I have to confess: Google’s mobile phone platform is getting off to a much better start than I had expected.
The generally favourable reviews of the first Android phone, the G1 made by HTC for T-Mobile, were notable (our own Paul Taylor found “many strengths offsetting a few weaknesses.”) They showed how well Google had done from a standing start in just a year and half – though my own brief exposure to the device left me cold. It arouses none of the instant emotional reaction you get from the iPhone.
Now comes news that Motorola is about to throw its lot in with Android, using the Google software for its consumer smartphones (it will continue to use Windows Mobile for business phones and its own software for low-end devices.) Given Motorola’s slumping market share it certainly makes sense to consolidate on three platforms.
The loser in this will be the LiMo Foundation, whose own Linux-based operating system has been used in eight Motorola devices. Morgan Gillis, LiMo’s executive director, wouldn’t confirm the loss of Motorola, but he did point out that most mobile companies have already narrowed their support to only one – or at most two – of the leading open-source mobile platforms: Symbian, the Open Handset Alliance (Android), and LiMo. Handsets made for NTT DoCoMo (by NEC and Panasonic) are the main remaining outlet for LiMo.
It’s too early to declare Android a winner, though. Google still has to persuade mobile phone companies that it is friend rather than foe. The T-Mobile device works best as a delivery mechanism for Google’s own services. How many operators are ready to throw their lot in with Google to that degree?
