This past week Google put everyone connected to the cell phone industry on notice. The search engine giant let everyone know it would soon be making its presence felt within the space in the second half of 2008 with the arrival of Android, which isn't even actually a phone. Android is an open software platform designed to run cell phones. It also provides open access to developers.
That same day, it was also announced that 34 companies including HTC, Motorola, T-Mobile, and Qualcomm would be joining the Open Handset Alliance, which CNet described as a “multinational alliance that will work on developing applications on the Android platform.”
The product hasn't even been released yet but Strategy Analytics, a global research and consulting firm, is projecting that Android will be found in 2% of all smartphones shipped throughout the world next year. AdAge wrote about the opportunities Android will provide for advertisers, saying that the system will present marketers with a number of new ad models for the mobile phone. While the announcement had many people buzzing in a number of different industries, Steve Ballmer of Microsoft wasn't impressed saying Google's efforts are “just some words on paper right now.”
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