Update: Google touts 'Android,' its new open mobile platform

Computerworld - Google Inc. and several other technology companies plan to unveil a new mobile platform called Android today, according to a statement from the company. The system is expected to yield an actual phone in the second half of 2008.

According to Google, Android is "the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices." The internet search firm worked with T-Mobile, High Tech Computer Corp., Qualcomm Inc. and Motorola Corp. to develop Android through the Open Handset Alliance (OHA).

"By providing developers a new level of openness that enables them to work more collaboratively, Android will accelerate the pace at which new and compelling mobile services are made available to consumers," the statement adds.

The OHA includes 34 companies that want to reduce the cost of developing and distributing mobile devices and services, and Android is the first step in that direction, the statement added. Android consists of an operating system, middleware, a user-friendly interface and applications.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the OHA partnership will "help unleash the potential of mobile technology for billions of users around the world. A fresh approach to fostering innovation in the mobile industry will help shape a new computing environment that will change the way people access and share information in the future."

Schmidt said that the Android announcement is "more ambitious than any single Google phone. ... Our vision is that the powerful platform we're unveiling will power thousands of different phone models."

Forrester Research Inc. wireless analyst Charles Golvin said the system's effect on the industry is likely be widespread, although it will take a while to be felt.

Android's impact will be "broad across all players in the mobile environment, driving innovative developers to craft new applications that leverage both the mobile networks and the Internet, and helping to change the way consumers behave when on the go," he said.

"Google is far from the only beneficiary, as competitors like Yahoo and even Microsoft stand to benefit, should they embrace this approach," Golvin said. "The impact will build slowly over time, as initially the devices using this platform will form a very small percentage of the market."

In a conference call, Schmidt reiterated that Android is not the oft-predicted Google Phone, but said that if a Google phone were to be built, it would run well on Android. "As a result of this platform, you'll do amazing things on the mobile platform you never thought of before," he said. "Consumers will have access to less expensive devices, easy-to-use interfaces, much better access to the Internet and ultimate superior" performance.

Andy Rubin, director of mobile platforms at Google Inc., said the Android moniker came from the name of a mobile technology company Rubin co-founded and Google acquired in 2005.