Google Announces Android and Open Handset Alliance

Google officially announced today the Open Handset Alliance to create an open platform named Android for a Linux phone that can run mobile applications on all types of mobile phones.

As expected, Google announced today the Open Handset Alliance to create an operating system that will run on all types of mobile phones, and users can switch from one carrier to another seamlessly (unlike the closed system that prevails in the market). This alliance is made up of a group of 34 major telecommunications and manufacturers for mobiles. The project is an open platform named Android. The 34 partners include big names such as T-Mobile, Sprint Nextel, NTT Docomo, China Mobile, Telefonica, Telecom Italia, Motorala, Samsung, HTC, Qualcomm, Intel, Google and many more. Other major companies like Verizon, AT&T, Vodafone, Nokia are absent in this list. It is not clear whether they will join this alliance in the future. Andy Rubin the founder of Android, which Google purchased recently, said Google will not develop a Gphone in competition with iPhone and other mobile phones, but rather work on an open platform. Rubin said the Open Handset Alliance and Android is more significant than the Gphone because it allows Google to work with everyone rather than isolating them from everyone. The video above talks about the Android platform. Rubin said:

"Android is the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. It includes an operating system, user-interface and applications — all of the software to run a mobile phone, but without the proprietary obstacles that have hindered mobile innovation."

With Android, it will help users have a great experience with their mobiles and give them access to new applications and tools unlike anything they experience now. The software development kit will be available for everyone on Nov. 12. Google CEO Eric Schmidt said there are more than three billion mobile users and they want to provide them with a great experience. Mobile software is getting more complex and cost is increasing, but mobile users want the same applications as they have on the Internet, which the Android platform will provide. Switching or upgrading mobiles will also be easy using new mobile standards; previously, that wasn’t the case because every mobile phone company had a different system and there was no collaboration between them. Android is great news for mobile users, as they will find cellphones can act more like mini PCs and give access to applications people are familiar with.