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Nov. 6, 2007

More than 30 different companies are busy working on the new OHA (the Open Handset Alliance).

Now Google wants everybody to know that it already has started developing its Android mobile platform and intends to work closely with all 30 companies.

Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt said that if there were a Gphone, Android would be the platform of choice.

Android will be available for developers via an SDK (software development kit) around Nov. 15. Google will offer it as an open, Linux-based platform for developers to create innovative mobile applications.

Google's new Android mobile platform is the first open and comprehensive development system today, according to the company.

For many years now, Motorola has been a vocal supporter of Linux. Its CEO Ed Zander said during a conference call yesterday with OHA founders and media that he views the Android initiative as an accelerator to those initiatives.

When asked if the likes of Nokia, Microsoft, Apple and Research In Motion (RIM) were invited to join the alliance, Google Director of Mobile Platforms Andy Rubin said the OHA remains open for anyone who wants to join.

The new alliance represents various parts of the mobile industry, from semiconductors to OEMs and wireless carriers.

When asked what Android would mean for the average mobile consumer, Schmidt said it is fundamentally a developer platform, but it will result in a new mobile experience for end-users, who will be able to do amazing things with their mobile devices that they had not envisioned before.

The OHA website does offer a video asking children what they'd like to do if they had a "magic" cell phone.

Mobile handsets with Android are expected to be available in the second half of next year.

The difference between Android and existing mobile platforms is that it will include a full-powered browser, so the Internet experience on the phone will resemble the PC experience more than ever, according to Google.

Every application that runs well in a future Internet environment should run well on Android.

The LiMo (Linux Mobile) Foundation released a statement saying it welcomes Google's mobile initiative, further validating mobile Linux.

Initially, LiMo was created by the mobile industry to deliver an open, Linux-based middleware platform for use by the whole industry and speed up the creation of next-generation user experiences.

It launched early this year with the backing of several big members, including Motorola, Samsung Electronics and Vodafone.

Among participants in today's call announcing OHA were René Obermann, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, parent company of T-Mobile. There were also Peter Chou, CEO of HTC, and Paul Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm.

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Source: Information Week