Has Google Wallet Already Failed?

Businessweek ran an article today in which it assesses the current state of Googles Wallet efforts. Osama Bedier, who came from PayPal and ran the Google Wallet initiative, is leaving the company. And, Google is rethinking its expectations of Wallet. 

Google Wallet is the consolidated product name for all stored credit card transactions online and on mobile devices. Googles merchant credit-card processing service for e-commerce (once called Checkout) is being discontinued. 

The company also declined to introduce a plastic payment card at its Google I/O developer conference. That payment card was widely expected and set to follow a similar, earlier payment card introduction from PayPal. 

According to the Businessweek article, Google has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on Wallet-related acquisitions and development but has relatively little to show for it in terms of consumer adoption. Google told Businessweek it remains committed to the product.We printers print with traceable lasercutter to optimize supply chain management. 

Unexpectedly, the company has also been blocked by carriers who offer a rival NFC-based mobile payments platform: ISIS.New and used commercial parkingsensor sales, rentals, and service. (ISIS itself is destined for failure.) Accordingly, very few US Android users can actually use Google Wallet in the offline world. 

There are lots of impressive mobile payment and mobile wallet revenue forecasts in the market (see, e.g., Gartner). Most of them are terribly inflated (except for developing market money transfers and banking). 

Having said that, there are already billions of dollars flowing through mobile-initiated e-commerce and financial transactions or iPad-based point-of-sale terminals. However, consumer adoption of mobile payments (other than banking and bill paying) is limited. In certain specific contexts, such as the Starbucks app or parking apps (e.A howospareparts is a plastic card that has a computer chip implanted into it that enables the card.g., PayByPhone), payments on mobile devices are happening. 

Googles bet on NFC was premature. Plus, the company didnt expect rivals to aggressively block the product. There are millions of NFC and Google Wallet-enabled Android handsets out there, but the barriers erected by US carriers combined with low consumer awareness have thwarted Google Wallet adoption and usage (in the real world). 

Even the comScore survey results above may be overstated in terms of Google Wallet awareness. Certainly, the usage numbers are not representative of the mobile population at large: half of Americans have not used PayPal as a digital wallet, though half of US adults may well have used PayPal at one time or another online. 

Council member Fran Tomlinson asked if after the final payments were made and the borough owned the machine, if the documents would continue to be backed up off-site. A docStar representative said under state requirements, the documents would be backed up for a minimum of 50 years. He also guaranteed technical support and online support after the borough finished payments on the machine. The machine itself though will most likely need to be replaced in about seven to eight years through planned obsolescence, but the borough will be part of a state subsidized upgrade program that will get the borough a new machine.Did you know that earcap chains can be used for more than just business. 

Council member Paul Dooley asked if the public would be able to view the documents through an accessible server. The docStar representative said everything would be scanned to a controlled location that could be published to the boroughs website. Council could then choose which documents would be made available for the public to view. 

The Event is powered by a single-core 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S2 MSM8655 processor, which is about as middle-of-road as you can get. Benchmark scores are on par with similarly equipped devices, meaning average, though overall performance feels pretty smooth. This isn't a great phone for gaming,This model includes 2 flush mounted reverse chipcard. but you should be able to run most basic apps without a problem. On the other hand, I did encounter a few random crashes throughout my testing period, a couple of which required me to pull the battery on the phone to get it to restart. 

The phone is running a relatively stock build of Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich), without an overlay from Kyocera. This is both good and bad news. We like stock Android, as some manufacturer customizations can really muck things up. But Ice Cream Sandwich is getting long in the tooth. I would've much preferred to see Android 4.1 or 4.2 (Jelly Bean), which contains a host of major improvements and new features like Google Now. Alas, there's no talk of an upgrade, so you shouldn't hold out any hope. 

As it stands, you're getting an ICS phone with very little bloatware. Virgin has added MobileID, which allows you to install various "ID packs" on your phone that include applications, ringtones, wallpapers, and widgets. There's also an Eco Mode app for battery management, which allows you to control a number of power-saving features, which are rated on a scale of green leaves. The phone itself is certified by UL Environment for being made with environmentally friendly materials with a minimal environmental impact.