Panasonic to embrace open-source smartphones
(Credit:
Android)
Despite an overwhelming wealth of confidence from Google's Android team, smartphones and other devices running the open-source operating system remain few and far between. As Crave's Kent German wrote earlier this week, 2009 was supposed to be the "year of Android" and five months into the year, not a single new Android device has landed in the United States.
But it looks like Panasonic is getting closer to taking the plunge into non-Japanese markets as the company launches the HT-03a, its first Android-based device for NTT Docomo this summer in Japan.
Speaking at a press conference in Japan, Keisuke Ishii, board member and director of the Mobile Terminal Business Unit at Panasonic Mobile Communications, said the company is "seriously considering developing an Android-based handset and entering overseas mobile phone markets in fiscal 2010."
"The global market for smartphones based on open-source platforms including Android will reach 100 million units in three years," Ishii said. "We are discussing specific measures to succeed in such a large market."
It is good to see big vendors like Panasonic embrace open source, but I wonder how much, if anything they'll give back to the Android development community. I also wonder what changes are taking place in Android that will make it so much easier for companies to bring new products to market much faster. A hundred million is a big number and Android hasn't yet proven its mettle.
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Dave Rosenberg dishes up "Software, Interrupted" with nearly 15 years of technology and marketing experience that spans from Bell Labs to multiple start-up IPOs to open-source enterprise software companies. He is co-founder of MuleSource and currently serves as the general manager of Hardy Way. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can contact Dave via e-mail at softwareinterrupted@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @daveofdoom. 
1. It is a small, fast, secure, portable, stable and license-free platform.
2. It can be scaled up, for very powerful devices (smartphones, MIDs, netbooks, ...) or scaled down, for very low cost devices (feature phones, photo frames, appliances, ...).
3. It is community developed, so there is no need to wait for a single company to decide if/when they will deliver something.
4. It provides an application delivery platform, for value-added applications/services (free or revenue generating).
5. It is open source, so it can be custom tailored by device vendors for their desired user experience, without losing app compatibility.
6. It allows vendors to focus on devices/applications/services (REAL revenue), rather than proprietary OS development & support.
Moblin netbook beta (intel atom) is TRULY open source, from the bios, to the drivers, and all the software, and doesn't force you to use google anything. It requires an intel atom cpu and embedded intel graphics. It was not designed for cell phone use, but in my opinion, stands to be OH SO MUCH more powerful than a few lines of google code on some overpriced underpowered java based BS.
Again, google does not work for free and every device that uses their proprietary code will have some scheme wherein google gets a cut. That's open source? I think not. It just a cheap-ass marketing scheme to put $ in google's pocket and at the same time get everyone on google's page. NO THANKS
- by Mobikyo May 24, 2009 8:38 PM PDT
- Hi David:
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
(4 Comments)Your article states: "...Panasonic is getting closer to taking the plunge into non-Japanese markets as the company launches the HT-03a, its first Android-based device for NTT Docomo this summer in Japan."
However, the HT-03a model - aka Magic - is produced by HTC:
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/foma/pro/ht03a/index.html
Just thought there might be some 'confusion' there..?!?
Cheers,
Lars