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Google is re-imagining the mobile phone as vehicle for superior internet applications that can rival the experience of internet users on personal computers. After months of waiting, Google has finally announced plans to release software - free software - for mobile handsets in the latter half of 2008 through the Open Handset Alliance, a multinational alliance of technology and mobile industry leaders. Having partnered with 33 handset manufacturers, wireless networks, and other heavy hitters, Android, as the platform is called, will make web-enabled cell phones available to a larger market at smaller prices. While some may be disappointed that Google did not unveil a proprietary handset, the emergence of Android is likely to encourage carriers to open up their devices to more third-party applications and web capabilities.

Android reportedly includes an operating system, a user interface, and a web browser. It follows a sort of open source model, allowing programmers to adapt and write new applications that can run on any phone. Carriers would be able to decide how much or how little of Google’s influence they add to their handsets: they could use Android as a base platform for new applications, or they could offer Gmail, Google Maps, and Google search capabilities for cross-branding. While Android itself is not a revenue source for Google, they are hoping to forge new relationships by which to sell ads on cell phones, which has always been the core of their business. They have even mentioned the possibility of splitting ad revenue with cell carriers, which would reduce the cost of services for users.

The platform has failed to impress a few of the major players in the market though, including Verizon, AT&T, and Vodaphone. They have voiced concern about privacy issues and some speculate that they are waiting to sign on to Android to be sure sensitive user information doesn’t fall into the hands of nefarious third-party software developers. Android is set up to give software developers access to information that they did not previously have, like a user’s location, communication’s history, contact list, and whether their phone is on or off. Google’s release has also failed to impress Nokia, the world’s largest cell phone maker, who has been using an open source approach with its web-enabled phones already. Nokia has relied on Symbian operating system and already have a large group of independent developers creating applications for their platform.

T-Mobile, on the other hand, has embraced Google’s platform, and they plan to release a phone next year which will be the first Android-based phone on the market. They are associating with Google because it’s a brand customers trust to deliver the best in web technology. René Obermann, Chief Executive Officer, Deutsche Telekom, parent company of T-Mobile said, “Google has been an established partner for T-Mobile’s groundbreaking approach to bring the mobile open Internet to the mass market.” (T-Mobile Press Release). T-Mobile must differentiate themselves from the other wireless networks, which experience a flurry of mergers that now dwarfs them in size. Carriers like AT&T and Verizon now offer packages bundling various telecom services, and T-Mobile is doing its best to compete by being an “early adopter” of Google’s platform. They got a head start by associating with Andy Rubin, who developed the Sidekick phone, and who is now the head of Google’s Android project. T-Mobile has taken an active role to address the privacy concerns of the other carriers by promising to screen third-party applications.

The trend in general is one of customization, and users of all ages now expect to have personalized content wherever they go. The Android platform would enable tiny applications like widgets to become a part of your phone’s “desktop”, providing you with current weather info, reviews of nearby restaurants, cinema show times, multiplayer mobile games (already available in Europe), or instant photo sharing with your contact list. Google’s technology will loosen the reigns that carrier’s currently have over cell phone content, and it will allow more than one application to run at a time. The open source model will allow individual programmers to offer ad-ons that you can download, similar to the applications users can add to their Facebook or MySpace profiles. This constitutes a change of policy for Google, which has not previously released source code for its applications, though they have written academic papers describing portions of their technology. Mobile video and music companies are among those celebrating this change, since an open source platform will make it easier to create file-sharing features.

While Google is not the first company to create an open platform (Microsoft, Apple, and Research in Motion all work with third-party developers for cell phone software), the move is likely to spur a change in how we daily use web-enabled phones. By sharing the code for a platform, private developers will be able to provide applications that work universally on different models of hand-held devices. This type of technology is a more logical step for Google than entering the hardware industry with their own mobile device, á la iPhone. Though rumors are still churning about a potential “GPhone”, this platform essentially turns any phone into a Google-branded device. Android will likely bring a universal “language” to the world of web-enabled phone applications, and users will be the big winners.

Wednesday, November 28th, 2007 Both comments and pings are currently closed.

By Haley January Eckels