In an interesting article about Google sending its Nexus S phone to the edge of space, Zi Wang, a product manager for the Nexus S made a side comment that Google is looking to build commodity satellites. Why is Google looking to build satellites? The answer to this question remains unknown.
The comment comes from newscientist.com, and states "Zi Wang, a product manager for the Nexus S, says that while the launch was just for fun, it likely won"t be the last time the technology reaches space. He says Google is in talks with a UK-based satellite manufacturer to build small "commodity" satellites based on the core Nexus S technology." He also states that the technology inside the Nexus S is powerful enough to power such satellites.
What Google is really looking to do with the satellites is really anyone"s guess. Satellites represent an easy way to send information directly to a wide area and cut out all the middlemen which would give Google a direct pipe to its consumer base. But what exactly Google is looking to distribute via the satellites is anyone"s guess, it could be TV signals, even possibly a broadband connection, or how about launching the cloud into space, or maybe it"s just another way for them to update the advertisements on the websites you"re browsing.