Rumours have been circulating for many months that Google was working on a mobile phone or mobile phone operating system and the search giant has today released the first details of what has been referred to in the press as the 'Gphone'.

Android is a mobile phone platform tht includes an operating system, a user interface and applications, according to Google.

It has been developed with the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), a group of more than 30 technology and mobile companies that aim to "accelerate innovation in mobile and offer consumers a richer, less expensive, and better mobile experience."

"Through the joint efforts of the members of the Open Handset Alliance, we hope Android will be the foundation for many new phones and will create an entirely new mobile experience for users, with new applications and new capabilities we can't imagine today," said Andy Rubin, director of mobile platforms at Google.

However, Google warned that the plans were at a very early stage.

"It's important to recognise that the Open Handset Alliance and Android have the potential to be major changes from the status quo - one which will take patience and much investment by the various players before you'll see the first benefits," said Rubin.

Rubin said it could be the "second half of 2008" before handsets based on Android were likely to be in circulation.

On 12 November Google will make a developer's kit available for anyone who wants to create mobile applications for the platform and share in Google's goal of "providing access to information to users wherever they are".

"Today's announcement is more ambitious than any single 'Google Phone' that the press has been speculating about over the past few weeks. Our vision is that the powerful platform we're unveiling will power thousands of different phone models," said Google chairman and chief executive Eric Schmidt.

Analyst Martin Garner of Ovum was impressed by the announcement.

"The timing of this announcement was good. Thanks largely to Apple, there's still a strong air of 'let's re-invent the mobile phone industry' and OHA resonates nicely."

Garner warned, though, that it could be a while before it filtered down to the wider public.

"It's worth remembering that the hardware spec for phones to run Android means that it won't exist below the mid-range for some time and, as such, it will mostly reach people who already use both the internet and Google. So, this is more about winning a bigger share of their attention than it is about really expanding the market," Garner said.

However, he did seem disappointed at the lack of tangiable information about what the user experience would actually be like.

"For consumers there was only vague utopian waffle about cheaper, more powerful devices, running better and more innovative software starting from the second half of 2008. Too much was made of delivering 'inventions we don't even know about yet'," he said.

www.google.co.uk
www.ovum.com

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