There have been rumors about a supposed GPhone for quite some time now. People expected the phone to compete with Apple’s iPhone, but little did we know Google was doing something a bit different than we anticipated.
Instead of working on a single device that would run a mobile Google OS they have actually announced a more standalone mobile operating system. The free Linux-based OS is called Android, and it is available under a mobile open source license. They’ve partnered with 34 companies including Sprint, HTC, LG, T-Mobile, Motorola, Nvidia, and eBay to get the Android-powered devices in the hands of consumers by the latter half of 2008.
So why is Google making the announcement already? Next week they plan on releasing a Software Development Kit (SDK) to programmers so that they can already begin creating apps for the new OS. This is a very smart move by Google because there will already be some sweet apps by the time devices begin shipping with Android.
This is a pretty big step in mobile computing. Since the operating system will be offered at no cost we might even see a substantial drop in phone prices. One of the most appealing things, however, is that if Android takes off there will probably be a significant amount of applications being made for it.
Kudos once again to Google who have been contributing a lot to the open source community lately! I can’t wait to see Android in action next year.
[via Engadget]
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Tags: Google, Software, Linux, Phones
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Yea, that’s a actually a pretty insane idea. People have been saying the world is moving towards a seamless transition to an OS consisting of a web/desktop interface, and I can’t think of a better place for google to show how fast and awesome their software can be. If google pulls this off successfully, they will have the opportunity to steer the industry to a different future, colliding with Microsoft’s foreseen future which is out-of-date.
That’s definitely true. If they can bring in all of their services (Gmail, Calendar, Notebook, Docs, and others) they will will provide a powerhouse of Web applications always at the user’s fingertips. I’m hoping that they will create real apps for their services that run on the OS rather than just a website, because that will make the services even more useful.
Just wondering whether Motorola will stay with they politics of “closed” open OSes…
I’m really frustrated with that since having linux-based device (Motorokr E6 in my case) does not necessarily mean you don’t have to pay for the right of modding and coding native apps for it
Anyways, wish you luck and hopefully we’ll be able to port your OS to our phones!