Is Google Android coming of age?
With a slew of new devices, is it time for Google Android to take the spotlight.
By Claudine Beaumont, Technology Editor
Published: 12:01AM BST 04 Sep 2009
Could September finally be the month when Android comes of age? The mobile phone operating system, developed by internet giant Google and a consortium of handset makers and component manufacturers, is finally looking like a genuine competitor to other devices, such as Apple’s iPhone. In truth, the Android software has never been a problem; rather, the problem has been with the handsets that run the operating system. The very first phone, the G1, looked like an ugly duckling next to the swan that is Apple’s iPhone. Although many users love its slide-out qwerty keyboard, the chunky styling and muted colours did not do justice to the sheer potential of the Android OS. It lacked the slickness and pizzazz of the iPhone.
The truth is that most consumers choose their new handset on the basis of appearance rather than its operating system or features. But now, a slew of well designed, beautifully realised devices could become the Trojan horse for the Android platform.
So far this year we’ve seen the HTC Magic, a lovely touch-screen device, and the sublime HTC Hero, a mobile phone with so many delightful features that it should be considered as a serious competitor to the iPhone.
HTC, the Taiwanese manufacturer responsible for both the Magic and Hero – as well as the dull G1 – is mining a rich seam of design and creativity, and has firmly positioned itself as the pre-eminent Android handset maker.
It won’t go unchallenged for long though; Samsung is working on its own Android-based devices. Later this month, Motorola – a mobile phone maker in need of a big hit – will launch its own Android phone. If online rumours are to be believed, it will feature a huge 3.7in touch-screen and slide-out keyboard, positioning itself as an alternative to, say, a BlackBerry or Nokia smartphone.
Android, too, is starting to filter through the technology ecosystem on to other devices. Acer is installing a version of the Android operating system on a forthcoming range of netbooks, with Asus, another maker of diminutive laptops, expected to follow suit later next year.
The ubiquity and power of mobile devices means that software developers and consumer electronics manufacturers are keen to stamp their mark on this emerging market, in much the same way as Microsoft dominated the desktop computing space in the last decade.
Android’s fresh momentum surely makes it a leading contender in such a race.
(Source : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/6132844/Is-Google-Android-coming-of-age.html)
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