Google today took another step in its quest to become the most powerful company in the world as it finally confirmed plans to enter the mobile phone industry.The company is introducing a new mobile system called Android, which it hopes will bring internet access to the masses – and help it sell more advertising.Announcing the news, the Google chief executive, Eric Schmidt, said Android was a toolkit that would encourage people to use the internet on their phones and would bridge the conflict between different incompatible handsets.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/nov/05/google.mobilephonesSorry, no Gphone, just an Open Handset Alliance
… Bottom line: Google is trying to use its market power to get a subsection of the mobile phone industry to line up behind a Google-sponsored Linux-based platform, so they can all produce the same sort of phone only cheaper. Presumably they’ll all be running Google apps, so will these be open source and free as well?
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/11/05/sorry_no_gphone_just_an_open_handset_alliance.htmlRivals dismiss threat of Google mobile platform [Reuters]
Nokia, a noticeable absentee from Google’s mobile platform project, is one of several rivals to shrug off any threat from the web search leader. Rivals of Google cast the web search leader as a late entrant to the cell phone market, saying its planned mobile phone software may boost web use on handsets but without threatening entrenched players.Analysts, however, said Google could have the means to disrupt the status quo in the wireless industry, which is dominated by a handful of large phone makers and regional service providers that often tightly control customer choices.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10474340Google pushes into mobile phones
Google has unveiled software it hopes will power a variety of future mobile phones and boost the web on the move.The software could lead to cheaper phones as it is designed to speed up the process of making mobile services.The firm is working with four mobile manufacturers – Samsung, HTC, Motorola and LG – but a Google branded phone was not announced.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7078921.stm
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22711731-15306,00.htmlGoogle’s Android platform seen as leading to market fragmentation
The announcement of the Android open mobile platform by Google Inc. and dozens of other companies could provoke the kinds of industry battles seen with other Linux-based initiatives, where incumbent, established players fight newcomers.If that is going to play out, though, it wasn’t obvious today. Some of the more established mobile players, including Microsoft Corp., Apple Inc., Verizon Wireless and AT&T Corp., offered low-key reactions to Google’s plans. None of the four companies is a member of the new Open Handset Alliance (OHA), the group of 34 wireless carriers, handset makers and others that have created Android.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9045626
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,139274/article.htmlFAQ: Google’s Android Platform for Mobile Phones
When will you be able to buy a Google phone? We’ll answer your questions about everything surrounding Android, the Google phone, and the Open Handset Alliance in this continually evolving FAQ.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,139293-c,pdacellphonehybrids/article.htmlGoogle’s phone man an Apple ring-in
The Google Phone – which will be made by Google partners and be available by the middle of 2008 – is likely to provide a stark contrast to the approaches of both Apple and Microsoft to the growing market for smart phones.Google announced today that it will give away its software to hand-set makers and then use the Google Phone’s openness as an invitation for software developers and content distributors to design applications for it.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/11/06/1194118003837.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/11/06/1194118003837.htmlMobile Developers Get to Tinker With Google’s Android
Google, in conjunction with 34 technology and mobile industry leaders, is launching an open source platform called “Android” for mobile devices. The platform will be available under a progressive open source license, giving mobile operators and device manufacturers significant freedom to design products, according to Google.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/60161.htmlGoogle’s Dream Phone
Google likes software, particularly the kind that puts ads on Web pages, making Google rich. The realities of a phone business–running a supply chain, keeping inventory and managing distribution–were never something Google wanted from its phone initiative. But it has built about five prototype phones based on the Open Handset Alliance software kit that it has used to demonstrate what an open-source phone could do–and to woo companies to join its team.
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/11/05/gphone-google-phone-tech-cz_qh_1105gphone2.htmlGoogle details highly anticipated ‘Android’ mobile platform
Google’s Android open-development platform for mobile devices could simplify and reduce the cost of developing mobile applications
Google on Monday announced a widely expected open-development platform for mobile devices backed by industry heavyweights like T-Mobile, HTC, Qualcomm, and Motorola that could shake the wireless market to its core by simplifying and reducing the cost of developing mobile applications.The platform, called Android, has been developed by Google and others as part of the Open Handset Alliance, which has over 30 partners supporting it. The goal of this ambitious initiative is to spur innovation in the mobile space and accelerate improvements in how people use the Web via cell phones.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/11/05/Google-details-Android-mobile-platform_1.htmlGoogle’s Android adds to mobile complexity
Search giant’s dominance and reputation will help Android gain a foothold among cell phone OSes in use, but it joins an already crowded list of options
While Google may be pitching its new mobile software platform as a way to unify the mobile market, even members of the new alliance think differently.Google billed the platform as one primarily aimed at making it easier for application developers to write applications that can run on any phone.But handset makers and operators are regarding Android, the new Linux-based mobile phone software announced Monday, as one more of many platforms that they already use.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/11/05/Google-Android-add-mobile-complexity_1.htmlGoogle android steals march on mobile rivals
Google unveiled its long-awaited cell phone strategy yesterday as it sought to transplant the model that shook up the internet to the mobile sector. The plan, to be known as “Android”, involves an international alliance of more than 30 handset makers and communications companies and could prove a disruptive force to the economics of the mobile industry in the long-term, according to analysts.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0e9c2da4-8bbf-11dc-af4d-0000779fd2ac.htmlI, Robot: The Man Behind the Google Phone
A retinal scanner emitting a blue glow monitors the entrance to Andy Rubin’s home in the foothills overlooking Silicon Valley. If the scanner recognizes you, the door unlocks automatically. (The system makes it easier to deal with former girlfriends, Mr. Rubin likes to joke. No messy scenes retrieving keys — it’s just a simple database update.)
http://nytimes.com/2007/11/04/technology/04google.htmlGoogle introduces software for mobile phones
Google took its long-awaited plunge into the wireless world Monday, announcing that it was leading a broad industry alliance to transform mobile phones into powerful mobile computers that could accelerate the convergence of computing and communications.The technology is expected to provide cellphone manufacturers and wireless operators with capabilities that match and potentially surpass those using smartphone software made by Apple, Microsoft, Nokia, Palm, Research In Motion and others. In contrast with that of its competitors, Google’s software will be offered freely under “open source” licensing terms, meaning that cellphone manufacturers will be able to use it at no cost and be free to add new features to differentiate their products.
http://nytimes.com/2007/11/05/technology/05cnd-gphone.html
http://iht.com/articles/2007/11/05/technology/google.php