Will it be an instant hit??

Mobile phone consumers may excpect Google's new mobile phone software to revolutionize their cell phone experience overnight. More than likely it will take awhile before this software takes off and is widely accepted. But if we know the big G, they love a challenge!

On Monday, Google announced Android, a new software platform designed to provide open access to mobile phones for application developers. Googs also announced the Open Handset Alliance, a multinational alliance of 34 companies, including several chipmakers, handset manufacturers, and mobile operators that will be jointly working to develop handsets and services that leverage big G's new software.

An SDK (Software Development Kit) will be introduced next week, and consumers can expect to see the first Android handsets out on the market in the second half of 2008, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said during a press conference Monday. Yay. We bet some really cool handsets will make their debut as a result of this new software announcement!!

Rumors had been flying like wild eagles for months about Google's dominating plans for the mobile market. And now that we have this announcement, it's quite clear that Google has greater ambitions than simply building a new phone. Of course they do. I think world domination is a good way to put it. LOL. The company is looking to change the mobile industry by making it easy to develop new apps that can be pushed out to hundreds of handset models on dozens of carrier networks using free, open-source technology. Sounds like a great idea G!!

Basically, Google hopes to do to the mobile market what it has helped do for the conventional Internet, which is bring people closer to content on the Web in a easy and organized way. Who better to do it than the big G?? Yahoo?? Get outta here!! At the most basic level this means making Web surfing on a mobile phone look and feel much more like it does on a PC at home.

Even though it does have some high ambitions, Android does have some hurdles to jump. Firstly, shady mobile operators have to be willing to allow these new, open devices on their shady networks. Android also must compete with a long list of mobile operating systems already entrenched in the market. But we don't think that will be too much of a problem considering Google's strong arm.
"Even if there is a tidal wave of new devices using the Android platform, they will still represent a relatively small portion of the overall market."--Charles Golvin,
analyst with Forrester Research. "While I believe the effort by the Open Handset Alliance will have a significant impact on the market, I think it will build slowly over time," Charles continues. That is what Charlie says, but we here at Techfiends believe that alot of the companies will bow down to the big G. Trust us, were pros.

Not like the PC market of the late 1990s, the mobile market is fragmented and closed off. Mostly, mobile operators control what applications and features operate on the handsets that use their networks. This is alot different from the traditional Internet, where it doesn't matter if you access the Net from an Apple or a Hewlett-Packard PC, you'll have a similar surfing experience. However, after Google ads started to dominate, it all became the same experience. So, we believe Google will do the same with the mobile web. Hey, it's Google's world, we only live in it!

Google will attempt to overcome this hurdle by getting carriers around the globe involved in the Open Handset Alliance. So far, KDDI and NTT Docomo, two of the largest carriers in Japan, are on board. More are sure to follow once they see the success that the early adopting carriers experience. Again, trust us, were pros. :)

European carriers Telecom Italia, Telefonica, and T-Mobile are also on board to be among the first carriers to offer Android phones. In the U.S., which is probably one of the most restrictive of all mobile markets, Google has managed to sign up two of the top four wireless operators, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA. Once again, the sheep will follow once they see how well the earlybirds are doing with this platform in the U.S.

Notably missing from the alliance are AT&T and Verizon Wireless--the largest operators in the U.S.--which together account for about 52 percent of all cell phone subscribers in the country. Verizon, for one, loves to have the final say (they would have had the Iphone but they didn't want to be Apple's whipping boy). But Google is a different monster, they are a much bigger monster and will have their way eventually. Trust us, were pros.

Further proof of Google having their way with Verizon comes in the form of this statement issued by one Verizon spokesman known as Jeffrey Nelson "We haven't ruled out joining this group, We support innovation that is consistent with the values of integrity of service, privacy, security and reliability. And we welcome the support of Google, handset makers and others for our goal of providing more open development of applications on mobile handsets." Yes Verizon, that's right. Realize who owns you!! LOL.

AT&T, who are usually known as a more open-minded company, are being a bit hesitant with their decision. As evidenced by a spokesman known as Mark Siegel "I can't comment on what we might or might not do in the future. We offer people an incredible array of choices right now, and that's what our focus is at the moment. Our focus is on delivering goods today" Mmmhmm and eventually Google will own you too!! LOL. Many experts believe AT&T is being a bit apprehensive due to them being Apple's current whipping boy for the mighty Iphone. However the "Dream" phone may look compared to the Iphone is up in the air right now. One thing is for sure and that is that Google will provide much more freedom and choices while surfing the web.

Google has been very welcoming to new adopters of the software. "Our goal has been on organizing partners at all parts of the ecosystem," said Rich Miner, Head of Google's Wireless Strategy. "We'd be happy to talk to anyone who meets that criterion. I suspect you'll see a lot of handsets based on this platform, and I'm sure they (the carriers) would be attracted by those handsets." Preach on brother!

Another minor challenge for Google could be entering a market already claimed by other companies. Symbian has been doing this kind of work for years and enjoys about 74 percent of the smartphone market, according to Gartner. Symbian's OS is used on Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones. But the company is not very well known in the U.S., which has lagged the rest of the world in smartphone adoption. Well guess what?? Move over Symbian!! The big G wants a piece of the mobile money!! And they will get it!! Trust us, were pros.

"We think this is a good announcement for the smartphone industry; it shines the spotlight on it in the U.S. in a positive way," said Paul Jarratt, marketing communications manager for Symbian in the U.S. "One thing that we'll have to wait and see is what these phones look like; it's not trivial to put a mobile operating system together." Sounds like they are already quivering in their boots at just the thought of the mighty Google stepping into their precious market. Well guess what?? Google get what Google want!!

Microsoft (another giant) has also been a player in this market with Windows Mobile, which currently ranks third in terms of smartphone operating systems behind Symbian and the collective implementations of Linux, according to Gartner. Palm is also another competitor. The company may have fallen on hard times of late, but its Palm OS Treos are still popular, especially among business users. The only competitor we can see here is maybe Microsoft, but they better step their game up because as previously mentioned "Google get what Google want!!".

Apple has of course made quite a splash this year with the mighty iPhone by pitching a concept very similar to Android: a no-compromises computing experience on a mobile phone. Then there is Research in Motion with its line of Blackberry phones, which are often compared to a highly addictive street drug. The crackberry. But Apple sucks cause they won't "jailbreak" their phones meaning they are being very tough on people unlocking their phones. This could mean a downfall for them as we know Google will most likely be very much more open-minded to development for their new software. I mean heck their coming out with a SDK out of the gate. Take that Apple and your stupid Iphone!! Even though we still think it's sexy, ultimately their frugal attitude toward unlocking will hurt them more than help them.
As a matter of fact Google's CEO Schmidt called their software license "one of the most liberal licenses in the world." Preach on Eric!!

We believe it is this openness of the license that could help significantly increase adoption of Google's Android platform.

Today, mobile application developers not only have to write code for several different operating systems, but they must also consider different user interfaces depending on the phone manufacturer and the carrier. That sounds like a big headache if you ask us!! The great promise of Android is that it simplifies this for developers. And because the software is open and distributed for free, it should also help reduce costs for cell phone manufacturers that today pay for licenses to use Symbian and Microsoft. This again will help the big G to one day become the most dominant software platform for the mobile phone!!

When Google succeeds in making Android compelling to both cell phone users and application developers, the company will dominate once again! Just like they did with the traditional internet.

"The long-term potential impact is to drive the same kind of innovation that we see on the Internet into the mobile environment," said Forrester's Golvin. "But it's a convoluted environment and it will take a long time. In the end, there will likely be three mobile platforms that survive: Symbian, Windows Mobile, and Android." Yes, but we believe that Google will, in due time, top that short list. You heard it here first! Goooo Google!!!