Google has joined forces with leading mobile technology companies to announce the development of Android, the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. The release of the Android platform was combined with the announcement of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), a consortium of 34 hardware, software and telecoms companies including Google, T-Mobile, HTC, Qualcomm, Motorola and others devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices.
The OHA shares the 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.
Not surprisingly given it’s open nature, Android is a Java/Linux-based smart phone software platform. 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.
The first phones based on Android are expected be available in the second half of 2008.
This is going to create some interesting business opportunities in the mobile phone industry. It’ll reduce the overall cost of producing a smart phone (the OS is typically one of the most, if not most expensive individual components).It should also make it easier to produce mobile phone based applications that will work across a wide range of handsets providing lots of potentially lucrative business opportunities developing mobile software.
Not surprisingly Symbian are trying to talk it down with John Forsyth, vice president of strategy at Symbian telling the BBC:
Search and a mobile phone platform are completely different things.
It’s costly, arduous and at times a deeply unsexy job of supporting customers day by day in launching phones. That’s something there’s very little experience of in Google’s environment.
if you are a serious phone maker and you are asked to bet your handsets on somebody, you would want to bet on someone with a track record of delivery and support.
He also says:
About every three months this year there has been a mobile Linux initiative of some sort launched.
It’s a bit like the common cold. It keeps coming round and then we go back to business.
The only trouble is, this time it’s Google pushing a Linux based phone, not some tiny startup. Google can afford to undertake costly development, much more so that Symbian I expect. Google can also afford to buy the experience it needs, including poaching staff* from both Symbian and Nokia.
As far as backing someone with a track record well someone backed Symbian when they first started and they weren’t as big or as successful as Google.
*There’s definitely a business opportunity there for a keen recruitment consultant/headhunter.
This blog is about business opportunities and ideas that I spot, think of or hear about and think are useful and interesting. It is intended to provide ideas and inspriation for you to help you find the right business idea for you to then grow it into a successful business.
After reading many blogs and watching the video where developers talk about Android’s conception process, I think Android has a great concept. Although a phone means nothing but a phone to me because it’s just not as useful as a computer, I really hope that this new platform makes me change my mind.