s be like? I wouldn’t mind hearing what you would like to see in these “Smart HTs” should they ever be built. It almost fuels the imagination huh? Let me know what you think in the comments.

73.

Rich also writes a Tech blog and posts stories every Tuesday and Thursday on Q103, The Rock of Albany’s website, as well as Amateur Radio stories every Monday thru Friday here on AmiZed Studios.

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