Google's long awaited smartphone announcement is Android

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Google's long awaited smartphone announcement is Android

Posted by Alli Flowers on November 6, 2007 12:04 AM

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Google, along with the "Open Handset Alliance," today announced the Android smartphone operating system, an open source platform rolling out on devices during the second half of 2008. Due to substantial industry support, Android poses a major challenge to Microsoft, RIM, Palm and Apple, among other platform developers.

It sounds ominous, yet the Open Handset Alliance is simply a group of 34 technology firms collaborating to accelerate innovation in the smartphone market by providing consumers with a richer, less expensive, and (they claim) better experience.

Some key alliance manufacturers are HTC, Motorola, LG and Samsung. (Palm, Nokia, i-mate, Motorola and RIM are notably absent from the list.) The main US cellular service providers are Sprint and T-Mobile. AT&T and Verizon are not supporting the operating system at this time. (A complete list of Open Handset Alliance partners can be found here.)

This consortium has announced the development of Android, the first complete, open, and free mobile platform. Built on the open Linux Kernel, it utilizes a custom virtual machine that has been designed to optimize memory and hardware resources in a mobile environment.

What is that in plain English? No cell phone limitations. Users won't have to distinguish between native and third party applications. According to Open Handset Alliance Android "breaks down the barriers to building new and innovative applications. For example, a developer can combine information from the web with data on an individual's mobile phone -- such as the user's contacts, calendar, or geographic location -- to provide a more relevant user experience. With Android, a developer could build an application that enables users to view the location of their friends and be alerted when they are in the vicinity giving them a chance to connect."

While the name "Google Phone" has been bandied about, the novelty of Android is not a piece of hardware, but the operating system itself. Almost any phone can be a Google Phone, and with the mobile manufacturers and providers currently partnered in the Open Hand Alliance, you could very well have several makes and models of Google Phone to choose from.

An early look at the Android SDK will be released on November 12th. The Open Handset Alliance is encouraging developers to view Android as a "living" project and submit feedback to help the alliance enrich the platform.

What will the operating system look like? How "usable" will it be? Who will win the platform race? We have absolutely no idea - but it will be fun to find out.

Press Release

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.; BONN, Germany; TAOYUAN, Taiwan; SAN DIEGO, Calif.; SCHAUMBERG, Ill., November 5, 2007 -- A broad alliance of leading technology and wireless companies today joined forces to announce the development of Android, the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. Google Inc., T-Mobile, HTC, Qualcomm, Motorola and others have collaborated on the development of Android through the Open Handset Alliance, a multinational alliance of technology and mobile industry leaders.

This alliance shares a common goal of fostering innovation on mobile devices and giving consumers a far better user experience than much of what is available on today's mobile platforms. By providing developers a new level of openness that enables them to work more collaboratively, Android will accelerate the pace at which new and compelling mobile services are made available to consumers.

With nearly 3 billion users worldwide, the mobile phone has become the most personal and ubiquitous communications device. However, the lack of a collaborative effort has made it a challenge for developers, wireless operators and handset manufacturers to respond as quickly as possible to the ever-changing needs of savvy mobile consumers. Through Android, developers, wireless operators and handset manufacturers will be better positioned to bring to market innovative new products faster and at a much lower cost. The end result will be an unprecedented mobile platform that will enable wireless operators and manufacturers to give their customers better, more personal and more flexible mobile experiences.

Thirty-four companies have formed the Open Handset Alliance, which aims to develop technologies that will significantly lower the cost of developing and distributing mobile devices and services. The Android platform is the first step in this direction -- a fully integrated mobile "software stack" that consists of an operating system, middleware, user-friendly interface and applications. Consumers should expect the first phones based on Android to be available in the second half of 2008.

The Android platform will be made available under one of the most progressive, developer-friendly open-source licenses, which gives mobile operators and device manufacturers significant freedom and flexibility to design products. Next week the Alliance will release an early access software development kit to provide developers with the tools necessary to create innovative and compelling applications for the platform.

Android holds the promise of unprecedented benefits for consumers, developers and manufacturers of mobile services and devices. Handset manufacturers and wireless operators will be free to customize Android in order to bring to market innovative new products faster and at a much lower cost. Developers will have complete access to handset capabilities and tools that will enable them to build more compelling and user-friendly services, bringing the Internet developer model to the mobile space. And consumers worldwide will have access to less expensive mobile devices that feature more compelling services, rich Internet applications and easier-to-use interfaces -- ultimately creating a superior mobile experience.

Open Software, Open Device, Open Ecosystem
"This partnership will help unleash the potential of mobile technology for billions of users around the world. A fresh approach to fostering innovation in the mobile industry will help shape a new computing environment that will change the way people access and share information in the future," said Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt. "Today's announcement is more ambitious than any single 'Google Phone' that the press has been speculating about over the past few weeks. Our vision is that the powerful platform we're unveiling will power thousands of different phone models."

"As a founding member of the Open Handset Alliance, T-Mobile is committed to innovation and fostering an open platform for wireless services to meet the rapidly evolving and emerging needs of wireless customers," said René Obermann, Chief Executive Officer, Deutsche Telekom, parent company of T-Mobile. "Google has been an established partner for T-Mobile's groundbreaking approach to bring the mobile open Internet to the mass market. We see the Android platform as an exciting opportunity to launch robust wireless Internet and Web 2.0 services for T-Mobile customers in the US and Europe in 2008."

"HTC's trademark on the mobile industry has been its ability to drive cutting-edge innovation into a wide variety of mobile devices to create the perfect match for individuals," said Peter Chou, Chief Executive Officer, HTC Corp. "Our participation in the Open Handset Alliance and integration of the Android platform in the second half of 2008 enables us to expand our device portfolio into a new category of connected mobile phones that will change the complexion of the mobile industry and re-create user expectations of the mobile phone experience."

"The convergence of the wireless and Internet industries is creating new partnerships, evolving business models and driving innovation," said Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer of Qualcomm. "We are extremely pleased to be participating in the Open Handset Alliance, whose mission is to help build the leading open-source application platform for 3G networks. The proliferation of open-standards-based handsets will provide an exciting new opportunity to create compelling services and devices. As a result, we are committing research and development resources to enable the Android platform and to create the best always-connected consumer experience on our chipsets."

"Motorola has long been an advocate of open software for mobile platforms. Today, we're excited to continue this support by joining Google and others in the announcement of the Open Handset Alliance and Android platform. Motorola plans to leverage the Android platform to enable seamless, connected services and rich consumer experiences in future Motorola products," said Ed Zander, Chairman and CEO of Motorola, Inc.

Open Handset Alliance

List of Open Handset Alliance partners

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Pick-up line contest - Apr 04, 2008

Comments

November 6, 2007 04:03 AM {#}

TopTenTodd says:

Not to mention it will be out before POS II.
Not a good thing for Palm.

November 6, 2007 04:02 PM {#}

gtoal says:

It's interesting that there's a second Open Source smartphone project out there - OpenMoko. I wonder if the two will hook up?

http://www.openmoko.com/

(Open Moko is a project organised by Taiwanese PDA manufacturer First International Computer, Inc, to use the open source community to develop software primarily for their own platform)

November 6, 2007 07:02 PM {#}

faheyd says:

Actually, I'll have nothing to do with this. OpenMoko ( http://www.openmoko.org/ ) is all that is needed. Sure, we different flavors of linux, but this project is very complicated and only needs ONE source to focus the efforts. They should have JOINED Openmoko, not waste efforts by division. This is a BS effort by google/corporate entities to try and usurp The Open Moko project.
Plain and simple, there is no other answer. How can a group of engineers sit around and think, "Hey, there is already a open phone project called Open Moko, let's really screw things up by making another open phone project."

November 6, 2007 07:32 PM {#}

Imsai says:

It is possible that they have already researched other related projects and the possible collaborations, partnerships, profit margins, IP control, legal ramifications, and various considerations that are beyond the desires of we mere mortals to have a working product in our hot little hands, right this instant.

November 6, 2007 07:53 PM {#}

RedSox says:

We'd...or palm...had better get this working on treos!

November 8, 2007 06:10 AM {#}

SoTacMatt says:

I tried that Linux on my older 650. Runs beautifully!!

November 9, 2007 10:34 PM {#}

QsterX says:

Not the point out a flaw in the article...

"Some key alliance manufacturers are HTC, Motorola, LG and Samsung. (Palm, Nokia, i-mate, Motorola and RIM are notably absent from the list.)"

...as I have also checked the official site/list, Motorola is actually involved (which makes sense given their previous symbian dabblings), not quite sure why the article literally states that Motorola is both included and not included in one statement.

Should be interesting to see how this develops over the next while, as Windows Mobile spreads like a virus into a ridiculuous number of devices, though to be fair I myself use a Glofiish X500+, and a Palm Treo 680, been drooling over the now available in my area Treo 750. It doesn't compete with OpenMoko, but it would be nice to see some collaborative efforts with a somewhat exclusive but already in place community.

November 15, 2007 12:31 AM {#}

dgarts says:

I'm not sure I "get it."

I mean, yes, I can easily understand that Google is far too ambitious to be a passenger when so much of what it does is drive content. It does make sense, for them, to pursue the first right for "screen top" ownership, and a more seamless integration from web to phone.

But, gosh, isn't this space getting crowded?

- will iPhone bone up its 3rd party support and be a true PDA rather than an extension of iPod entertainment platform?

- will PocketPC continue to grow?

- will Palm wake up and get back into the competitive fray with a new kernel based on Linux?

- will RIM continue to develop the 3rd party environment to provide increasing variety for its users?

- will a gPhone tied to Google be able to penetrate the market and gain significant share?

At the end of the day, the principle reason I chose Palm was the ability to customize my PDA with the widest variety of 3rd party support.

To date, that hasn't changed...but, if it is changing and all these competitors make it possible for me to get basically anything I want for my PDA, then the choice will be remarkable, and if competition brings prices down, all the better.