Could Google Mobile Be More Than Mediocre?

Is Google Launching a Mobile Network?

Google mobile. The tale of the monolithic company taking on a very ambitious project.

Kristen Nicole raises a few good points in this post from Mashable. While I share her excitement about Google’s entrance into the wireless industry forcing carriers to rethink their subscriber access agreements, I’m a little skeptical about the actual success of Google’s venture into mobile. Part of my reservation comes from the fact that Google seems so unfocused right now. Companies that have been successful for generations tend to do a few things and do them very well. (For more on this check out Good to Great by Jim Collins) Google seems to do a little of just about everything under the sun. Although I am a huge fan of Google services, and Google as a company, I’m reminded of a phrase I heard growing up: Jack of all trades, master of none.

So the question is, how good will Google’s mobile product really be? Will it be as high-quality a product as Google Search or Google Docs? Or will it be mediocre at best? Google has the resources and pockets to carry a mobile network as a loss-leader if they choose, but for how long and to what purpose?