November 7, 2007 at 20:27The Not-Google Phone
- Transfer
In addition to yesterday’s review, Meet Android is a translation of today's editorial from the New York Times, which very clearly dotes iGoogle.
Two technological hits of 2007 are connected with phones - Apple's iPhone, released this summer, and the news announced on Monday that Google will organize the development and financing of a new open standard software for mobile phones. Some people were disappointed with what they heard, as they could not hold a new high-tech toy in their hands. But in fact, we can be on the verge of the same breakthrough as in the case of the iPhone, although this will be a breakthrough of a different kind.
Google said that a new software development platform called Android will be available to developers next week, and that Google is partnering with leading technology players in the Open Handset Alliance. Google sets as its goal (not to mention the enormous expansion of the online advertising market) the creation of software for mobile devices, which will be more flexible and innovative compared to what we see today on our mobile phones.
The impact on the mobile phone market can be tremendous. Currently, the mobile world is mainly determined by operators - networks that provide a connection between subscribers. Google intends to reverse this whole design and put software at the forefront, while opening up the development of programs and phones for third-party developers. The end result of this process can be a richer and more integrated world of mobile devices - smartphones, more and more resembling handheld computers, and more choice for consumers.
The new model promises Google huge benefits, as it will promote the use of the Internet on mobile phones, and the Internet is the place where Google makes money. Google is challenging Microsoft, Apple, Nokia and other companies with significant stakes in the current state of the mobile device market.
Another winner will be innovation. The new Google model is betting that the more minds involved in working on mobile devices and software, the better, and that the future of a mobile phone is not in the phone itself, but in its role as a tiny computer capable of connecting with any possible ways with the world - both real and virtual - around it.
Two technological hits of 2007 are connected with phones - Apple's iPhone, released this summer, and the news announced on Monday that Google will organize the development and financing of a new open standard software for mobile phones. Some people were disappointed with what they heard, as they could not hold a new high-tech toy in their hands. But in fact, we can be on the verge of the same breakthrough as in the case of the iPhone, although this will be a breakthrough of a different kind.
Google said that a new software development platform called Android will be available to developers next week, and that Google is partnering with leading technology players in the Open Handset Alliance. Google sets as its goal (not to mention the enormous expansion of the online advertising market) the creation of software for mobile devices, which will be more flexible and innovative compared to what we see today on our mobile phones.
The impact on the mobile phone market can be tremendous. Currently, the mobile world is mainly determined by operators - networks that provide a connection between subscribers. Google intends to reverse this whole design and put software at the forefront, while opening up the development of programs and phones for third-party developers. The end result of this process can be a richer and more integrated world of mobile devices - smartphones, more and more resembling handheld computers, and more choice for consumers.
The new model promises Google huge benefits, as it will promote the use of the Internet on mobile phones, and the Internet is the place where Google makes money. Google is challenging Microsoft, Apple, Nokia and other companies with significant stakes in the current state of the mobile device market.
Another winner will be innovation. The new Google model is betting that the more minds involved in working on mobile devices and software, the better, and that the future of a mobile phone is not in the phone itself, but in its role as a tiny computer capable of connecting with any possible ways with the world - both real and virtual - around it.