Taking a walk with a Google Android prototype
Google's Android platform has emerged as one of the sleeper hits of the GSMA World Congress in Barcelona. Though it exists only in prototype, show attendees are flocking to the Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, and ARM booths were demos are available. The TI booth was was packed to the gills when I passed by, so I headed to the ARM booth instead. There, I got a short demonstration of a prototype. As my colleague Maggie Reardon reports, there's not a lot to say at this point. The welcome screen featured a plain black background with a series of generic icons along the bottom. The icons open features such as the Web browser, calendar, messaging, Gmail access, and Google Maps. The main menu page was also pretty basic. It was just a series of icons on the same black background. Remember, since Android will be a open platform the design will vary by developer. In any case, there's no knowing what it will look like in its final form. I can say that with a 200Mhz processor, the prototype was pretty speedy. Check it out for yourself in our Google Android video.
Kent German is a senior editor for cell phone reviews at CNET. When he's not testing the newest handsets on the market, he's blogging about cell phone news for Crave. In his On Call column, he answers reader questions and gives his take on the rapidly changing mobile industry. E-mail Kent. 
