Google's Android: It's not just for phones
The first phone using Google's Android operating system will debut Tuesday, a model from T-Mobile, and more are set come. But some Android partners say the software will use more broadly than just phones.
"We're starting to see Android get designed in on devices that extend way beyond the phone--things that might go in the automobile or things that might go in the home," said John Bruggeman, chief marketing officer at Wind River Systems, a Google ally that helps phone makers build and customize Android for their phone hardware.
It's not clear yet whether Google shares this broader Android ambition--the emphasis today is for mobile phones--but extending into new areas could increase both the prominence and competitive threat of the project. However, projects that spread wider also can be stretched thinner, and advantages such as broader developer interest could be offset by incompatibilities other drawbacks.
Bruggeman declined to share specifics about which Internet-connected devices might employ the operating system, but he did mention TVs and set-top boxes as well as cars. And he was confident some will arrive next year.
"I don't want to pre-announce any design wins," he said. "I think you'll see them in 2009. I would be shocked if you didn't."
Google didn't immediately responds to a request for comment.
Of course, Android is mostly open-source software, so there's nothing stopping people from doing anything they want with it. But Wind River is a notable member of the 34-company Open Handset Alliance that Google gathered to build, support, and use Android.
Wind River has years of experience with so-called embedded operating systems, starting with its own VxWorks and eventually extending to include Linux, which underlies Android. It's also got a lot of customers, and to beef up its Android support services, Wind River acquired mobile Linux firm Mizi Research in August for a price it said could reach $16 million.
The Android business "was significant enough for us that we acquired a company so we had additional resources," Bruggeman said. Mizi is based in Korea, as are LG Electronics and Samsung, two notable phone makers in the Open Handset Alliance.
Much depends on how Google sees the effort. It's got a lot of engineering resources, of course, but perhaps more important, it has a powerful brand, some pull with the programmers it's enlisting to write Android applications, and a strong will to spread Internet access far and wide.
But embedded computing is a tough nut to crack. Wind River, along with
Google has come up with a prominent brand and strong developer program for Android, which brings compatibility issues to the fore. With a brand comes an implicit promise that everything sporting the brand works well together. The broader the Android brand spreads, the more complicated it gets. For example, what if a programmer wants to take advantage of the considerable computing horsepower in an Intel mobile Internet device (MID) for a game--would that work on an comparatively feeble feature phone with a smaller screen, no keyboard, a low-capacity battery, and inferior graphics?
One convenient element Android brings to the compatibility challenge is that software doesn't run on the Linux component of the operating system. Instead, it runs on a Java layer from Google called Dalvik. That means programmers writing applications for Android need not concern themselves with the underlying hardware, such as whether a device is running an ARM-based processor or an x86.
Here again, though, there are some compatibility issues. Sun Microsystems' Java, already used widely in mobile phones, is a slightly different foundation. Software may transfer more easily from one domain to another, but there won't be any guarantees of compatibility.
One of the big elements of the Android sales pitch is openness, though, and that could have appeal in other markets.
Perhaps a developer might want to sell an application that shows nearby Flickr's geotagged photos on in-dash navigation device without having to obtain General Motors' permission first. Perhaps a user might want to download a TV game from Google's Android Market without requiring clearance from Sony.
And of course, people might want to use Google to perform an online search. Which is why Yahoo, Microsoft, and Nokia probably shouldn't be too complacent about the possibility of Android might spread beyond phones.
Stephen Shankland writes about a wide range of technology and products, but has a particular focus on browsers and digital photography. He joined CNET News in 1998 and since then also has covered Google, Yahoo, servers, supercomputing, Linux and open-source software, and science. E-mail Stephen, or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/stshank.
I love Google products, but couldn't they make them a little bit more appealing?
Like Flickr and Picasa. Everybody uses Flickr while few use Picasa.
Google needs to get the nerd look out, and bring in some fun.
Onto Android:
Yay?
Good or bad? Bit of both, as the no-frills approach has worked wonders for Google and I can't see them abandoning it, as while people appreciate smooth style, there are many areas of their life where they can't see the point in paying for it.
Microsoft, are you watching? Like I predicted in another post, Google and Android are best positioned to knock Ma-Microsoft out of the OS monopoly. When that happens, lets hope Google stays creative and doesn't morph into the new bully on the block. ????
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Microsoft has nothing to fear from this boring phone by Google which is distributed by second-rate T-mobile.
Microsoft remains dominant in the marketplace because they deliver products that people want, not because they have some imagined "monopoly."
if your interested in a follow up story to your earlier story on zzzphone in new york times please read this; you can call me at xxxxxxxxxx for more details T-mobile. also we have the names of 3 MIT students who have been working summers for google android. they have been offered full time after post grad from MIT. the MIT android team were awarded $350,000 in the contest while our 4 submissions were thrown out. we have since applied for china and USA patents on our 4 software/hardware apps.
further we have been bad mouthed on the official google android blog , saying we are not recognized by google. while the android system is revolutionary and complements our revolutionary process of custom making each cell phone to each customers requirement,(including free uploading 3 android softwares of customers choice),it is anything except "open source"
as david killed goliath, we are beating google to worldwide markets (except we lose the first battle by 1 month in USA). and with a far superior, unlocked(really open sourced), 2 sim card phone. at less than half the true google phone price($179 plus $840 in extra t-mobile charges over 2 years) price.
to my knowledge only google and zzzphone are taking orders as of now.
our engineering team has 22 Chinese in shenzhen as opposed to the 1000s working in the "alliance" you can see the press release (attachment) and our phone at www.zzzphone.com beta
larry horowitz, president
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by AndroidMobileRevolution
October 22, 2008 8:36 PM PDT
- Google revolutionized and democratized information by becoming THE portal that allows users to find and connect to the websites that they need. Google would not be Google if it restricted our access to only certain websites with specific products and services. Yet, in today's mobile landscape of fragmented and incomplete cell phone products, application services, and communication servers, this is exactly what is happening.
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(11 Comments)We at TeleSynergy believes that Google, with its GrandCentral and Android play, is uniquely positioned to revolutionize the mobile communication industry with built-in VoIP infrastructure and servers (at home, in the office, and in the cloud) that make Android as the end device and GrandCentral as the portal that allow consumers to freely choose which services and servers they want in their life. When the end users can access a wide range of open source products (mobile phones offered by chip set vendors which leverages the great R&D effort Android has already invested,) open source services (applications built onto Android's platform, fully integrated and working flawlessly with the services from mobile phone operators in the cloud or service rendering servers at home and in the office,) and open source service rendering severs (small home server, the modern-day answering machine, and office phone system that take the place of the expensive ?Class 5? switch of the Phone Companies,) then Android's smart phone will truly be THE phone that we all must have.
For a simple analogy, let's say that the mobile phone is the iPOD, the services are like the iTunes', and the servers are like the PCs.
In real life, we choose our iPOD (our cell phone) because it allows us to easily access the iTunes (the service that connects iPOD to a wide variety of content) that we enjoy. The iPOD would be useless without music, movies, pictures, and other applications to use it with! We also love iTunes because it sits easily on our own PC (server) so we have a full control of when and how we connect with the iTunes (services).
However, in the current mobile landscape, the iTunes (services) sits on old traditional mainframes (servers) that only the big companies can build and own. There is only one supplier of the service, and there is no server (PC) that you can easily work with. Can you imagine how annoying it would be if you had to take your iPOD to the mall and wait in line with thousands of other people while they downloaded a limited music selection from a restricted iTunes? (Of course, today?s iTune is not open enough, but that is another story?)
Yet, that is exactly what our mobile phone system is like. We are under the control of the big servers that control the end-services we access. Thus, the innovations in the services are also slowed down because it is difficult for the server to create different services to serve all the unique customer demands. So we are still forced to choose from pre-made packages that never quite meet our needs.
But, just like personal computer became smaller, cheaper, and even better than the best of the old, large, and expensive main-frames, so too have home and office phone servers become more affordable, scalable, and customizable than traditional large servers that sits in telecommunications' companies' infrastructure. The time has come for all people to have a home and office server that they can control with rich features such as one number follow me, advance voicemail, and other applications that are still not available on services from the dominant player of the mobile services.
When people have this home and office server, they need a phone with built-in VoIP SIP standards and well architect application program interface that can connect with their service rendering servers. People make the majority of their mobile phone calls at home and at office, so it only makes sense to use the VoIP phone to replace our current, outdated analog phone systems and cordless phones that sits our own home or office. What this means is that people can have only one phone that they can use for any situation, anytime, anywhere, and with anyone. They will save thousands in their phone bills by using VoIP for phone communications at home and at office. With functionalities like One Phone, Many Numbers and ReachMe Control, they can easily control which calls reach them while in the office, out of town, in the car or at home. They can even block numbers. They can also route incoming calls to a series of phone numbers and devices, ensuring they get the message no matter where they are.
We wrote a little article called The Missing Pieces in Android's Mobile Revolution Play: Service Rendering Servers, VoIP, and Chip Set Vendors.
We would love to hear your thoughts on our suggestions.
http://androidmobilerevolution.blogspot.com/