Google introduces Android
December 21st, 2007 | by Jose Miguel Cansado |One month ago, the much expected G-Phone was presented as Android, a SW platform for mobile phones, backed by the Open Handset Alliance. The Alliance includes vendors as Motorola, Samsung, LG and HTC, as well as Operators and software partners.
Although the first commercial handsets will only be available by end 2008, and despite Nokia downplaying Android’s impact, the industry is anxious about what Android can bring.
In the clip below, Sergey Brin and Steve Horowitz discuss the availability of the SDK, planned to be open source. They also demo applications on the Android platform
For more, see the Android Developer Channel in YouTube.
Nokia, the leader in a considered mature handset market, has seen iPhone rapidly occupying the mindset of the consumers as the premium No.1 Mobile Phone. Microsoft Mobile has also been growing market share consistently. With Android open platform, and its similarities to iPhone, I would be really worried in Nokia’s shoes.
No doubt Net-heads and Bell-heads are converging, but Net-heads (Apple, Microsoft and Google) seem to be gaining terrain in a battlefield so far dominated by Bell-Heads (Nokia, Motorola, Ericsson). Mobile Operators, beware of the impact on this new devices in your business - both an opportunity and a threat.
3 Responses to “Google introduces Android”
By Navigator2 on Dec 22, 2007 | Reply
There is always hype about what big players, like these, announce.
iPod was already the fanciest, coolest gadget for portable music and video.
Since long, many predicted, starting by Nokia, Motorola and SonyEricsson, that the media player and mobile handset would converge.
So it is obvious that the media player market leader by far, Apple, would be a serious challenger for the converged phone/mp3 device.
So why Google/Android would have an option?
The answer is Openness. Apple, Microsoft and Nokia enjoy proprietary systems on which to lock customers. If they want to defend their position against Android, they’d better show they are “open”.
By Navigator2 on Dec 25, 2007 | Reply
More on this, on the Cnet review
http://www.news.com/Year-in-review-Apple-and-Google%2C-telecoms-new-stars/2009-1039_3-6223747.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-20&subj=news