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Android is an open source mobile phone platform based on the Linux operating system and developed by the Open Handset Alliance. The unveiling of the Android platform on 5 November, 2007 was announced with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 34 hardware, software and telecoms companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices.
Of the seamingly few companies not included in yesterday's Android invasion was the world's largest maker of cell phones, Nokia (NYSE: NOK). Yesterday, the company said it didn't think the new open mobile platform from Google (NSDQ: GOOG) was a threat. Today it changed its tune a bit.
Today Nokia clarified the Finland-based cellphone giant's stance on Google's Android. It is now taking a more neutral view of the open platform, and says it won't count out a partnership with Google in the future.
Kari Tutti, spokesman for Nokia's multimedia unit, noted in an interview with Reuters today that, "It's not ruled out at all. If we would see this as beneficial we would think about taking part in it. We should never close any doors."
Information Week wrote:
The doors comment is a funny one. Nokia's new Internet Services division (which Tutti is closely associated with) is called Ovi, which means 'door' in Finnish.
Tangential puns aside, this is hardly a commitment from Nokia to go steady with Google. Android is clearly a platform that will compete with Nokia's Series 40 mobile platform. To what extent Series 40 and Android will really go head to head is yet to be determined. Given each company's size and worldwide penetration, it will be hard for them to avoid confronting one another.
I think a better strategy for both companies will be to work together on certain levels, rather than compete. If Google and Nokia can be open minded about each others' level of openness, there could be some truly useful innovations on the mobile front.
When released in 2008, the Android platform will be made available under the Apache v2 open-source license.
Google has unveiled its phone platform, Android. It's yet another Linux OS, freely licensed, and will appear in devices in the second half of next year. Google has signed up over 30 partners including Qualcomm, Motorola, HTC and operators including Deutsche Telekom for the "Open Handset Alliance".
CEO Eric Schmidt described it as "the first truly open platform for mobile devices." Android, named after the start-up company Google acquired in 2005, encompasses middleware and applications as well as the base kernel. An SDK is promised for download next Monday under an Apache license. However, the ad-supported model will take a while to shake out.
Contrary to a lot of speculation out there, we won't see a completely ad-driven cellphone based on Android for quite some time," said Andy Rubin.
If this all sounds a bit familiar, it's because it is.
Two such alliances appeared in 2005, and two more this year. The LIMO Alliance, backed by NTT DoCoMo, Motorola and Samsung was unveiled in January. ARM announced yet another industry Linux OS coalition just a month ago.
Despite clocking up a healthy air miles account for all involved, real momentum has stalled for Linux on mobile phones: you'll look for a 3G Linux phone in vain, today. Motorola made a strategic bet on open source in 2003 but discovered that integration complexity and costs outweighed the advantages: the company recently returned to Symbian for its smartphones. Nevertheless a wide alliance of industry backers have come to Google's launch.
Currently Symbian dominates the smartphone business. It's painfully built-up almost a decade's worth of integration expertise in giving manufacturers what they want, including a successful Japanese business where carriers dominate. Symbian's chief technical advantage today is the platform's maturity, and more recently, its real-time kernel. This permits manufacturers to build lower-cost single-chip phones, while running their older proprietary baseband stacks as an OS personality.
With Nokia, whose volume drives lower component costs, pushing Symbian into its midrange feature phones, Android faces a stiff challenge competing in this market.
And as we pointed out earlier this today, it isn't clear that failure of rich mobile data services is due to anything on the supply side - people just don't find them very useful.
There's a significant gap, however, for "two box" solutions that only Blackberry and Apple fill today, as phone companions. Rubin said the system requirements supported QWERTY and large screen sizes, and Schmidt hinted at bringing the PC experience to mobile devices.
Android may yet find a niche in which to flourish.
Google rolled out its mobile plans Monday in a group it calls the Open Handset Alliance, an effort that encompasses the search giant’s Android software and a bevy of partners.
Andy Rubin, director of mobile platforms at Google, wrote in a post.
Despite all of the very interesting speculation over the last few months, we’re not announcing a Gphone. However, we think what we are announcing — the Open Handset Alliance and Android — is more significant and ambitious than a single phone. In fact, through the joint efforts of the members of the Open Handset Alliance, we hope Android will be the foundation for many new phones and will create an entirely new mobile experience for users, with new applications and new capabilities we can’t imagine today.
Rubin’s post (Techmeme) covers most of the news that was already leaked. Also see winners and losers in this alliance and the revenue potential. The Android unveiling left more than a few lingering questions. Among them: Where are the big carriers? Is this just a PR move as Om Malik suggests? Can this alliance be managed?
In the meantime here are the key points, conference call highlights and my takeaways:
Android includes an open platform for mobile devices and includes an operating system, user interface and applications. It’s a mobile bundle “without the proprietary obstacles that have hindered mobile innovation,” wrote Rubin.
The company also outlined its key partners in the Open Handset Alliance, which includes 34 companies. However, AT&T and Verizon Wireless aren’t in the alliance. Will this alliance need at least one of the big two domestic carriers?
Android is expected to be platform agnostic. Rubin wrote: “Android will complement, but not replace, our longstanding mobile strategy of developing useful and compelling mobile services and driving adoption of these products through partnerships with handset manufacturers and mobile operators around the world.”
A software developer kit will be available in the next week. Phones will be shipped in the second half of 2008 with Android software. Regarding this kit, the alliance had the following to say in a statement:
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.
Key points the conference call: Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the Open Handset Alliance will be bigger than the Gphone. The goal is cheaper handsets and a better Internet experience.
Ren Obermann, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, parent company of T-Mobile, said the plan is to launch a device based on Android “in the course of 2008.” “We see the opportunity to prevent a better than Internet experience on mobile devices,” said Obermann, who also talked up social networking and Web 2.0 possibilities. He didn’t discuss product plans. You have to wonder if this lineup can succeed with T-Mobile as the sole carrier.
Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corp., said the first Android device will come in late 2008.
Motorola CEO Ed Zander said the alliance is about open software and “seamless connected services.”
Handset makers were asked whether they would continue to use other mobile operating system. Chou said Android is an opportunity to innovate more, but the commitment to other operating systems is the same. Zander said Android is an accelerator for open source development. He added that there is a commitment to other operating systems, but seemed to hint that Motorola was going down the open source path.
Rubin said Google will advertise via a Web browser as it does today in the mobile space. Rubin said you won’t see a completely ad-driven handset “for quite some time.” Android will include a robust Web browser, said Rubin.
Were Nokia, Apple, RIM and Microsoft asked to be in the alliance? Rubin said each company in the alliance contributed something. It’s open to people that want to join and contribute. Reading between the lines it sounds like those aforementioned parties didn’t want to contribute technology.
How will new services be different than current Google offering? Schmidt said the big difference is that Google won’t have to “shoe horn” in an application because there will be a full featured Web browser on the phone in Android.
Is Android a soft phone? Rubin said it’s premature to view Google’s effort as a soft phone. If there were to be a Google Phone, Android will be a fine platform to run it with. Of course, Google isn’t preannouncing anything. Sure sounds like Google isn’t ruling a Gphone out.
Technical specifications due in a week with the SDK. Rubin did acknowledge that Android is Linux based. Schmidt was asked about the iPhone. He said that Android is designed to be used in new ways in the future on devices that haven’t been cooked up. “There will be different mobile experiences,” he said.
How does Android differ from Symbian? Rubin said the big difference is that Android will be open source.
Obermann said it’s far too early to forecast volume for the Android-based devices. Schmidt and Rubin were asked if Android devices could be locked down. Schmidt said it’s possible, but highly unlikely. Ultimately it’s the industry’s choice. Android architecture will run well on all data networks. Google’s interest in the 700 Mhz wireless auction is a separate issue.
The role of carriers and the business model. Google said it wants to partner with handset makers and share in the profits. Obermann said there are additional opportunities for revenue for T-Mobile.
Key points:
Android includes an open platform for mobile devices and includes an operating system, user interface and applications. It’s a mobile bundle “without the proprietary obstacles that have hindered mobile innovation,” wrote Rubin.
The company also outlined its key partners in the Open Handset Alliance, which includes 34 companies. However, AT&T and Verizon Wireless aren’t in the alliance. Will this alliance need at least one of the big two domestic carriers?
Android is expected to be platform agnostic. Rubin wrote: “Android will complement, but not replace, our longstanding mobile strategy of developing useful and compelling mobile services and driving adoption of these products through partnerships with handset manufacturers and mobile operators around the world.”
A software developer kit will be available in the next week. Phones will be shipped in the second half of 2008 with Android software.
Regarding this kit, the alliance had the following to say in a statement:
Quote:
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.
Key points the conference call:
Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the Open Handset Alliance will be bigger than the Gphone. The goal is cheaper handsets and a better Internet experience.
Ren Obermann, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, parent company of T-Mobile, said the plan is to launch a device based on Android “in the course of 2008.” “We see the opportunity to prevent a better than Internet experience on mobile devices,” said Obermann, who also talked up social networking and Web 2.0 possibilities. He didn’t discuss product plans. You have to wonder if this lineup can succeed with T-Mobile as the sole carrier.
Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corp., said the first Android device will come in late 2008.
Motorola CEO Ed Zander said the alliance is about open software and “seamless connected services.”
Handset makers were asked whether they would continue to use other mobile operating system. Chou said Android is an opportunity to innovate more, but the commitment to other operating systems is the same. Zander said Android is an accelerator for open source development. He added that there is a commitment to other operating systems, but seemed to hint that Motorola was going down the open source path.
Rubin said Google will advertise via a Web browser as it does today in the mobile space. Rubin said you won’t see a completely ad-driven handset “for quite some time.” Android will include a robust Web browser, said Rubin.
Were Nokia, Apple, RIM and Microsoft asked to be in the alliance? Rubin said each company in the alliance contributed something. It’s open to people that want to join and contribute. Reading between the lines it sounds like those aforementioned parties didn’t want to contribute technology.
How will new services be different than current Google offering? Schmidt said the big difference is that Google won’t have to “shoe horn” in an application because there will be a full featured Web browser on the phone in Android.
Is Android a soft phone? Rubin said it’s premature to view Google’s effort as a soft phone.
If there were to be a Google Phone, Android will be a fine platform to run it with. Of course, Google isn’t preannouncing anything. Sure sounds like Google isn’t ruling a Gphone out.
Technical specifications due in a week with the SDK. Rubin did acknowledge that Android is Linux based.
Schmidt was asked about the iPhone. He said that Android is designed to be used in new ways in the future on devices that haven’t been cooked up. “There will be different mobile experiences,” he said.
How does Android differ from Symbian? Rubin said the big difference is that Android will be open source.
Obermann said it’s far too early to forecast volume for the Android-based devices.
Schmidt and Rubin were asked if Android devices could be locked down. Schmidt said it’s possible, but highly unlikely. Ultimately it’s the industry’s choice.
Android architecture will run well on all data networks. Google’s interest in the 700 Mhz wireless auction is a separate issue.
The role of carriers and the business model. Google said it wants to partner with handset makers and share in the profits. Obermann said there are additional opportunities for revenue for T-Mobile.
My takeaways:
Android is betting big on its yet-to-be-seen Web browser to be the big difference maker.
The Gphone will happen. Officials danced around the Gphone way too much. Android will be the basis of the Gphone should it launch.
The technical specifications next week will give us a lot more color on this initiative.
The wireless carrier business model isn’t going to go the way of the dinosaur over Android. That said, this alliance would do a lot better with Verizon Wireless on board.
Social media is viewed as a big differentiator with this alliance. Schmidt said OpenSocial will run on Android, but the timing of both announcements was coincidental.
It’s telling that Nokia, Symbian, Apple, RIM and Microsoft aren’t on board. Can this alliance succeed without these folks involved?
In September 2007, InformationWeek covered an Evalueserve study reporting that Google has filed several patent applications in the area of mobile telephony, hinting at the arrival of the gPhone in the (then) near future.[12][13] Some of the notable U.S. patents and patent applications filed by Google in the area of mobile telephony were as follows:[12]
U.S. Patent 6,829,289PDF: Application of a Pseudo-randomly Shuffled Hadamard Function in a Wireless CDMA System
U.S. Patent Application number US20070067329: Overloaded Communication Session
U.S. Patent Application number US20070159522: Image-based Contextual Advertisement Method and Branded Barcodes
U.S. Patent Application number US20060004627: Advertisements for Devices with Call Functionality Such as Mobile Phones
U.S. Patent Application number US20050185060: Image Base Inquiry System for Search Engines for Mobile Telephones with Integrated Cameras
U.S. Patent Application number US20070066364: Customized Data Retrieval Applications for Mobile Devices Providing Interpretation of Markup Language Data
Google applied for a patent for a mobile payment system to complement its plans to launch what was thought to be a Google phone. Known as GPay, it covered a system that would let the user send a text message to Google giving the details of a payment to a specified recipient. GPay would then debit the user's bank account, crediting the money to the payee.
With the release of the SDK, features and specifications for Android are slowly being released.
Handset layouts The platform is adaptable to both larger, VGA devices and more traditional smartphone layouts.
Connectivity Android supports a wide variety of connectivity technologies including Bluetooth, EDGE, 3G, and WiFi.
Messaging Both SMS and MMS are available forms of messaging including threaded text messaging.
Web browser The web browser available in Android is based off of the open-source WebKit application framework.
Java virtual machine Android provides the Dalvik virtual machine, a specialized Java VM implementation designed for mobile device use.
Media support Android will support advance audio/video/still media formats such as MPEG-4, h.264, MP3, and AAC.
Additional hardware support Android is fully capable of utilizing video/still cameras, touchscreens, GPS, compasses, accelerometers, and accelerated 3D graphics.
Google just officially announced the Open Handset Alliance to create an open platform (to be called Android) for a Linux phone that can run mobile Google apps and others. The 34 partners include T-Mobile, Sprint Nextel, NTT Docomo, China Mobile, Telefonica, Telecom Italia, Motorola, Samsung, HTC, Qualcomm, Intel, and Google itself. No mention of Verizon, AT&T, Vodafone, or Nokia (which is pushing its own Ovi development platform). Here is the press release. Writes Andy Rubin, the man behind the Google Phone. :
Quote:
Despite all of the very interesting speculation over the last few months, we’re not announcing a Gphone. However, we think what we are announcing — the Open Handset Alliance and Android — is more significant and ambitious than a single phone. In fact, through the joint efforts of the members of the Open Handset Alliance, we hope Android will be the foundation for many new phones and will create an entirely new mobile experience for users, with new applications and new capabilities we can’t imagine today
Android is the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. It includes an operating system, user-interface and applications — all of the software to run a mobile phone, but without the proprietary obstacles that have hindered mobile innovation.
Reports started trickling out last week that Google is ready to announce its Gphone, or rather Gphones. It is more a reference design, than a single phone. Android-based phones will start to come out on the market in the latter half of 2008 (from HTC at minimum). One mobile startup CEO I know says he was contacted on Friday by Google and given the final go-ahead to port his app onto Android, which his company has not even started to work on yet. The software development kit will be available on November 12. Today’s announcement is just that. There is nothing concrete here in terms of products or services, but going mobile represents a major growth opportunity for Google, which wants to bring the Internet (along with search and contextual ads) to your phone.
John Biggs at CrunchGear is liveblogging the conference call, and he is also streaming the audio
Alliance Press Releases November 12, 2007 Open Handset Alliance Releases Android SDK November 5, 2007 Industry Leaders Announce Open Platform for Mobile Devices http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/ http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/media_room.html
The Open Handset Alliance offers an early look at the Android SDK. Google also announces the Android Developer Challenge to support developers working on Android.
Android™ will deliver a complete set of software for mobile devices: an operating system, middleware and key mobile applications. An early look at the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) is now available.
Last edited by Editorial Team on Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:57 am; edited 5 times in total
Yesterday my colleague, Eric Zeman, chimed in with his thoughts about Google's Android announcement and what it will mean for enterprise IT. In a move to expand the discussion, I sat down earlier today with Maribel Lopez, Vice President and Principal Analyst, Forrester Research, to talk about the impact of Google's mobile initiative on the business mobility market.
More
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/11/what_does_googl_1.html
Google's marketing department no doubt popped the champagne corksfollowing the massive media coverage and largely positive reaction to Android. OK, so it wasn't actually a phone, but who cares?
Slowly, though, criticism is being heard over Google's decision to make Android available under an Apache Software Foundation (ASF) license rather than the preferred GPL.
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The question has to be asked, who - and what - is Android for? Tohelp developers and phone users break the carriers' network lock-in, orto make the lock in more subtle while building a business that swapsyour telco for Google?
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