Android Based Phones
From LoveToKnow Cellphones
We could be in for quite the revolution in the mobile phone industry, because the Android-based phones are on their way. What's all this talk about Android? It could very well be the most powerful smartphone operating system developed to date.
What is Android?
While its name may make you think of a Will Smith science-fiction movie, Android actually has nothing (directly) to do with the movie industry. Instead, Android is an operating system for smartphones, much like some of its contemporaries.
Chances are that you are already familiar with BlackBerry phones, for example, that are powered by the BlackBerry OS. The same can probably be said about a number of other popular platforms, including Microsoft Windows Mobile, Palm Garnet OS (on the Palm Centro), Symbian OS (found on a number of Nokia smartphones, and Linux.
Android-based phones will be running on Google's new operating system, but Google is not the only company involved. Google Android comes from a consortium of companies who are collectively called the Open Handset Alliance. As its name implies, this alliance is working to provide an "open" platform for smartphones. This means that not only can official developers build and expand upon Google Android, but also smaller "amateur" developers. This is similar in some ways to the iPhone App Store, except developers will be able to work with the very operating system and not just with creating new applications and games.
Some are saying that Google Android and Android-based phones are pointing toward the future of cellular phones largely because of this "open" strategy. This also means that Android may or may not be one unified operating system, much like the different builds of Linux out there.
As it stands, the current build of Google Android has a fair bit of Google integration, including direct access to Google Maps (using GPS on a cell phone), Gmail, Google Calendar, and other similar services.
What are the First Android-Based Phones?
Ushering in this new era of Android-based phones is the T-Mobile G1, which will be made available exclusively through T-Mobile.
This smartphone has a similar slider form factor as the Sidekick devices that are also available through T-Mobile. There is a large display that slides sideways, revealing a full QWERTY keyboard that is excellent for text messages and other similar tasks. Other features include a high-resolution camera, touchscreen display, and integrated music player.
The T-Mobile G1 is actually the HTC Dream G1, but it has been branded specifically to work with the T-Mobile network and its portfolio of services.
In the future, other carriers will have Google Android phones as well. It has not been confirmed as of the writing of this article (October 2008), but it is said that Sprint and possibly Verizon may also be in line to get an Android phone as well. More likely than not, these Android-based phones will be different than the T-Mobile G1. Looking internationally, NTT DoCoMo of Japan and China Mobile of China have also expressed interest in launching Android phones. They will likely launch these handsets in 2009.
Who's Making Phones with Google Android?
The Open Handset Alliance is comprised of several companies that are related to the cellular phone industry. These include mobile operators like KDDI Corporation (Japan) and Telecom Italia (Italy), as well as other kinds of companies like Audience (voice processors), Intel, NVIDIA (graphics processors), eBay, and Esmertec (multimedia solutions).
Also among this alliance, at this time, are four handset manufacturers. In addition to HTC, which manufactures the T-Mobile G1 mentioned above, the three other handset manufacturers who are members of the OHA are LG Electronics, Motorola, and Samsung Electronics.
In this way, it is fully expected that Motorola, LG, and Samsung will all produce Android-based phones at some point in the future. There are also rumors that Nokia wants to make Android phones as well, but this has not been confirmed (nor denied) in any shape or form.
For now, it appears that these Android smartphones will be largely catering to the consumer market in the same way that the Apple iPhone 3G largely approaches the consumer market. For Google Android to attack the corporate market -- currently dominated by Windows Mobile and BlackBerry -- it will need to add better corporate support, such as support for Microsoft Exchange for corporate e-mail accounts.
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This page has been accessed 647 times. This page was last modified 16:17, 15 October 2008.
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