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AndroidCOMPANY PROFILE
Established: 2007
Home Base: Mountain View, Calif.
Employees: Not available
Funding: Not available
Why you Should Care
This is bigger than the iPhone. Google’s goal with Android isn’t merely to woo tech-savvy early adopters who crave the sexiest gadget. This open and free mobile phone software platform is being designed from the ground up to bring the mobile Internet to the masses.
Built on Linux, Android has already attracted 34 heavy hitters in the wireless arena, including HTC, LG, Motorola, Samsung, Sprint, and T-Mobile, all of which make up the Open Handset Alliance. Consumers could care less about the fact that this platform is open, but they will care about the end result if Android and its partners execute.
For one, consumers won’t be blocked from visiting certain sites or downloading specific applications or content. “That’s one of the reasons why the whole mobile Internet hasn’t taken off,” said Rich Miner, Android cofounder and Google’s group manager for mobile platforms.
“By encouraging openness and innovation and not having anyone control that platform, allowing any application, and encouraging developers to develop applications, you should see a much wider variety of applications and content being delivered for Android.”
To kick-start that ecosystem, Google has launched the Android Developer Challenge, which will provide $10 million in awards for great mobile applications built on the Android platform in various categories, from social networking to the “rethinking of traditional user interfaces.”
The right way to get killer apps developed isn’t to pay one company a few million dollars to go off and build the best gaming or the best this or that application,” Miner said. “It’s to have many, many people through business models or other techniques think of what’s going be the coolest, best app and most consumed app.”
Why the Competition Should Care
Another benefit of Android’s openness is that—unlike Windows Mobile or Symbian—it’s free to license, which could lead to lower-cost smart phones for consumers. In fact, Miner notes that in many cases the operating system license is starting to outstrip the hardware cost. “I speculate that smart phone makers can start cheating 20 or 25 percent of the cost,” he estimated. “So that’s a lot.”
One other key differentiator for this platform can be found in one of the categories listed for the Android Developer Challenge: “the use of mashup functionality,” or using compelling and targeted Web content to enhance the capabilities of native applications. As Miner stresses, mashups are in Google’s DNA, and this unique strength could very well give Android an edge over other mobile phone operating systems.
“Look at what mashups have done for the Web,” Miner said. “We publish for Google Maps and all of a sudden a real estate agent can share where her houses are in the neighborhood in an afternoon.”
Consumers should also be able to customize their Android phones to their heart’s content, whether it’s a clamshell running the software, a touchscreen device, or a BlackBerry-style handset with a full keyboard. Users can change their Android phone’s homescreen, for example, or the style of the dialer, or tell their phones to use their favorite photo application to handle all images.
Chance of Success
Given that the first Android-enabled phones won’t reach the market until the end of 2008, it’s difficult to predict how much of an impact the platform will have, but it’s clear that Android has much larger ambitions than Apple does because of the sheer number of partners lined up.
“The success that Apple has seen with its iPhone is not enough for Google,” said Pete Cunningham, a senior analyst with Canalys. “It is looking to expose its browser and advertising partners to a much bigger audience, again underlining why it needs to work closely with major handset vendors.”
John Jackson, vice president of enabling technologies research at the Yankee Group, sees Android moving a few million devices during the first 12 months but argues that the success of the platform is somewhat beyond Google’s control. “Android is only as scalable as HTC, LG, Motorola, Samsung, and the operators choose to make it,” Jackson said. And, as Cunningham notes, this can be a dangerous position to be in. “If the platform is plagued by time-to-market, quality, compatibility, or performance issues, then these vendors will quickly focus their resources elsewhere.”
This perceived lack of control has led to continued speculation that Google will produce its own so-called gPhone. Rich Miner didn’t exactly put these rumors to rest, but he is adamant that Android can be successful even if Google doesn’t get into the hardware business.
He says Google is attempting to “build a very seamless experience,” one that will “transcend the hardware and network and services on the phone.” He added, “We’re certainly working with some of our partners to deliver as end-to-end an integrated Google experience as we can.”
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