Google's Android has long road ahead

(continued from previous page)

Part of AT&T's hesitation to commit itself to the Google Alliance at this early stage could stem from its relationship with Apple. AT&T is the exclusive U.S. operator selling and supporting the iPhone. While it's unclear right now how the design and functionality of Android-powered phones will stack up with the iPhone, it's clear that Google's Android software will at the very least offer consumers more choices for surfing the Web on their mobile handsets.

Google executives say they plan to welcome additional companies to the alliance.

"Our goal has been on organizing partners at all parts of the ecosystem," said Rich Miner, who heads up Google's wireless strategy. "We'd be happy to talk to anyone who meets that criterion. I suspect you'll see a lot of handsets based on this platform, and I'm sure they (the carriers) would be attracted by those handsets."

Another major challenge for Google is that it's entering a market already claimed by other companies. Symbian has been doing this kind of work for years and enjoys about 74 percent of the smartphone market, according to Gartner. Symbian's operating system is used on Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones. But the company is not very well known in the U.S., which has lagged the rest of the world in smartphone adoption.

"We think this is a good announcement for the smartphone industry; it shines the spotlight on it in the U.S. in a positive way," said Paul Jarratt, marketing communications manager for Symbian in the United States. "One thing that we'll have to wait and see is what these phones look like; it's not trivial to put a mobile operating system together."

Microsoft has also been a player in this market with Windows Mobile, which currently ranks third in terms of smartphone operating systems behind Symbian and the collective implementations of Linux, according to Gartner. Palm is yet another competitor. The company may have fallen on hard times of late, but its Palm OS Treos are still popular, especially among business users.

Apple has of course made quite a splash this year with the iPhone by pitching a concept similar to Android: a no-compromises computing experience on a mobile phone. Then there is Research in Motion with its line of Blackberry phones, which are often compared to a highly addictive street drug.

The key difference between Google and these other companies is that Google will license Android to anyone who wants it under a very permissive license, allowing phone makers and wireless carriers to modify the software to suit their needs. Microsoft and Symbian license their technology as well, but the terms aren't as open as they will be under the Apache software license, which Google's Schmidt called "one of the most liberal licenses in the world."

It's the openness of this license that could help drive adoption of Google's Android platform.

Today, mobile application developers not only have to write code for several different operating systems, but they must also consider different user interfaces depending on the phone manufacturer and the carrier. The great promise of Android is that it simplifies this for developers. And because the software is open and distributed for free, it should also help reduce costs for cell phone manufacturers that today pay for licenses to use Symbian and Microsoft.

If Google can succeed in making Android compelling to both cell phone users and application developers, the company could be one of three main cell phone platforms on the market.

"The long-term potential impact is to drive the same kind of innovation that we see on the Internet into the mobile environment," said Forrester's Golvin. "But it's a convoluted environment and it will take a long time. In the end, there will likely be three mobile platforms that survive: Symbian, Windows Mobile, and Android."

CNET News.com's Elinor Mills contributed to this report.

[ahickey]

Shake up the market

This could be a good thing.
The iPhone in some ways has shown that the mobile experience can be better, but being one phone from one carrier I expect the big boys aren't that worried.
While, an open platform has the potential to provide more rapid innovation which should encourage Symbian and Microsoft to move more quickly in updating their platforms.
Can only be a good thing for the consumer.

[Sylvie74]

Google Maps on my cell phone ?

... ok but my screen is so small !

Here is an idea to display large pages on such device : <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://venividiwiki.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-to-display-large-pages-on-small.html" target="_newWindow">http://venividiwiki.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-to-display-large-pages-on-small.html</a>

What do you think of it ?

[TBolt]

no thanks

i don't feel like having to move my smartphone left-right-up-down just to view a web page.

[Oh Blah Dee Blah Dah]

FOUR mobile platforms will survive!

RE: " said Forrester's Golvin. "But it's a convoluted environment and
it will take a long time. In the end, there will likely be three mobile
platforms that survive: Symbian, Windows Mobile, and Android.""

Apple's OS X will be one of the predominant mobile operating
systems in use.

[Renegade Knight]

Palm

Palm is also a player and will remain one. Apple needs to open up OS X for 3rd party development and applications or they won't be a player. The news is they will do that, but until they do they are not going to have a shot at dominant. Then again the iPod is about the least capable MP3 player and that dominates so you never know.

[00rb]

It will take off bc its what the consumer want it

Most of the apps provided by the telco's aren't great. They lack intuition and the usablity is horrible. Android will succeed bc consumers WANT it to. They will buy the handsets that run it bc ATT, RIMM, Verizon, Sprint all have lousy software. Android will open up this market and make it a lot more competitive to 3rd party developers. I think Forrester is vastly mistaken. This is going to blow up quickly.

[{DvT}Hex]

Consumers are idiots

Maybe one of the reasons those companies have lousy software is because they have a lousy platform upon which to run it. If I am going to use my cell phone for text messages, I want a full size keyboard. If I'm going to view pictures, a 22" wide screen monitor would be good. If I'm going to listen to music, I really like my 500W amp and tower speakers. If I'm going to surf the net, I still need a full size keyboard and a decent monitor. If I'm going to play video games, I also need a mouse, a quad core CPU, dual video cards, gigabytes of storage and memory. If I'm going to talk on the phone, I want one I cradle on my shoulder and which stays connected throughout the call. Oh wait -- I don't have or need a cell phone because I do all of those things with the proper equipment, in the proper environment, at proper times.

[frankly0]

grating name

Is it just me, but isn't "Android" an absolutely atrocious and grating name for a technology targeted to consumers? It was made of, by, and for geeks.

How unslick can you get? Who could be surprised that Google, one trick pony that it is, couldn't get something like this right?

[thedreaming]

Google phone

So after all this waiting, google wants to create a phone os that's open, so anyone can write apps for it and use them on any phone using their os. In theory, sounds like a great idea but phones aren't like computers and companies like at&#38;t and verizon, which lock their users to their phones and their services, aren't in any hurry to join in on the open software.

[johnqh]

Much hype about nothing?

or is it just me? I have been trying to find how Android works and why it is different from the other offerings, or why other OS couldn't offer the same features, but I couldn't find anything.

A lot of big words and no content.

Anyone want to give some hints?

[john55440]

Yup, hype and vapor

Right now, Android is just hype and vapor - vaporhypeware.

[charles webster baer]

global internet government

.

<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://gigusa.blog.com" target="_newWindow">http://gigusa.blog.com</a>

.

[joeychips]

See the gPhone Bandwagon

This should ultimately be a good thing for phone consumers, especially if it will lower the price of phones and phone bills and move to a more advertising based revenue stream. I think if Verizon or AT&#38;T come on board, the other will follow for fear of being left behind.
See a rare picture of the gPhone in action here
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://joechiappetta.blogspot.com/2007/11/gphone-first-look.html" target="_newWindow">http://joechiappetta.blogspot.com/2007/11/gphone-first-look.html</a>

[Quemannn]

How many mobile platforms will survive

WE still don't know

[Shannon Michael]

Parallel Universe Business Model Concept

This comment consists of excerpts from the N.Y. Times' articles pertaining to Google's Android software and my prediction that Google has a long term business plan of implementing a virtual parallel universe via Android.

Please be informed that after most of the NY Times excerpts, I enclose in ( ) my comments relevant to Google's parallel universe business concept. I also inserted content from a Google patent that supports my prediction.

In my opinion Google?s open source Android software and the mobile phone is the foundation for the evolution of all facets of future lifestyles.

NY Times excerpts &#38; comments:

Google.. announced on Monday that it was leading a broad industry effort to develop new software technologies aimed at turning cellphones into powerful mobile computers.

(going with the trend... mobile phone &#38; Internet access is a must. In addition, The World Information Society Report of May 16, 2007, exclaimed that mobile telephony holds the greatest potential to bridge the digital divide.)

And by giving outside software developers full access to a Google-powered phone?s functions, the alliance members hope for a proliferation of new PC-style programs and services, like social networking and video sharing.

(the development of the facets that makes up the parallel universe dimension.)

"We?re human beings and we communicate, and that?s what the Internet social network phenomenon is all about," said Robert Pepper, a former policy chief at the Federal Communications Commission.

(the Internet social network phenomenon shall develop into the virtual parallel universe dimension.)

The idea is that just as spreadsheets, word processors, video games and other software tools turned the personal computer into an everyday appliance, the emergence of new mobile applications can spur wider adoption of so-called smartphones. More use of the Web, whether on PCs or on phones, benefits Google because its advertising systems have such broad reach.

(motive for Google to create a virtual parallel universe.)

Software developers "will build applications that do amazing things on the Internet and on mobile phones as well," Eric E. Schmidt, Google?s chief executive, said at a news conference.

(reading in between the lines, Schmidt was telling us of the open source development of the virtual parallel universe)

The phone plan mirrors Google?s efforts to give away software and services for PCs and profit through customized advertising.

(Google's revenue stream.)

Mr. Schmidt of Google has said in the past that advertising on mobile phones is likely to eventually bring the cost of making calls to zero.

(which creates an unlimited market to advertise to.)

Google software suggests that phones made using the technology will have features and design similar to the iPhone. Andy Rubin, Google?s director of mobile platforms who led the effort to develop the software, recently demonstrated a hand-held touch-screen device that gave an immersed view of Google Earth, the company?s three-dimensional mapping program.

(expect to see the three-dimensional mapping program develop into the virtual parallel universe scenarios/stage that the parallel universe citizen shall view and live in.)

As an example, Mr. Rubin said the Street View feature of Google Maps could easily be coupled with another service showing the current location of friends.

(the operative word is location or a scenario/stage in the parallel universe.)

Part of Google?s strategy appears to be that the Android software will lead to new kinds of devices that have cellphone and wireless Internet functions, but have shapes and sizes different from today?s cellphones and PCs.

(real life experiences occurring in the virtual parallel universe.)

Intel, an alliance member,... Mr. Schmidt hinted broadly at this when he answered a question on Monday... "It?s important to realize there will be many mobile experiences," he said.

(you can't put a number on life living experiences.)

an alliance of companies led by Google plans to begin introducing a common set of standards to allow software developers to write programs for Google?s social network, Orkut, as well as others, including LinkedIn, hi5, Friendster, Plaxo and Ning.

(dimensions and scenarios we commonly refer to as cities or geographic locales.)

The effort faces several hurdles. Developers may not see the advantage to writing programs that run across such remarkably different networks (diminsions) as, for example, LinkedIn, which caters to business professionals, and hi5, which is popular in Central America.

(to the contrary, developers shall jump at the opportunity to write programs in exchange for revenue-sharing.)

Google's "open source" Android software shall provide users more opportunities to live vicariously through their mobile phones. In tracking the user's online actions, Google provides the 3D persona (avatar) detailed personality characteristics developed from the users real life online living experiences. Second Life's 3D avatar becomes boring and soon to be obsolete. Google is in a position to dominate &#38; manipulate virtual life communities. Why?.... because Google's open application sources and the mobile phone is defining who you are by e-psycho-analyzing your online activities. See language in patents filed by Google... "User dialog (e.g., from role playing games, simulation games, etc) may be used to characterize the user (e.g., literate, profane, blunt or polite, quiet etc). Also, user play may be used to characterize the user (e.g., cautious, risk-taker, aggressive, non-confrontational, stealthy, honest, cooperative, uncooperative, etc)."

Shannon McPherson is a Bryn Mawr College student social activist that is campaigning for the use of ad-supported free mobile phone &#38; Internet services to decrease the digital divide.


excerpts taken from:
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/technology/06google.html?n=Top/News/Business/Companies/Goog" target="_newWindow">http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/technology/06google.html?n=Top/News/Business/Companies/Goog</a>

[ITrogue]

cnet is really bad at market forcasting

just look back at what they said about the iPhone... their article pointed a sound failure from Apple. It's anything but. But hey the reviews of actual products aren't bad.

[jordan357]

Comment

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[amanfromMars]

Yellow Brick Road ahead ....

..... if you have AIMidas Touch and Pleasant Disposition.

"Even if there is a tidal wave of new devices using the Android platform, they will still represent a relatively small portion of the overall market."
--Charles Golvin, analyst with Forrester Research

That is as may be, but with Beta IntelAIgent Design, it would easily capture the all important top end of All markets...... and that is relatively even smaller again and therefore, logically, much easier to Server for/Provision.

After All, what Good is a Search Engine if it cannot Deliver Product for Wealth.

[Cheep_F]

I think that Google should be as marketing oriented wiht <a href="http://www.androidal.pl">Android</a> as Apple with <a href="http://netgenerationblog.com/3g-iphone-opportunities/294/">iPhone</a>.

[Androidal]

Google knows that next stage of the evolution internet is mobile use, so they developed Android, and such app like <a href="http://androidfeeder.com/android-market/">Android Market</a>.

[geo11101]

Eric Schmidt is the biggest Mafia puppet in the US. He is bad news for apple users. http://endmafia.com

[rammiro]

I think &lt;a href="http://android.com.pl" title="android"&gt;Android&lt;/a&gt; will be very popular in my country :)

[rammiro]

I think [url=http://android.com.pl]Android[/url] will be very popular in my country :)