Can The iPhone Survive Google’s Android?
11.05.07 - 01:25pm
Google has announced that it is entering the cell-phone world, not with a phone but with a software platform that will run on as many phones as possible. The platform is named Android.
Andriod will be the first ever “open” mobile phone platform, created to make the internet more accessible to subscribers on the move. “Our vision is that the powerful platform we are unveiling will power thousands of different phone models, ” said Eric Schmidt, Googles chairman and CEO.
So far there are 34 mobile phone companies who have signed on to to the Google alliance called the “Open Handset Alliance”. Unlike Apple’s closed iPhone the Google based phones will be specifically for open sources and open technology with the Android program based on the open-sourced Linux. “This partnership will help unleash the potential of mobile technology for billions of users around the world,” said Schmidt.
Google is hoping to give second-tier players the chance to compete with the mega players such as Nokia, Apple, and T-Mobile by creating a cheaper way for the phones to be devised and created. That way will be through open sourced phones that will run Android and also the Google calendar, address book, maps, and e-mail. The phones will even have access to Google’s online payments system, which can be used to buy things via phones all accessible Google and their partner.
Everything will be available to every Alliance member allowing others to use and view already made video applications, speech recognition and even the know how on parts such as semiconductor drivers. This plus the use of Android as a commonly shared software platform should create huge saving compared to higher functioning models such as the iPhone. “We want there to be thousands of types of phones, not just a Google phone,” says Andy Rubin, who has run the Android project since its inception. “The idea is to build a common phone platform that nobody owns–it’s never been done before–and let people build on it from there.
Google will then of course make money the way it always does, through adverts placed on the phones. “It’s like a toolbox,” said Rubin. “Everything we do here gets mashed up inside Google, so we keep innovating and creating new outlets for our ads.”
Speak Your Peace