Google’s Open Handset Alliance

Posted on November 8, 2007 by C Johnson
Tech

For a while there, it looked like we were on the verge of a generation of iPhone one-uppers. The so-called “gPhone” has been the subject of much gossip and speculation and yesterday Google finally revealed its gPhone to be … well … not a gPhone at all. Instead, Google has opted to take a big picture approach to mobile technology advancement. What they’ve brought to the table is something called the Open Handset Alliance.

What is it?
A 34 member group described by Google as a “new category of connected mobile users that will change the complexion of the mobile industry and re-create user expectations of the mobile experience.”

Who are they?
The group is made up of some surprisingly big players: Texas Instruments, Motorola, Samsung, Sprint and LG to name the few. (Notice the likes of Apple and Sony are NOT a part of the alliance … )

How do they intend to do this?
“Our vision,” said Google Chief Exec Eric Schmidt, “is that the powerful platform we’re unveiling will power thousands of different phone models.” Google wants to make the Internet mobile browsing experience exactly like it is on a PC. The new technology, says Google, can display content from regular web pages (including Google ads) instead of mobile customized web pages.

Is it just all talk?
Apparently not. “Android,” an open system for handset development, is the first major product to come out of the new alliance. Built on the Linux platform and made available through Apache v2 License, Android will be available for sneak preview on November 12th. Android allows for developing functionality without contributing the source code back to the community.

Then what?
Handsets are meant to become available in the second half of 2008, so … stay tuned …

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