So the news came out the other day that Google has released another product into the market known as Android. This one, I must say, has some interesting potential. It is open source software that will run on cell phones. What is so exciting is that up until this point the software running on cell phones was proprietary and closed. Therefore, you had no truly full powered web browser and each site had to be in some way customized to run on the different OS platforms – like Palm OS and other platforms specific to the actual handset – now we have a software choice that will work on multiple handsets. This new development means that all of a sudden all types of applications can be created to run on cell phones, opening up the market to a whole array of new options.
This software known as Android was released on Monday and immediately created buzz – it was not the gPhone as many people had been speculating, but this is big (and by they way google didn’t say that they would not release a gPhone at some point in the future). As it stands now the Android software is being housed under the Open Handset Alliance which includes over 35 companies including DoCoMo, LG, Motorola, Qualcomm, T-Mobile and many others. This software will go in direct competition with Nokia, Palm, Apple and the like, but it will have the open source basis which will create so much room for creativity and more.
Not much is actually known about Android at this time, but we do know that the goal is to have it run on cheaper phones and eventually drive the cost of smart phones downward. There are after all about 3 billion cell phones in the world making the market for internet access from a cell phone a potentially huge market.
What is interesting is the missing players – Nokia, Palm, Verizon and Sprint have not participated in this project rather betting on closed, proprietary software systems. This is the same challenge, in many regards that Open Social released recently by Google, presents to the social networking realm.
You see, having a closed system only works to a point, when you reach a type of critical mass it becomes far more beneficial to go open source and allow everyone and anyone to create and participate in the production of new products and services. The cell phone makers, operators and chip manufacturers that realize this will reap huge benefits. If this software succeeds in creating a new level of usability in the cell phone market it will drive huge sales and bring millions more people into the internet.
This is exciting news if you ask me!!
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