In particular, our countryis vast, relativelyfrequentgeologicaldisasters and othermeans of communicationcan not be guaranteed, short-wavecommunicationsroleis particularlyimportant.
Privately, senior executives at Facebook worry more about the growth of Android than they do Google's overt social endeavors, like the failed Google Wavecommunications platform or the Twitter-like Google Buzz (which doesn't have much).
Meanwhile it looks like Apple may not include NFC (Near Field Communications) hardware in its next-generation iPhone, which would let consumer wave the phone in front of a device at a retail store to pay for something.