Today, With Google, It’s a Phone
Google announced today the Open Handset Alliance, a mobile phone platform that will be Linux and Java based and run apps by Google and whoever wants to make them. They are allied with 34 different partners, including the 332 million subscribers to China Mobile, as well as Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, Motorola, Samsung, and Intel.
Of course, what will set Google’s phone apart from other smart phones is the ability for handset makers to use open source technology and not be bound to any software. The possibilities here are very intriging to the consumer.
This isn’t necessarily what was envisioned by the much-rumored “GPhone.” First of all, it isn’t particularly likely Google’s name will appear anywhere on the phone itself. Andy Rubin, Google’s director of mobile platforms, said, “We are not building a GPhone; we are enabling 1,000 people to build a GPhone.”
According to Rubin, who has dubbed the Google phone system “Android,” this will not be an ad-driven phone, but will run off of a “robust” HTML web browser no different from what one would find on a PC. However, he does admit that this having a highly functional web browser on a handset will do nothing but make it easier for Google to run ads on a mobile platform.
One item of interest is that Google’s chief executive Eric E. Schmidt sits on the board for Apple, and while Google is not putting out a handset competitor to iPhone, they are putting out an open source platform that will compete directly with Apple.
Late 2008 is the tenative release date for the first Android phone. The software development kit will be available on November 12. After that, it’s off to the races.
Tomorrow, Google is expected to announce the G-Toaster, the first entirely “open” toaster. Toast will never be the same.
Technorati Tags: gphone, open handset alliance, android, andy rubin, google
