A lot of hype and hooplah was created when Google announced that it would venture into the wireless world. People had conjured up images of the illusionary G-phone and were waiting with abated breath for its arrival. Sadly, that never happened. But investors and techies did find relief in the fact that Google would still develop a new mobile operating system called "Android", which would still change the face of a lot of applications, and the wait and excitement revved up again. Finally Google delivers on its plans as the first prototype of phones running Android make a public appearance!Confirming earlier expectations, Texas Instruments and a handful of other chipset makers demonstrated a working example of Google's Android (mobile operating system) on functional hardware. The prototype device is said to prove the speed of the Linux-based software on even obsolete hardware. The version of the software on display also confirms several interface elements that bear a resemblance to Apple software. While the entire OS is considered open and modifiable down to key interface features, the default Android appearance includes a Mac OS X Dock-like application launcher as well as bubble pop-up notices that recall the iPhone. Google's media player software, camera functions and Google Maps are also available on the demonstrator model (img courtesy electronista)
Google plans to deploy the open source mobile phone system commercially in phones and services in the second half of 2008. Newsvine has it that HTC, LG, Motorola, and Samsung plan to build devices based on Android, so you might see them emerging into the markets by the later half of this year. Samsung suggested they would roll these out by early 2009.
Google hopes Android will create the same sort of applications explosion for mobile as we’ve seen on the Web. "Basically it means you no longer have to shoehorn applications in. Anything that can work in a Web environment will work well here, and also on PC or Mac – games, multiplayer, video and audio, social networking" said Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt. With Apple's iPhone, Garmin's Nuvifone, and now Android-based phone, the wireless cell-phone world is surely seeing a lot of changes. What clicks and what fails is for you and me to decide, right?!
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1 comment:
Looks promising!
~henry
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